Kohaku was training with Kinro and Ginro again. She blocked off their attacks with her covered daggers, jumping backwards. She struck again at Kinro, who yelled and lunged forward. She moved to the side and moved up her hands to block off his spear. "Your strikes are too shallow!" She stated before moving onto Ginro lunging towards her. She moved away and then attacked. "We're counting on those guys to make Ruri's medicine!" She swung her left arm to knock Ginro's staff away from her. "But she'll never get it unless one of us wins the Grand Bout!"
Sumi, Senku, Suika, and Chrome were all watching them from outside the shed. "Okay," Senku spoke up with a small smirk. "So while Gen is busy smooth-talking ol' Tsukasa, the science team needs to start on our wonder drug."
"Hell yeah!" Chrome shouted while pumping a fist.
"I just hope he doesn't end up opening a wound," Sumi sighed a little with her arms crossed. "His recovery has been slow enough as it is."
"He'll be fine," Senku patted her on the head. "Although you did crush his heart after he asked us for a Cola," He chuckled at the memory and she let out a whine. She moved away his hand with a small pout towards him.
"I didn't want to do it...all I did was state the honest truth," She complained a little, huffing. "I think you're enjoying this way too much."
Senku let out a small tch towards her and smirked. "Maybe," He glanced towards her mouth from her cute expression. He then cleared his throat to hide his blush so that he could stay back on what they needed to do next.
"So what's next on our science journey, you guys?" Chrome questioned the two of them.
"Alright!" Sumi slammed her fist against her palm. "To be able to make her medicine, we need a key item," She started off to them.
"Another fundamental component, one that is essential to civilization as iron. The first material in history to be synthesized using science. We call it...glass," Senku answered him next.
"Huh?" Suika looked up in confusion as no one had heard of it.
"What's that?" Chrome wondered to the duo. "I mean, now that we have electricity, isn't the plan to start making medicine?"
"Yeah, it is," Senku told the two and Sumi let out a small sigh. He looked over his shoulder to Chrome. "But in order to do that, we need glass first. Those clay pots aren't gonna cut it for the kind of experiments we'll be doing," He held up one. "Glass can stand up to just about any chemical. In fact, we wouldn't even have chemistry without it."
"Just like you two have chemistry~!" Chrome teased the two, wrapping his arms around their shoulders. "Huh? Huh? See what I did there?" Both Senku and Sumi just looked baffled at him, however. This was the start of that little nudge he wanted to give them. He grinned while glancing between the two science partners, since the flirting was already there. Suika tilted her head in confusion.
"Why are you being like this?" Senku raised a deadpan brow at him.
"Uhh, okay," Sumi gently pushed him off. "Aside from that...weirdness, without glass, we won't be able to mix any of our components that we need to make her medicine. And handling any chemicals with our bare hands isn't something I recommend, really."
Senku turned to her with a small chuckle. "Exactly, Sumi. And it's ten billion percent easy to process! It can be fragile or durable as hell! You can even see through it, which means you can observe the reactions inside!"
"Seriously?" Chrome questioned in awe. "That's bad!" Sumi nodded with a smile.
"Yeah, it is pretty cool. Although sometimes very messy if you're not careful," She chuckled sheepishly, remembering what happened before they were petrified. As in, when Taiju had came in and caused her hair to become a mess because of a chemical experiment.
Senku gave a small hum towards her, remembering it as well. "To top it off, once glasses are acquired, we might finally get the chance to yank off that melon, take a look at Great Detective Suika," Suika gasped as he was looking at her. "And finally see that mysterious mug," She shook nervously, Sumi holding out a hand.
"Wait, don't you think you should ask her-"
Senku grabbed her mask and then took it off in a swift motion. Chrome and Sumi gasped in shock at him. "Yoink!"
"Stop, Senku!" Kohaku used her excellent eyesight to see this. She then rushed over to the four. "Suika doesn't want anybody to see her face!" She then snatched the mask away from the green-haired scientist.
"I don't understand why not," Senku gave her a small grin, his hands still in the air. They looked down at Suika, as she looked innocent with sparking brown eyes, and a blonde cute haircut. There were some tears in her eyes. Kohaku and Sumi gasped at this.
"My gosh, Suika!" Kohaku gushed with hearts in her eyes, completely taken aback by her appearance. "You're just the most adorable little thing!"
"I'm sorry Sen took off your mask without your permission, but oh my god, you're so cute!" Sumi gushed while holding her cheeks, squealing happily. She then blinked while staring down at the girl. "But I don't understand. If you look so adorable, why do you wear that watermelon mask all the time?"
Suika looked up at them, and then her face scrunched up. Quickly innocence was replaced with one of an old woman. Chrome and Kohaku looked at her with their eyes bulging out in shock. "What in the hell?!"
Sumi blinked at Suika's face, looking at her in thought. She stood up, rubbing her chin. Senku glanced at her doing so. She then turned around to him, leaning towards his ear. "I think you know why she looks like that, don't you?" The black-haired scientist whispered and he nodded.
"Yeah...your suspicions are correct, Sumi."
"There's something wrong with my eyes," Suika explained to all of them as her vision was blurry. "They've got the fuzzy sickness. Everything looks fuzzy to me. So when I try really hard to see, I end up looking like this, and it's super embarrassing." She then put her watermelon mask back on. "But when I put on my watermelon mask, it gets a little bit easier to see for some reason!" Sumi's eyes softened at the little girl. No wonder why she felt the need to wear it, because she didn't want people to ridicule her for her eyes...
"Yeah, that's known as the pinhole effect," Senku told her and she looked up, not knowing what that meant. "If you look at an object through a small hole, the light passing through narrows and brings it into focus."
"In contrast, if you look at an object through a bigger hole, it makes the item look like a ghost or a blur, even if that object is clear," Sumi added in, closing her eyes.
Chrome rubbed the back of his head. "So glass and the fuzzy sickness...are they connected somehow?"
"Dude, they're like 10 billion percent connected!" Senku exclaimed, and Chrome stood backwards a bit in alarm. He looked at Sumi and both of them nodded in unison to each other. Both of them bent down to Suika, one hand each on her shoulders.
"Suika, listen. Senku and I have something to tell you about what you're experiencing so you'll understand it better, okay?" Sumi asked her in a gentle and soft voice. Suika simply nodded to her in response.
"Here's the deal, Suika. You're nearsighted as hell," She let out a small breath as it hit her what Senku said. "It's not some kind of sickness. There's nothing wrong with you. Right?" Senku turned to his science partner and she nodded.
"Yes. People experience this all the time. You're perfectly healthy," Sumi assured the girl gently.
"In a technological civilization, this isn't a big deal at all. We have scientific eyes made out of glass. They're called glasses and they help you see clearly."
"There are all types of glasses that were fitted to that person's level of sight. Look anywhere, and people had them on," Sumi closed her eyes with a small smile. "So there's nothing to be embarrassed about. It's just part of civilization. And you're no different for being near-sighted either."
"Science users can actually make new eyes?" Suika asked breathlessly while looking at both the furnace and science shed. She then clenched a fist while shaking. "That's amazing...!"
"It is," Senku said while his back was turned to her, looking over his shoulder. The wind blew on her cloak.
"If it's really possible...I'd love to see all the beauty in the world," She sobbed a little as tears flew down from her face. "Even just once! I wanna see you guys without the fuzziness. I wanna see the real you...! Just one time...would be all I needed."
"Oh, Suika..." Sumi bent down to her, reaching out to rub her cheeks dry with her thumbs. "Please don't cry. It'll all be okay," She glanced back at the three, all of them silently agreeing to help Suika out. They could tell how much she desired to see clearly...and to be able to not be judged for something people had in life.
"You promise?" Suika sniffed a little at the scientist, and she gave her a reassuring smile.
"Yeah. I promise," Sumi answered with a nod. Suika stepped up closer, to her shock.
"No wonder why people think you're not a real person...cause your kindness is something they usually don't see..." Suika whispered and the woman closed her eyes with a content expression. She was giving Suika...the support that she never had from her own father as a child...she knew that it was gonna be hard work, all of them did. But if it made Suika happy...they were willing to do it for her.
"Alright!" Chrome shouted, interrupting the moment. "I'm ready to do this! Let's make some of this glass!"
"Oh yeah!" Kohaku pumped her fists in agreement. "What materials do we need to gather?"
"Glass is mostly made out of silica or quartz sand," Senku stated as they were all walking in the forest. He let out a small chuckle. "However, Sumi and I didn't see any of that in the Chrome collection."
"Why in the heck would I be collecting sand?" Chrome retorted back to him.
"Well, quartz sand is the most abundant, and it can appear in many worn-down rocks. You also can find it in mines, soil, or even big mountains, which shouldn't be a problem in the stone world," Sumi recited while walking next to Senku.
"Although, we did see a clue that should lead us to some," Senku replied, getting Chrome's attention. They eventually arrived in front of a large cliff. The five looked up at it, Sumi placing a hand in front of her forehead.
"This is the spot," Chrome smiled while holding up a clear crystal in his hand. "When I was a kid, I found this cool, see-through rock right here!"
Senku and Sumi looked around. "Well, that little chunk is worth more than you could imagine right now," He pulled out a stone pickaxe from his satchel. He bent down to start hitting the ground, Sumi joining his side. "That translucent rock you've got in your hand is a quartz crystal. And it tends to be found in areas of decayed granite." He moved away his hand to reveal a pile of silver sand. He picked some up to show them. "And in my hand, I'm holding lots of raw material for making glass. Quartz sand."
The three let out shocked gasps from something so simple being able to be made into glass. Sumi smiled at them, holding up more pickaxes for them. "Alright, we'll need lots of quartz sand, so let's get started!"
They then all started mining for more sand. "Whoa, bad!" Chrome said in excitement next to Suika. "Those tiny white grains are falling out like crazy!"
"I didn't know this would be so fun!" Suika stated while also chipping away at the rock.
"We're gonna get a bunch of this stuff here!" Kohaku smiled while at a higher point.
"Just try and gather as many of the see through ones as you can," Senku told them, Sumi looking over her shoulder.
"Yup! It's kinda like gathering that iron sand in the river," She told the three, chipping away in front of her. "Every single piece counts." They spent most of their afternoon collecting all the quartz sand that they could find.
Once they returned, they continued with the next task. "We crush all the quartz sand down into even finer grains," Senku started off as Kohaku was doing so. Chrome put down a barrel in front of the furnace full of them. Sumi walked over, holding her own barrel of quartz sand. Senku used a long stick to put the grains into the furnace. "Then we mix it with a bunch of other stuff and melt it."
"Now we just have to wait for it to form in the furnace...which is gonna take a while," Sumi smiled a bit awkwardly, rubbing the back of her neck. "Because of the size of our furnace, it takes a long time, so it'll be a few hours before it's done."
"Do we need to get anything?" Chrome looked up at the duo.
"Actually, we've already gathered we're gonna need. Our hard work keeps paying off. 10 percent calcium carbonate from the seashells. Then add 20 percent cooked seaweed. All the same materials we used back when we made soap."
"Ah, I love it when you can use different things from previous projects into new ones," Sumi smiled fondly, a hand on her cheek. "It can make things so much easier."
Night passed, and Suika was fanning Senku with a leaf. Both him and Sumi were panting as they needed to take a breather from their hard work. Sumi sat up slowly, using her arm to rub at her forehead. "Now that's done..."
"I can't believe you've got galena! Lead has been acquired!" Senku exclaimed happily from exploring Chrome's shed.
"Oh my god, let me see!" Sumi gushed while holding his shoulder from behind to look for herself.
Senku grabbed a bowl attached to a stick and poured it into a circular mold. "We throw in a bit of molten lead and lo and behold, we have super transparent crystal glass!" Senku held up a small glass disk in his hand. "Perfect for a lens!"
Chrome let out a shout of awe, staring at it with wide eyes. Kohaku and Suika had the same expression. "It's all sparkly and see through, kinda like a piece of ice!"
"Or some sort of gem!" Kohaku added with a smile. Sumi smiled at the trio and hummed. Then they were standing in front of a table. On top of it was a bamboo stick held by two other x-sticks tied with rope. A long string was around it.
"So what's that weird tool thing do?" Suika asked them curiously.
"It'll polish the glass, cause doing it by hand would kill us," Senku answered her and Sumi nodded.
"Plus we don't have all the time in the world to do that," She sweated a little with a shrug. "The glass needs to be polished or else it'll look less refined and it could break if we don't."
Chrome climbed up to his shed. "Ooh, I bet we could use that super bad corundum stuff I've got for polishing it up!" He looked behind his shoulder at the two fellow scientists from the ladder. "What do you guys think?"
"Glass has a Mohs hardness rating of about a 6, corundum's is nine, so it's perfect!" Senku gave him a small smirk.
"And it's only second to diamond which is even higher than that, so great job suggesting that one!" Sumi smiled while giving him a thumbs up.
"Oh yeah! It's gonna work like a charm!" Chrome returned the thumbs up, sparkles near him.
"Here comes all the stone talk..." Kohaku looked at the three in boredom.
"Sumi's right about diamond, it is the hardest one, up there at ten," Senku told Chrome, none of them aware of what the blonde said.
"I have nothing to add to this conversation..." Kohaku deadpanned as Chrome's eyes widened in shock.
"That's freaking insane!" He shouted, more sparkles around him.
"Of course, diamond's not easy to find around here, but yeah, it is pretty cool," Sumi smiled with her hands behind her back.
The day continued, Kohaku training the guard brothers again. She had her arms crossed while watching them spar together. Meanwhile, Chrome and Sumi used the glass polisher, moving one arm back and forth with the string. Senku carefully held the glass disk at the end. Suika was holding down the end, watching the glass get sharper.
Sumi put up an eye test she drew up in front of a tree. She then stepped back as Senku held a leaf in front of Suika's left eye from behind, testing her right. Her eye widened a bit while trying to see. Once her right was done, Senku handed off the leaf to Sumi, who walked behind Suika. She sat down on her knees, moving her arm so that the leaf was now over Suika's right eye. She held the glass disk over Suika's left.
They polished the glass again, Senku and Sumi examining it. She smiled in approval as he placed the new lens into Suika's mask. Chrome gave a sigh of relief as the other two smiled at Suika's watermelon mask with new lenses.
After finishing it, Sumi, Senku, and Chrome were leading Suika somewhere, the little girl without her watermelon mask. She held onto Senku's clothing from behind, Sumi looking pleased. Senku was never rude to children and could actually be good with them in his own way. Suika reached out her other hand, the woman blinking and taking her hand without hesitation with a smile. Senku glanced down at them, turning back with a small smile on his face. It was almost as if the two were sisters...though he'd never say that out loud. Sumi would never let him live it down if he did.
Once they arrived, they came to a stop. The black-haired scientist looked down at the little girl. "Alright, Suika, we're here. You can let go now," Sumi instructed gently and she did so, stopping in front of Sumi and Senku. She looked straight up ahead.
"Suika, I want you to look straight of you...and tell me what you see," Senku told her while holding her watermelon mask.
"Be as specific as you can, please," Sumi added in with a serious look.
Suika looked with her fuzzy eyes. "I see sunflowers, of course," Her face was scrunched up again like last time. "It's not like I can't see anything at all, you know. I just have to try-"
Senku interrupted her by putting the watermelon mask over her head. She closed her eyes at this, and then opened them. And when she did, she let out a shaky gasp. The sunflower...was so clear to her now, even little droplets in the middle she could see. She could also see shades in the petals. She stepped forward a little in silence. She could even see the sun too. Her dog Chalk let out a howl, barking happily. She then looked up to see her friends all smiling at her, Sumi's eyes closed. She could see them better too... This caused her to cry in happiness at being able to look at them. She then turned around to admire the sunflower field.
"Sumi!" Suika ran up to her, jumping up to hug the woman's legs to her surprise. Chrome and even Senku were a little taken aback by this as well. "You kept your promise, didn't you? Thank you...!" She cried out to the woman.
Sumi blinked and then slowly smiled. She bent down, hugging her back gently. "You don't need to thank us, Suika. But now you can see all the beauty you want in the world," She told her softly, hands on Suika's shoulders. She turned the girl back around so they could admire the view.
Kohaku ran up to Ginro and Kinro, the latter's eyes widening. She let out a yell while approaching, and he imagined her as Magma. He swung his head to avoid a swing from her covered dagger. He dodged again and spun around, yelling and charging forward. However, Kohaku knocked him backwards easily. He flew back a few feet, dropping his weapon in the process.
"Come on!" She glanced back at him. "Again with that shallow strike! Kinro, you've got to break that habit," She scolded and then sighed a little. "I don't get it. Sumi and Ginro don't seem to have this. If you wanna fight with a spear, you have to be able to judge distance, or you'll never beat Magma!"
Kinro willed himself to get up, attempting to catch his breath. Ginro watched his brother from a few feet behind. Judging distance? Right... He thought to himself as he knew something that Kohaku didn't...about why Kinro even had trouble with distance in the sparring.
Later, the sun was setting as the two were sitting on a cliff. "I heard what she said, but I don't know how you're gonna be able to do that," He spoke up to a silent Kinro. "I mean, let's be honest here, you obviously have the fuzzy sickness. That's the main reason why you have such a menacing look on your face," He gave his brother a teasing smile.
"I was born like this," Kinro defended to him.
"Don't you understand, Kinro? It would be better if you run up to her and said 'I'm not weak, it's just my eyes. I know how to fight already. And if you wanna know the truth, I'm incredibly strong, okay'?" The reason why Kinro hadn't said anything was because he didn't want to be seen as weak as compared to everyone else.
"Such excuses are unbecoming of a grown man," Kinro stated while still keeping his eyes towards the sky. "Don't tell anyone about this, Ginro," He warned, though his brother looked at him in worry. If he continued to deny it, it was gonna catch up with him...
Sumi, Chrome, Senku, and Suika were still in the sunflower fields. Chalk barked while running around. "It's kinda surprising, but all you guys look really cool," Suika smiled at them all.
"And why is that so surprising?" Chrome looked at her, not knowing if he should take it in amusement or be offended. Suika then turned to the black-haired woman.
"And Sumi, you look so beautiful! Even that scar does."
"Uh?" Sumi blinked in alarm, rubbing the back of her neck. Senku stayed silent as he tried not to think about it too hard. Especially since Suika might ask questions about it, and he wasn't prepared to go into it with her. Sumi seemed to think the same as him given what she said next. "Oh, I'm not that beautiful, come on," She blushed in embarrassment, waving it off.
"Mm?" Suika blinked at her in confusion. "Did I say something wrong?"
Sumi looked away silently, hanging her head a little. Suika gasped a little while it was eerily quiet now. Chrome glanced to the woman at this, clamping his mouth shut. Her scar was something that...she could still feel even though the incident happened months ago. And she didn't like how it looked, at all. It just reminded her too much of what Senku had to witness, and she...didn't like the fact that it made him upset whenever the subject came up. The look of horror on his face when she got it...she didn't ever want to see that again from him. She preferred it when he was in his element, because it was something he enjoyed doing. Even if she never told him how he felt, she just...wanted to see him happy—well, as happy in his own level that he could be.
"...No, not at all," She eventually assured, turning to her with a small smile. "You're just really sweet, is what I mean," She patted Suika on the head affectionately and the girl beamed. Sumi silently sighed to herself in relief that the little girl didn't seem to be questioning how she got that scar. She had no idea if even Senku was ever going to talk about it. She glanced at him as he had his eyes closed, lost in thought the whole time from it being brought up. He then opened them and gave a chuckle, getting their attention.
"It's finally time to make some glass equipment! And now that Suika's leveled up on her labor potential statistics, that means we can actually put together a full chemistry set!" He thought about all of the beakers, vials, and cups that they could make.
"I should've known..." Sumi sighed knowingly, but giggled to herself. She still loved it when he talked science, not sure if she could get tired of it.
"Calling it labor potential is rude!" Chrome shouted with wide eyes. "Way to ruin the moment, man!"
However, the other three just laughed, confusing him. One point of making it was to help Suika, but Chrome had seemingly forgotten about why they even needed it. "What's so funny? What are you laughing about?"
Acquired glass!
The four returned back to the shed, and once they did, they immediately went to work. Senku smirked while stirring obsidian, Chrome pouring in some more. Sumi held a pot of it nearby her science partner. "Heh heh heh, get excited to start our primitive glass making class!"
"One of my personal favorites," Sumi smiled next to him.
"Yeah!" Chrome exclaimed while pouring in more. "I'm ready to do this, Senku and Sumi! We keep throwing these black rocks, right?"
"I'm gonna keep these coming for you guys!" Suika shouted happily as she ran over with jars of obsidian really fast. Chrome yelped at this, looking down at her.
"Wow Suika, you're like a little speed demon," He complimented to the little girl. "How cool!"
"Now that everything's not fuzzy, it makes things way easier!" She smiled up at him. Sumi patted her on the head to silently praise her. She then gasped as white bubbles were appearing from the obsidian. "Whoa! There are little white bubbles coming out of that stuff!"
"That's what we want," Senku smirked, holding a piece of obsidian that was from one of the pots in his hand. "When you heat obsidian like this, it creates a foam," He tossed it into the flaming pot, more white bubbles appearing. "Then we'll use that form as insulation and make a specialized glass blowing furnace."
"And the insulated foam has to be hardened before we start using it! Otherwise it might break, and it'll affect the glass inside. Which is something we don't want when making a chemistry set," Sumi remarked, humming a little. "Then we'd have a huge mess!"
Chrome held a tray of the foam, using it to make the furnace as instructed by the two scientists. Sumi held up two large coats and gloves. Senku and Sumi both put them on. He walked up to the magma and then poured it into a bamboo tube.
"Next, we'll craft an iron straw," Senku continued explaining to Chrome and Suika. "Use it to blow up the glass with air, and that's it."
Chrome held the iron straw, making a glass shape. He held up the straw as the opposite had a heated tip, blowing into the other side. It began to take shape...but it ended up on the ground in a pile. All of them looked disappointed by this. Senku just laughed at the results.
"Hey, that's fine. This was our first try. When I started making clay pots, it took months before they looked decent."
"And I still struggle with some skills too, no one's perfect," Sumi waved a hand, giggling while looking to Senku. "Remember when I mixed some chemicals when I had my first chemistry set and turned my hair pink?"
"Ha, how could I forget? You looked like a female Oompa Lompa," Senku smirked with his hands on his hips.
"Mmmm!" She clenched her fists in embarrassment. "I did not! You take that back!"
"You know I tend to get straight to the point," He chuckled at her reaction. Sumi huffed with a big pout, looking away.
"This isn't fine!" Chrome exclaimed angrily, snapping them out of it. "We don't have months to get it right this time!" They needed this glass as soon as possible, and at this rate, they wouldn't be able to acquire it.
"Ruri's health doesn't seem to be getting better," Kohaku seemed to agree with him.
"Sumi and I aren't some kind of glass craftsmen," Senku remarked, crossing his arms. "So we have to learn by trial and error."
"It would really help if we had someone to learn from so that we'd get done faster. We didn't have a reason to learn to make glass until now," Sumi then shrugged in defeat. "Oh well. Guess it's back to the drawing board."
What they both said caused Chrome to gasp. "A craftsman...?" He murmured in realization, and then thought of someone that could help.
They waited for him at the bridge. Sumi and Senku leaned against the opposite sides of the posts. Suika and Kohaku stayed nearby. They then heard footsteps, the two opening their eyes and looking towards the bridge. Chrome was guiding an old man...who was tied up. Sumi had a big sweat drop on her bow while looking at them.
"I don't care for this one bit, Chrome!" The old man shouted in irritation. Senku was baffled to see this.
Who the hell is that old fart?
Chrome clapped his hands together, almost praying. "Come on, old man Kaseki! We're in desperate need of your crafting skills!"
"Now is this really how you younguns ask for favors these days? Cause I'm not into this kinky roleplay stuff. Maybe those two would be," He pointed to Senku and Sumi. He let out a shocked sound at him, Sumi flinching with a quiet yelp. Her fists went in front of her mouth as her whole hair stood up above her head, and both of them were blushing. Chrome kept himself from laughing while Kohaku giggled to herself, a hand in front of her mouth.
"Why would you assume that?!" Senku exclaimed at him with white eyes.
Oh my god, this is so embarrassing... Sumi thought while an eye was twitching. She then nervously waved her hands in front of the old man. "Umm...no, no, no, it's not like that between us at all. We're just friends, we're not...we're not like that."
"Oh? Then he didn't give you that scar during-"
"NO!" Both of them exclaimed in unison, Sumi's head held up to the sky. The two finally looked at each other and then immediately turned away, a hand on Senku's forehead. The two of them were definitely not doing that, both of their hearts beating. Sumi let out a small whimper as she was mortified, holding her head gently. Sure, she was asked in school if she was seeing Senku, but it never came up that they were having...relations. Just even the thought of that was making her skin crawl because that equaled nudity, and imagining Senku like that was putting her over the edge. Senku's eyes were wide while his wrist was in front of his mouth. He had never felt this way before, because this never came up. And when it did, it was only the innocent question of if they were dating. And he'd always say no or come up with a quip to get that person to stop asking. But now, it felt like his heart was gonna pop out of it with how hard it was hammering.
"There are children present!" Sumi shouted with her whole face red, covering her eyes. She hugged herself with her eyes closed, taking a deep breath to calm herself down. Senku let out a small cough to get his heartbeat to slow down. Kaseki stared at the two for minutes before changing the subject.
"Anyway, I'm definitely not interested in being a part of whatever black arts you're doing here," He spoke up to the group.
"See? And this is why I had to do things the hard way..." Chrome grumbled, giving an innocent smile while looking away. "Although I admit, it was kinda worth it."
"Do we really have to keep him tied up?" Sumi frowned at him. "That doesn't seem very nice."
"I have to. Otherwise we can't get his help," Chrome whispered to her. "We need the glass for Ruri, remember?"
"At least one of you has common sense," Kaseki scoffed, the woman laughing nervously at the old man. She didn't know whether or not to be flattered, considering the last thing he said to her...
Suika approached Kaseki slowly. "Old man Kaseki," She spoke up, and they all looked to her. She was holding a small clay bottle. "I forgot to bring your lacquer back to you. I'm sorry..."
"Ah, that had slipped my mind," He replied back, not mad at her at all. Sumi blinked as she deduced that the lacquer that she had gotten for them while making the generator had to come from somewhere. And until now, she never questioned how exactly she got her hands on it. Lacquer could be used for several things, including craftsmanship.
"Tell me..." Senku started off, looking at Kohaku. "Were you the one who made that?" He was looking at Kohaku's shield. "Her lacquered shield is amazing! And you crafted it without iron tools and hardly any dyes to speak of?"
"Yep!" He answered a bit eagerly. "That shield was a prize from the year that Kohaku's father Kokuyo became the champion of the Grand Bout," He looked up a bit fondly. "I tell ya, I really did go all out when I made that old beauty! Gosh, that does take me back."
Kohaku smiled as she remembered it being given to her. She laughed happily up at her father holding the shield. She hummed from how excited she was to have it, and since then, she always carried it around.
"It really is beautiful," Sumi spoke up with a smile. "Especially the paintwork."
"The handiwork on that shield is remarkable for this era," Senku remarked as he and Sumi led Kaseki back to the shed. "So Sumi and I had a feeling there must be an expert craftsman behind it. But I never expected you'd be a dusty old fossil."
"S-Senku!" Sumi exclaimed with wide eyes in disbelief as they made it back to the glass furnace. Though her voice was still a little nervous because of the whole...thing. "Why do you have to be so rude?! He doesn't mean that, Kaseki," She glanced to the old man still tied up.
Senku turned to the man, ignoring her. "Did you make that awesome suspension bridge as well?"
"Yeah, I sure did," He looked up at the two. "And you had the nerve to pull the planks out!" Sumi bit her lip awkwardly while looking away. She had almost forgotten about that...she didn't think she'd meet the man who actually built it. "So you can count me out of whatever bogus sorcery you-" He stopped himself as he flinched from the first glass attempt. "Wait! What is this see-through stone work you've got? Wow..."
Chrome and Senku cackled behind him in an evil aura. Suika was trembling in fear. Sumi hung her head with a deep sigh, holding Suika's shoulders to comfort her. "Oh no..." She murmured knowingly at them. "Why do you guys do this...?"
"We won't force you to help if you don't want to," Senku remarked while holding up an iron rod. "So just sit back and watch the show. You should get a kick out of this, Kaseki! In fact, I bet you're gonna be ten billion percent entertained!" He dipped the iron rod into the melted glass inside. "So get ready to get excited!"
More like get ready to be ten billion percent really pissed off... Sumi thought to herself, an eyebrow twitching.
Kaseku watched attentively at him. It would seem that heat makes the material pliable and soft. It's like blubber. He then watched Chrome blowing into the iron rod, and the melted glass moved, to his shock. The shape changes so easily!
Chrome growled a bit as the melted glass was unshapen now. "Crap! Blew it up too much again," He rolled it and Kaseki jumped up and down. Sumi blinked at him that he was reacting the way they wanted him to; to be annoyed the Chrome was messing up.
"What are you doing? You fool, stop!" He cried out and Senku smiled widely. Sumi sighed while pinching her nose, releasing Suika. She wasn't sure if making an old man mad was the best way to really convince him to help...Senku tried next, dipping his into the furnace. He then twisted it around so that it at least took a shape unlike Chrome's. Kaseki watched him with brooding eyes, annoyed while continuing to watch the two.
He's not spinning it steadily at all! At this rate, he's never gonna make a good vessel or anything worth the effort! Are they doing this badly on purpose just to piss me off? Because that's definitely what's happening!
Senku had an evil smile while chuckling, looking at Kaseki. "There's no way a guy who spent his whole life as a craftsman is gonna stand there and watch a newbie do something as drooltastic as glass blowing. How much more of this can you take, old man Kaseki? This has gotta be getting under your skin!"
Sumi shook her head slowly at him. "Is this really necessary?" She frowned while stepping up a little, hands on her hips.
He then approached the woman with an iron rod of his own. "Hey, Sumi," He leaned in as he whispered in her ear. "One more and he'll really crack," He said in a foreboding tone and she shivered, trying not to blush. "So go ahead and give it a try, okay?" He smirked as he was only saying it to get on Kaseki's nerves. But to her, that wasn't how it came across, since it just made him more attractive. She then took a deep breath, looking at him.
"Look, I don't wanna be a part of this," She whispered in a bit of annoyance. Chrome approached the two with a knowing smile.
"Then you won't," He grinned, confusing the both of them. He walked to stand behind Senku, pushing him to be behind Sumi. Chrome chuckled evilly while moving Senku's arms so that they wrapped around hers to grab the pole. She let out a small breath from his close proximity, getting flushed.
"W-What are you doing?" Sumi stammered nervously at Chrome.
"Ahh, I get it," Senku chuckled, though neither of them noticed Chrome giving them a thumbs up. "We'll make it look like you are. Don't worry, I'll guide you."
"Uh..." She blushed as he pushed her gently to stand in front of the glass furnace. "O...kay..." She stammered as she didn't know what else to say. Her heart was pounding as her eyes were kept a bit wide. She glanced up at Senku as his head was close to hers. They had been in this kind of position before, but only as kids, so she didn't think much of it back then. But now, since they were practically adults, it was extremely more noticeable. She took a deep breath as she watched him take the iron straw, and to Kaseki it looked like she was holding it.
"Alright," Senku spoke up quietly as he spun it lightly, humming a bit to himself. "See? It's fine." He grinned evilly to Kaseki, who looked even more annoyed. Sumi didn't respond as his chest was touching her back, and it just made her heart flip rapidly. She sweated a little, hoping that he couldn't tell.
I can't even tell what she's doing, but I can tell by her arm movements that she's not spinning it right! This is really grinding my gears! He twitched angrily, Senku chuckling with his arms still around Sumi.
"We've finally got him," He finally pulled away and her face was entirely red, smoke coming from her ears a little. She then took another slow deep breath of relief; she couldn't handle much of that either...she then slapped her cheeks together to snap out of it.
"I can't take it anymore!" Kaseki shouted, snapping off the ropes and revealing that he had huge muscles. "Boy, you got me real good damn it!"
"Eh?" Chrome and Senku were both surprised at this. Sumi's eyes were white and then she turned around after a few seconds. Kaseki snatched the iron straw from Chrome.
"Let me take a crack at it!"
"Haaaa?!" Chrome finally reacted in utter disbelief.
"He's jacked...who would've guessed?" Senku mumbled, while being dumbfounded.
"I was definitely not expecting this..." Sumi murmured to herself, turning back around to see what Kaseki was doing. Her eyes were covered so she snuck a peek by moving her fingers down. He dipped an end into the furnace, spinning the rod a couple of times. He then put the colder end to his mouth, blowing steadily. He took a pair of tweezers and pressed it against the glass, spinning the rod around. This made the bottom flat as he kept rolling the rod back and forth. He then placed the rod back into the furnace to soften the glass, and attached another iron rod to the bottom.
"Suika! Water!" He instructed the little girl. Chrome was holding onto the other iron rod.
"On it, sir!" She poured a small cup on one end, and Kaseki broke it off with the tweezers. He placed the glass back into the furnace again so that he could make the neck with the tweezers. Chrome was in awe watching him.
"Oh man, that's nuts! You've never seen it before, and you're like a glass-making master!" He exclaimed with wide eyes.
Senku looked on with a smirk, chuckling. "It's because he's got all those years of crafting experience."
"Ha ha!" Kaseki proudly held up the vial. "I've been a craftsman for 50 years, believe it or not. In fact, son, I'm kinda a big deal."
"Wow!" Sumi's eyes shined at him. "No wonder why you're a pro at this. I'm so glad we got to watch you work."
Kaseki blinked and then gave her a small smile for the compliment. "There are people like him in every single era," Senku spoke up with a wistful look, getting Sumi's attention. "Dudes with true talent that have spent their whole lives with their heads down, and completely dedicated to their work."
Sumi blinked and gave a small grin, as she could say the same about him.
Later that night, Sumi and Senku were in the shed, looking through Chrome's collection again. It was mainly for exploration. It was eerily silent between the two, since they were both thinking about...Kaseki's statement about them. It wasn't hitting them until now since they were too busy trying to get glass, but now that they were alone, it was...harder to not have it come up. They were science partners, it shouldn't even faze them, but it was. Sumi already knew that Senku didn't really think of her like that...and that this didn't even need to be a discussion.
She stood up after having kneeled in front of a shelf, walking towards the front. "I'm gonna go train with Kohaku…" She mumbled softly to Senku.
"Mm," He merely responded, hearing her open the door. "Hey, Sumi." She glanced back at him as he was blushing, his eyes closed. "…Never mind," He responded and looked back at what he was searching for. Once she closed the door, he placed a hand over his forehead, and his heart was racing. "Come on, Senku. Stop thinking of that kind of stuff with her..." He mumbled in a bit of frustration, though it was still getting questioned for him...
Sumi walked away from the shed, noticing Kohaku in the distance. "You ready?" She tossed Sumi a covered spear, Ginro and Kinro nearby. They had wanted to watch her train to see what she was capable of. The woman caught it silently, alerting the three of them. "Are you okay, Sumi?"
"I'll be okay," She answered quietly while gripping the weapon.
"Sumi~" Chrome sung a little, getting their attention. "Senku's a pretty awesome guy, isn't he?" He waited patiently for her answer.
"I mean, yeah?" She answered him in confusion. "Why?"
"I just thought it'd be bad if, you know, things got a little more close between you two," He replied casually with his arms crossed.
"What are you talking about?" Kohaku blinked and then Sumi froze in realization. She and the two brothers all looked at her, confused as Sumi dropped her weapon slowly. She was shaking in fear at Chrome as it took her a few moments to get her words together.
"D-Don't tell me you know...?" She smiled nervously at him and he laughed.
"Yup! I figured it out, because I'm a genius! But don't worry, I'm gonna help you win his heart!" He declared to the woman.
"Wait, is he saying Sumire likes Senku?" Kinro asked in shock.
"Ohhh, we got a little romance going on, huh?" Ginro slid over and nudged Sumi, who looked a bit annoyed. "You and Senku~?"
"Uh-huh. I can't believe I didn't notice it before!" Chrome confirmed, crossing his arms with a smile.
"I did," Kohaku murmured while looking away. "But if you don't keep quiet, then Senku will notice."
"But now that you've got me on your side, there's no way this won't work!" Chrome grinned while pumping a fist. "Who's with me?"
"Chrome, Chrome, nooooo..." Sumi groaned at this, covering her face. Kohaku also groaned as well, shaking her head. He blinked at her in disbelief.
"Huh? I thought you were in love with him? Isn't this a good thing?"
"Chrome...you can't force this type of thing," Kohaku deadpanned, arms crossed. "Think about it. If Senku catches on, which he hopefully hasn't...it could change their friendship forever."
Chrome gasped once she told him this, looking towards the ground. Sumi pinched her nose; she was definitely not ready to tell him. They had plenty of other things to focus on. Telling him now...would just throw him off. And she wanted to tell him, but she just needed the right time.
"They've known each other for years," Kinro added and Chrome gave a small frown, realizing that her telling Senku...would possibly end their partnership. And he could tell that she didn't want that to happen if Senku were to know too soon.
"Chrome, I appreciate it, I really do," Sumi looked back up at him with a small smile. "But...it's better if I do it on my own terms. It's already a little awkward between us because of Kaseki. I don't want to make things worse, you know?"
"Yeah...I didn't think of that. You might have a point," Chrome blinked and then smiled. "Alright. Then I'll support you guys on the sidelines!"
"We all will," Kohaku placed a hand on her shoulder and she sighed in relief, trying not to cry happily.
"Thank you..." Sumi replied to them and they both smiled at her. Ginro smiled as well, Kinro looking on with his usual expression, but he did nod in agreement. They wouldn't tell Senku either—although Ginro really needed to try extra hard to not blab, or else Sumi would not let him forget it...
"Alright then, let's get to training!" Kohaku smiled and beckoned Sumi forward. Sumi smirked and ran forward, Kohaku striking first. Sumi used the end of her weapon to flip backwards away from Kohaku, who smiled and nodded in approval. The two charged forward again, only the sounds of their weapons clashing being heard.
The next morning, thanks to Kaseki's help, they were standing in an official science lab filled with all the glassware and pots they needed. And the table was also made out of glass.
Acquired Science Lab!
Everyone except Kohaku and Senku cheered. "Awesome!" Chrome pumped a fist while Kaseki and Suika high-fived each other.
"Oh wow!" Kohaku said happily while clenching a fist.
"You finally have a lab in the Kingdom of Science, Sen!" Sumi smiled in excitement, pressing her hands together. She could still remember the day he showed her his science lab after she became his science partner, as he was excited to show her everything. Senku let out a tch while looking over his shoulder, confusing her.
"Nah..." His eyes softened a little as he brought her forward to stand by his side. "You mean you and I have a science lab. Don't we?" He gave her a small smirk.
All that awkwardness with Senku…it's like it's gone. Which is for the best. I already know what the bond between us is. Nothing could change that until I tell him how I feel.
Her heart skipped and then she slowly gave him a beaming smile. She nodded sharply in agreement with a small blush on her face. "Yeah...we do!" He blinked at her expression, his eyes staying on her from how happy she looked to hear that. He then let out a small chuckle, turning back to the lab.
The younger Senku opened up the door to his room, seeing the science lab his father had gifted him for Christmas. He gave a look of joy from it. After Sumi agreed to be his science partner, he led her inside, covering her eyes with his hands. He removed them and she gasped happily, her eyes glistening. He then showed her around, the girl excited to learn and examine everything in it.
Senku had a small soft smile as the feeling here was the same...it lasted a few seconds before Chrome interrupted as he thought Senku was sad. "Come on, Senku! What's the matter with you, man?" He whined, getting no response. "We finally have a killer lab! I thought you'd get excited!"
"Yeah, sure. Yippee," He sighed a little, turning to Chrome with a smirk. "At this point, we've reached the dawn of chemistry. Things are starting to get fancy here in our neck of the woods. Just look at all the attractions. It's gotta be ten billion times more fun than Tsukasa land. Because the Kingdom of Science rules!"
"It's all come together now," Sumi smiled, a hand on her hip. "Sen and I could even make a map of what we've got here."
A map rolled out for the Kingdom of Science. Mecha Senku and Mecha Sumi popped up, with Mecha Sumi on the left. "Long time no see! Mecha Senku and Mecha Sumi at your service!"
"Hi everyone!" Mecha Sumi winked while giving a wave. "It's nice to see you again! And this is our main attraction today!" She gestured to the map between them.
"We're here to take you on a tour of the Kingdom of Science," Mecha Senku started off as the first thing to note was Chrome's shed. "This is the kingdom's home base. It's a treasure trove of minerals Chrome's been collecting since he was a kid."
"Ha ha!" Chrome smiled while holding up a rock. "I've got tons of awesome stuff!"
"This was the first thing acquired in our kingdom, after we beat Chrome in a battle of science," Mecha Sumi giggled a little. "But the shed also acts as a medical bay, and where Senku, myself, and Chrome sleep. He's got things like cinnabar, corundum, and galena. It's so cool!" She closed her eyes happily.
The two then spun around as next up was the ramen cart. Ganen was slurping up a bowl. "Our scientific gourmet dish: foxtail millet ramen!"
"Now this is something I could eat all day! It's so yummy!" Ganen exclaimed happily from the taste.
"Unfortunately, I haven't worked out everything that's wrong with that ramen, but for now, the villagers love it! And it's a good incentive to lure in more members of the Kingdom of Science!" Mecha Sumi chimed in, looking away. "Although, in my opinion, you're better off without the noodles until it's modified..."
The two spun around again, and then there was the furnace. "We rely on strength and numbers to make our iron supply. Take it 1500 degrees!" Villagers were pumping in lots of air.
Shovel fell down to the ground in exhaustion. "This is such crazy tough work. I'll be up in a second...probably."
"Iron-making requires a lot of energy, so we have constant rotations daily," Mecha Sumi held up a finger. "Our current project requires a loooot of it, so we all have to work hard in order to make iron! But we're not afraid at all!"
Then there was the battle arena. Kinro and Kohaku were currently sparring. "To beat Magma, we built this hellish training arena. Actually, it's just part of the clearing..." Mecha Senku explained as Ginro was asleep until he flinched.
"I train there with Kohaku at night since right now, we're busy with our main goal and she's got her hands full with Kinro and Ginro during the day. It's simple, but it works," Mecha Sumi stated and Ginro yelped while spinning his staff around rapidly. He then changed into a serious expression.
"Friendship! Hard work! Victory!"
"You're just sleeping!" Kohaku exclaimed while gritting her teeth and having white eyes.
"Get with the program!" Kinro yelled at his brother, having the same look as the blonde. "Wake up, let's go!" He chased after his brother while yelling, and then both of them started spinning the dual-hand generator.
"We've got the ultimate in green energy: the elbow-grease generator!" Mecha Senku continued on.
"Only Kinro and Ginro can really operate it, but we applaud their hard work!" Mecha Sumi gestured to the generator on the map. Next thing was the glass furnace, where Kaseki yelled and shredded his shirt again. He then started making more glass.
"Blowing glass with the skill of an absolute master, shaping it just like clay!" Suika walked over with some glass hanging from a stick. She then placed it inside the cooling space, where there were other beakers and vials being cooled down. "The scorching hot glass is cooled, nice and slow, cause we don't want it to crack."
"Kaseki is fantastic at glass-blowing, you could watch him do it all day! But because of how hot the glass is, it can take several days for it to cool off. But on average, they usually are done within the next day. Which is good for the amount of glassware needed," Mecha Sumi added while Chalk waited for the glass, even falling asleep near it.
"Our state-of-the-art laboratory!" Mecha Senku explained as Senku and Sumi were standing in front of the table. They were both looking at the road map. "We're speeding through the sulfa route, with all the bad chemicals we can get our hands on!" Senku smirked, Sumi giving a small smile next to him.
"This lab was finished just a few days ago, and it's already becoming very popular!" Mecha Sumi gave a big smile. "It's got intricate glasswork from Kaseki and lots of powders and ingredients we need! And that's our Kingdom of Science! Pretty incredible, huh?" And thus, the Kingdom of Science was finally completed with what they needed. Senku and Sumi admired everything with smiles as Chrome joined them.
"Man, this is really amazing, isn't it?" He asked, a hand behind his head. "The Kingdom of Science is starting to turn into something."
Senku gave him a chuckle. "We've only made the bare essentials so far. We wouldn't get anywhere if we were missing a single one of these components."
"Mmhm," Sumi nodded with a small grin. "Every single thing here is important, even the disgusting ramen," She mumbled that last part to herself.
Chrome turned to the duo seriously. "So before the whole world collapsed, was the technology like ridiculous or what?"
"Yeah," Senku said with a small smile. "It took 2 million years for us to get there. And we're going to catch up and run right past it."
"Before you know it, Chrome, you'll get to see all the amazing things we used to have," Sumi closed her eyes with a grin. "And all of it's gonna be done right here," She gestured to their Kingdom of Science in front of them. Chrome grinned as his eyes sparkled, the two glancing to each other with knowing smiles.
"Yup. Couldn't have said it better myself," Senku placed an arm on her shoulder, turning back to everything. "Our next step is the sulfa drug. We're gonna make ourselves a cure-all."
Ginro fell to the ground, him and Kinro panting heavily. "Yay!" They heard Suika cheer.
"Yay!" Kaseki then chimed in.
"Yay!"
"Yay!"
They repeated this back and forth, getting Ginro's attention. Both Kaseki and Suika were holding up glass that they just made. "Oh, man...their team's so lucky," He lamented as he kinda wanted to make glass too. "That looks like fun. They're playing, they got shiny stuff..." He then gasped in realization, looking to his brother. "Hey, Kinro! How's this idea?" He watched his older brother take a drink. "What if the spear tip...was like super shiny? Don't you think that would improve your training since you could get a better sense of distance with your fuzzy vision?"
He turned around silently, narrowing his eyes a little in defense. "What are you babbling about? You're starting to annoy me!"
Ginro gave a small scared sound before shaking his head rapidly. He then laughed it off. "Oh well, uh, if we're talking about things that are shiny, we need gold and silver spears! That would be so freaking awesome, right? I mean, strictly to use in the Grand Bout, of course. Those will definitely give us just the edge we need to win, won't they?"
Kinro started at him with a shadow over his eyes before they clutched hands, humming in agreement. They then stood in front of Chrome, Sumi, Senku, and Kohaku in the lab. "Uh?" Senku looked in confusion while Ginro was giving a hopeful look. They had just proposed their spears to the group. Senku leaned in towards the women. "I don't know anything about fighting. Is it true that a gold and silver spear will help them beat Magma? Or is that just crap?"
"Okay, I'll put it in a way you'll understand. They 10 billion percent only want gold and silver spears because they think that'll make them cool," She deadpanned to the duo.
"Kinda putting us on the spot a little, aren't they?" Sumi sweated a little. "Well, I did promise them, and I always keep my word," She sighed while closing her eyes, hands on her hips.
"Oh wow," Ginro stepped in to admire the lab, trying to butter them up even more. "Would you look at all this glass, was it? And this beautiful working area! With this kind of stuff, a silver spear must be a snap to make. And then taking down Magma would be easy peasy!"
Senku chuckled, and Sumi let out a small giggle at his attempts. "Yeah, good point," He played along, smiling a bit too happy. "And now that we have our glassware...we're gonna have to suck it up and go get the next ingredient. Which is also the most difficult material to obtain."
"And he means it, too," Sumi held up a finger. "Everything we've done so far doesn't even hold a candle to this next step."
"Alright," Senku walked away from them, everyone except Sumi confused. "Let's break in this lab with a silver spear. But only a silver one."
Kinro's mouth opened in disbelief, Ginro looking happy. "W-We'll get to the gold one at some point, but for now, the silver one is more of a priority..." Sumi scratched her cheek sheepishly. "We're sorry, Kinro."
"Oh, I'm so sorry about that, Kinro," His brother teased him, grinning happily. "It's my way. I'm always everyone's favorite."
"All of you guys are my favorite. I don't pick and choose who's more important to me, but uh...you're not gonna like what this spear is for," Sumi looked away a bit awkwardly. "It's only fair to warn you that this is really dangerous."
"You are in no way my favorite, you clown," Senku scoffed and then looked over his shoulder with a smirk. "This mission is quite risky. It may well cost you your life, Ginro." Ginro blinked in confusion at the duo. "We're gonna set off on a grand adventure. One where we'll discover chemistry's greatest treasure. So you'll be exploring an area that's ridiculously dangerous," He had a devilish smirk on his face. "Where you could literally die in an instant."
"This isn't a prank or joke," Sumi closed her eyes, sighing. "This next item is key if we're gonna cure Ruri. We absolutely need it, so if you mess around too much, like he said...it will kill you. So we need to be extremely careful here."
Ginro's eyes widened in fear, wondering just what they were talking about.