Stone Love

Chapter 4 - Let There Be the Light of Science

You watch Gen 'perform' to the others, pretending to be scared.

"I was out looking for food by myself when, surprise, the nostalgic scent of ramen hit me, and I wandered over. Man, it's such a terrible lifestyle out there. " Gen smiles towards Senku, managing to convince Ginro, but only making Kohaku more suspicious of the well-dressed male. Kohaku hesitates before turning towards you, "y/n, is he telling the truth?" You flinch.

'Why are you calling me out, Kohaku?!'

With the attention now on you, your cough into your fist and turn away. "I-it's hard to say exactly..." You mutter. Senku notices your hesitation to answer and speaks instead, remembering what you said the first day you were here. He smirks at the bicolor haired male, "Sure, whatever. I'll take your word for it. Either way, there's no such thing as free food. Everyone who's had ramen has word to do."

Soon everyone who ate ramen (and your soup) is forced back to the base and is using the new and improved bamboo bellows to blow even more oxygen into the furnace.

"We upgraded the blowing function! Iron mill furnace, level 2!"

"I think this'll work if we take turns!"

Everyone is shouting bloody mary as they're working hard pumping air into the fire. You were watching Gen and the others from a distance, not wanting to interfere any more in the plot. You watch as Senku approaches Gen, hearing him ask about Taiju and Yuzuriha.

"Oh, I see. You thought you could get me to fess up while I'm busting my ass. You have guts, pulling tricks like that on a mentalist. Don't worry, though. Taiju's got an especially bottomless supply of strength. You know, don't you, Senku?" Kohaku, having heard the commotion, comes with her blade unsheathed. "He's definitely with the long-haired man. Should I kill him?"

"Hold on, idiot." Senku smirks, "Asagiri Gen. You ten billion percent knew I was trying to make you talk. Why did you suddenly decide to admit that you're with Tsukasa?" The mentioned male is silent for a few moments, then he turns around with a deceiving smile on his face. He looks around at the progress that Senku's made. "The tides have turned now that I've seen this."

Upon staring at the shed, his eyes wander over to you, making immediate eye contact with you. You run back inside the shed, embarrassed for being caught staring at him, and feeling uncomfortable under his gaze. After a long night of pumping air, Senku wears a heavy leather apron and takes out the molten iron, pouring the contents into a wooden mold.

"Finally!"

After the rod cooled, Chrome broke it out of the casing and held it up. "Here we go!" Him, Kohaku, and Suika stare at it in amazement. While everyone is out celebrating, you're up in the shed, hiding from the mentalist. 'Why am I even hiding from him? It's not like I'm of any importance, so there's no way he'd report me to Tsukasa, right? Right... I need to stop acting like a little wimp and go outside!' Gaining the courage you need, you climb down the ladder and approach the group, taking refuge at Senku's side.

"That simple false report would spare you."

Senku chuckles, "I'd really appreciate it if you would do that." Gen holds up a hand, "I don't have any policy at all. I'm the world's most shallow man." You watch the scene, remembering how creepy Gen looked during this episode. 'They really made Gen a creepy guy in the beginning of the series...' Although he was a suspicious character when he was first introduced when the war between Tsukasa's empire of might and Senku's kingdom of science was over, he became a witty side-character.

"If I can live happily with cute chicks, that's all I need. Whether you die or Tsukasa dies doesn't matter to me. I'm going to win, no matter who I have to dispose of. I can't decide if it'll be better for me if I let the kingdom of science or the Tsukasa empire win. That's all I have any interest in."