[Y/n] watched as Kohaku, Kinro, and Ginro trained for the Grand Bout. [Y/n] would begin her training when Kinro and Ginro had to leave to guard the bridge. But, that doesn't mean she'd miss out on learning. [Y/n] was always really good a studying, so she studied their forms and body movements.
"All right, so while Gen's out deceiving Tsukasa, let's get started on that cure-all drug." Senku said.
"Yeah!" Chrome cheered, "What are we making with science next?"
"There's a material that's just as important for building civilization as iron. The first man-made material in history, synthesizing using science...Glass." Senku explained.
"What's that?" Chrome asked, "Aren't we gonna make all sorts of drugs now that we have electricity and all that?"
"Yeah, we are. Clay pots are no longer going to cut it for our happy chemistry experiments if we want to make the cure-all sulfa drug. Glass can stand up to just about any chemical. Glass is the foundation of chemistry." Senku explained.
"Glass is easy to process. It's very tough and durable. It's also transparent, so you can observe the chemicals inside." [Y/n] explained, not taking her eyes off of the three people fighting.
"Really? Oh, man!" Chrome said.
Senku chuckled. "To top it all off, once we have glass..." Senku said and looked at Suika, "...we might finally get a chance to yank that headpiece off of Great Detective Suika and see her true face."
Suika looked nervous as Senku stepped closer to her. He pulled the watermelon off her head. [Y/n] looked out of curiosity and her eyes widened.
"Wait, Senku!" Kohaku yelled and ran over then snatched the watermelon from him, "Suika doesn't want her face to be seen!"
"Take a good look." Senku said. Kohaku looked at Suika's cute face.
"Wow, Suika! You're perfectly adorable!" Kohaku cooed while [Y/n] nodded. Then Suika's face scrunched up.
"What the hell?!" Chrome and Kohaku yelled.
"Oh, I see..." [Y/n] muttered.
"I have the fuzzy sickness in my eyes. Everything looks fuzzy to me, so I end up looking like this when I try too hard to see, and it's embarrassing." Suika explained and put her mask back on then she danced around, "But with this mask, for some reason, it's easier to see!"
"It's the pinhole effect. When you look at an object through a small hole, the light passing through narrows, bringing it into focus." [Y/n] explained.
"What does glass have to do with Suika's fuzzy sickness?" Chrome asked.
"It has ten billion percent to do with it!" Senku yelled as he snapped his head towards Chrome then Senku turned to Suika, "Listen up, Suika."
Senku crouched down and placed his hands on her shoulders. "You're nearsighted as hell. That's not a disease. It's not even a defect. In a technological civilization, it doesn't bother anyone. We have made eyes of science, made from glass. They're called glasses, and they solve everything." [Y/n] nodded in agreement.
Suika looked at Senku in awe as he began to walk away. "Science users can make eyes? That's amazing." Suika said, and Senku looked over his shoulder.
"Yeah." Senku said and tears began to fall from Suika's eyes.
"If I could, I would love to see the beauty of the world, too. Even if it is just once. I want to meet you guys without the fuzziness. I want to meet the real you, just once." Suika said, and [Y/n] smiled warmly at her.
"We're going to help you see a clear world, Suika-chan." [Y/n] said.
"That's right! Let's make this glass stuff." Chrome cheered.
"Yeah!" Kohaku agreed, "What do we need to gather, Senku, [Y/n]?"
"Glass is mostly created from quartz sand." [Y/n] answered.
"I didn't see any in the Chrome Collection." Senku said with a chuckle.
"I'm not going to collect sand." Chrome said.
"I did see a hint that'll lead us to quartz sand, though." Senku said.
｡･:*:･ﾟ★｡･:*:･ﾟ☆
Chrome led them to a mountain where he found a certain rock. "This is where I found this translucent rock as a kid." Chrome said.
"That little tidbit is worth a ton." Senku said while [Y/n] pulled out her primitive pickaxe. Senku and [Y/n] started mining the surface of the mountains to get to the sand.
"That translucent rock, that crystal, tends to be found in areas of decaying granite, like this place." Senku explained and gathered some sand in his hand to show them, "And all this sand here is the raw material for glass: quartz sand."
Kohaku, Chrome, and Suika were amazed then they began collecting sand. Senku stayed next to [Y/n] as they collected sand. He couldn't help but glance at her every now and then. Then his glances turned into a stare. He watched [Y/n] as she tucked her short hair behind her ear, showing more of her beautiful face.
[Y/n] glance at Senku and noticed he was staring at her. Her heart skipped a beat, and [Y/n] blushed.
"What is it?" [Y/n] asked and rubbed and back of her head then touched the nape of her neck.
'Senku must not be used to my short hair yet.' [Y/n] thought, and she smiled a little. "Don't worry. It'll grow back." She muttered and went back to collecting sand.
She felt Senku's hand on her head, giving her usual reassuring head strokes.
"I like it." Senku said in a gentle tone, "You look..so beautiful..."
It took [Y/n] a moment to process what he said while focusing on his lips. They were really distracting. She blinked a couple of times then [Y/n]'s face turned right red and her eyes widened a bit.
Senku continued to smile until he saw the brown little fur ball that was Inosuke poking his head out from the other side [Y/n]'s legs. Inosuke grunted loud and angrily at Senku while glaring, and Senku glared back at him.
[Y/n] took a deep breath and tried to cool her face. 'That was unexpected.' She thought.
That's evening, they grinded the sand up. "We grind down all the quartz down into fine grains." Senku explained while Chrome brought the pot of ground sand,
"Then we mix it with a bunch of other stuff and melt it in the stove."
"What else do we need?" Chrome questioned.
"Huh? We already have everything we need. Thanks to all of our efforts so far. Ten percent calcium carbonate, or seashells. Twenty percent cooked seaweed. We used all this stuff when we made soap." Senku muttered.
That night, while Senku and Chrome heated up the sand, [Y/n] trained to Kohaku. [Y/n] was able to find and hit all of Kohaku's openings, thanks to her studying Kohaku's moves. But, due to her lack of physical strength, it was like getting hit with a noodle.
"Put more power into your attack!" Kohaku commanded, knocking [Y/n] on her butt.
"Ouch..." [Y/n] groaned and rubbed her backside.
Kohaku sighed and propped herself on her fight rod. "Why are you doing this?" She asked, "You have no reason to."
[Y/n] glanced back at Senku to see he was busy pumping air into the furnace with Chrome. [Y/n] sat in silence for a moment, thinking of whether she could trust Kohkau at this point. [Y/n] looked at the ground, so a shadow could cast over her face to hide her sad expression.
"I don't want to be a burden to Senku anymore." [Y/n] muttered, and Kohaku raised her eyebrow, "He's taken care of me... protected me..., but he needs to focus on rebuilding civilization. And, with Chrome, he doesn't need much of my help. If I can get strong enough to protect myself, and possibly even protect him as well, then there's no reason for him to run after me when I'm in trouble." [Y/n] finished, sadly, and stood up then dusted herself off.
"I have a question," Kohaku said as [Y/n] picked up her fighting rod. [Y/n] looked at her. "Do you love him?" Kohaku asked.
[Y/n] sadly smiled a little. "I'm just happy being by his side. I couldn't ask for more." She said, but Kohaku looked at her skeptically. She didn't believe [Y/n] in the slightest, then Kohaku sighed and they got back to training.
｡･:*:･ﾟ★｡･:*:･ﾟ☆
Senku and Chrome worked on the glass all night. Once they were done, Senku fell on his butt and panted.
"Now..." Senku huffed while Suika fanned him with a leaf. "We threw in some lead, and we'll have super see-through lens glass." Senku explained. [Y/n] did that for him since Senku was exhausted. [Y/n] poured the melted glass into the mold. As it cooled, [Y/n] grabbed some primitive medical tape and wrapped Chome's hands.
"Wow, thanks, [Y/n]." Chrome said while opening and closing on of his hands.
Next, she wrapped Senku's hands. They were cold and blister-filled. "Thank you, [Y/n]." Senku said, softly, which made [Y/n] smile a bit.
[Y/n] could feel the gaze of his crimson-color eyes on her face, but she couldn't bring herself to meet Senku's stare. It still gave her that butterfly feeling in her stomach, nonetheless.
"It's my job." [Y/n] said.
Once the glass solidified, Senku picked it up and showed it to everyone. They were in awe.
"It's shiny and see-through, like ice!" Suika said.
"It's like a gem." Kohaku said.
Suika pointed out a primitive glass polisher that Senku made.
"What's that weird thing?" Suiksa asked.
"We'd die if we tried to polish glass by hand." Senku said, and Chrome climbed into the shed.
"We can use that super tough corundum for polishing." He said.
"Glass has a Mohs hardness of about 6. Corundum's a 9." Senku explained.
"Polishing's gonna be a piece of cake!" Chrome cheered.
"Here they go again with their rock talk. I can't keep up with them." Kohaku muttered, and [Y/n] smiled. "It's pretty interesting when you know what they're talking about." She said.
Kohaku gave her a deadpanned look. "I don't." She said.
As Kohaku trained with Kinro and Ginro, [Y/n] help Senku and Chrome polish and make glasses for Suika. [Y/n] held Suika's hand as her Senku and Chrome walked towards a field of sunflowers.
"Suika, can you see what's in front of you?" Senku asked when they stopped.
"They're just sunflowers." Suika said, and she squinted her eyes, "It's not like I can't see at all, you know."
Senku put the watermelon on her head. She looked through the glass holes and was in shock. She looked at Senku, [Y/n] and Chrome while [Y/n] smiled, warmly, at her. Suika needed a moment to take it all in.
They stayed there all day, and [Y/n] even cooked some fish from a nearby river for a picnic while the two pets, Chalk and Inosuke, played with each other.
"You're both surprisingly good-looking, Senku and Chrome." Suika said, and [Y/n] giggled.
"What do you mean, 'surprisingly', jeez." Chrome said.
"And, you're really beautiful, [Y/n]." Suki said, and [Y/n] blushed.
"Thank you, Suika-chan. You're adorable as well." [Y/n] said.
Senku chuckled. "Next, we're finally making glass instruments. Now that Suika's labor potential has leveled up super high, we're going to put together a full chemistry set." Senku said in a comedic tone.
"Don't call her 'labor potential'!" Chrome yelled.
[Y/n] sighed and crossed her arms. "Leave it to Senku to turn a peaceful moment into a scheme." [Y/n] commented.
Senku smirked at her. "You love my schemes." He said, causing [Y/n] blushed a bit. Suika started to giggle, and [Y/n] blushed more.
"What's so funny?" [Y/n] asked, and Suika just laughed harder. "Please stop laughing at me, Suika-chan." [Y/n] whined, and the two boys started chuckling as well.
｡･:*:･ﾟ★｡･:*:･ﾟ☆
The next day, [Y/n] and Suika helped Chrome and Senku make glass by collecting obsidians. The haul was helping build [Y/n]'s strength, so there was nothing to complain about.
"We're throwing these black rocks in, right?" [Y/n] heard Chrome's voice as her and Suika ran closer to the shed.
"We'll keep them coming!" Suika announced, and the two girls set the pots down.
"You've gotten more nimble, Suika." Chrome said, and [Y/n] nodded in agreement.
"I can barely keep up with her." [Y/n] said with small pants.
"Are you okay, [Y/n]?" Senku asked, concerned, and [Y/n] smiled then nodded.
"I'm perfectly fine." [Y/n] said.
"I don't mess up anymore now that everything isn't fuzzy." Suika said and took a look in the pot them saw white foam, "There are bubbles coming out."
"That is the foam that is created when you burn obsidian." [Y/n] explained to Suika.
"We're using the foam as insulation to make a glassblowing furnace." Senku added, " Then we make the iron straw, then we blow the glass with air, and that's it."
[Y/n] sighed. "You make it sound so simple." [Y/n] said while Senku just smirked.
The results...were terrible. The team just stared at their failure for a moment.
"It wasn't simple at all." [Y/n] said, and Senku chuckled.
"Hey, it was our first try. When I first started making clay pots, it took months before they started looking decent." Senku said, and Chrome looked at him in shock.
"Months?! We don't have that much time!" Chrome yelled.
"I'm worried about Ruri-nee's health, too." Kohaku said, and Senku crossed his arms then shrugged.
"I'm not a glass craftsman. Trial and error is all we've got." Senku said.
"A craftsman?" Chrome repeated and dashed off towards the village.
Senku and [Y/n] looked at Kohaku, but she just shrugged. Suika, Senku, Kohaku, and [Y/n] waited for Chrome at the bridge.
Soon, Chrome came back with a short elderly man that was tied up. "Hey, cut it out, Chrome!" The man whined. Senku and [Y/n] just stared, confused. Once they ever over the bridge, Chrome clapped his hands together in a begging form.
"Come on, Old Man Kaseki! We could really use your skills!" Chrome begged.
"Is this how you ask for favors? By tying them up for your kinky ropeplay? I'm not lending a single hand to your shady sorcery!" Kaseki yelled.
"See? He just won't come and help us." Chrome said while rubbing the back of his head. Suika walked over to the old man.
"Grandpa Kaseki," She called. "I forgot to return your lacquer."
"Oh, that's right." Kaseki muttered.
[Y/n] was a bit impressed. "Old man," Senku said, "Were you the one who made that fantastic, seasoned shield? With no iron tools and hardly any dyes to speak of?" He questioned.
"It's truly remarkable, sir." [Y/n] added.
"It was a gift to Kohaku's father, Kokuyo, won in the Grand Bout. I went all-out when I made it. Gosh, that really takes me back..." Kaseki said and sighed dreamingly.
Senku took the rope from Chrome and led the way to the shed.
"The construction is ridiculously advanced for the technology, so I had a feeling there must be a really good craftsman." Senku muttered, "But I never thought it'd be a worn-out old fart." He turned to Kaseki. "Is that awesome suspension bridge your handiwork, too?"
"Yeah, that's right. And you had the gall to pull the planks out! I'm never going to help you..." Then Kaseki laid eyes on their eyesore of a chemistry set.
"Wh-What's this translucent stonework?" Kaseki questioned while Chrome and Senku smirked.
[Y/n] sighed. "They're two of a kind." She muttered.
"You don't have to help us if you don't want to." Senku said and picked up the iron straw, "Just sit there and watch. You're going to love this, Kaseki. This is going to be ten billion percent exhilarating for you."
Senku and Chrome were making glass in front of Kaseki to provoke him into helping them. [Y/n] sighed again, a little bored with nothing to do. Senku chuckled at Kaseki's expression.
"There's no way a man who's spent his whole life as a maker is going to stay put in front of something as drooltastic as glassblowing. Am I right, Old Man Kaseki?" Senku taunted.
"This is unbearable!" Kaseki yelled and break out of the rope, "You got me good, damn it!"
Senku, Chrome, and [Y/n] stared in shock. "Eh?"
Kaseki took the iron straw from Chrome. "Let me handle this."
"Are you serious with those muscles?" Senku muttered.
"I did not expect that." [Y/n] muttered.
Kaseki began to make the glass with great skill, even though it was his first time seeing glass.
"Isn't this your first time seeing glass?" Chrome asked Kaseki, and
Senku chuckled. "He's got far more years of craftwork experience." Senku said, and Kaseki cheered, proudly.
"I've been a craftsman for fifty years, believe it or not. I'm kind of a big deal." Kaseki bragged.
It caused [Y/n] to smile a little while Senku's expression softened. "There are people like you in every age. Dudes with true talent, who've spent their whole lives with their head down, dedicated to their work." Senku said in a gentle tone.
[Y/n] stared at his work in admiration. "Could you teach me, Kaseki-san?" [Y/n] asked while pointing at the beaker that was being cooled.
"Of course!" He said while grinning through his mustache.
[Y/n]'s eyes sparkled while Senku stared at her in awe for a moment. [Y/n] walked closer to Kaseki to observe his skill.
"Watch me and listen carefully, now." He said, and [Y/n] nodded.
"Don't worry, sir, I'm a fast learner." She informed him, and Kaseki's smiled more. "I like you already." He said and began to show her the art of making glass. Senku chuckled and went back to work.
The next day, the team went to the science lab to see it was filled with glass instruments. Everyone cheered.
[Y/n] stared into the lab with a sad smile. It reminded it her of all the projects she and Senku would do together. All of the chemistry books her mother would give her. They were all sad memories now.
[Y/n] looked next to her and saw that Senku had the same expression. She knew that he was thinking the same thing. [Y/n] grabbed Senku's hand with both of her's.
He looked at her in shock for a moment as she gave him a reassuring squeeze. Even after all of this, all the hard work she's done, her hands still warmed their way through the bandages around them.
"We have a proper lab now. Things are surely going our way." [Y/n] said, gently and smiled warmly at Senku, "Let's focus on the future of civilization, instead of the past, okay, Senku?"
Senku blushed slightly and took a sharp breath then coughed a little into his other hand. Senku averted his eyes from the short-haired beauty next to him. [Y/n] gave him one last squeeze before letting go.
Senku stared at the hand that [Y/n] held, missing the warmth of her hand already. He glanced next to him and watched [Y/n]'s walked away to train with Kohaku.
Senku placed his hand to his heart and felt it beating rapidly. 'I'm ten billion percent sure this is going to be a problem...' Senku thought to himself.