3rd Person's Perspective
"Well, aren't they close." Senku muttered walking towards them. He dragged (Y/n) away from Gen. "Come on, help me set the machine." He said with a stern tone of voice.
"Ehh?" She complained. "But Gen-San is teaching me Piglatin." She groaned. 'He jelly, ain't he?' She sighed.
==============================
Once they've set it up, the two brothers pulled the rope back and forth, screaming while the sugar crystal melts.
The three blonde females, Ruri, Kohaku, and Suika watched the candy in amazement.
"What's that fluffy stuff?" Kohaku asked, looking at the white strings with an amazed expression.
"Man, it smells good!" Ganen exclaimed behind Senku whose forehead was tied with a headband.
"The smell of cotton candy." (Y/n) muttered with sparkles in her eyes, looking at Senku holding a stick, about to put it in to get the soft stuff.
When he did that, the three blondes' eyes went wide. "It's so white, like a cloud." Suika muttered.
Senku gave each one to the three blondes behind him.
When they ate it, their eyes got hearts in it.
(Y/n) smiled at their reaction.
Senku tapped her shoulders three times and gave her the cotton candy. "Here." He smiled.
"Thanks!" (Y/n) took it and pulled out a piece with her hand, rolling it to make it thicker. Then, she ate it with a smile on her face.
Senku chuckled at this. "You always do that with cotton candy." He said.
"Ehh, old habits die hard." She said, making a gesture. She looked at the villagers eating the cotton candy with a smile on her face. "We used to go to festivals and get cotton candy together." She chuckled at the memory.
"And Taiju tried catching a fish but failed miserably." He laughed.
"I know, right?" She looked at him with a big smile, making him blush. "It was actually for Yuzu-Nee."
"You guys always force me to go."
"What? You never have breaks."
Then, Gen walked up to the two, eating his share. "They've never had any actual cotton candy before." He said, making the two scientists look at him.
"Yeah." Senku said. "It's just cotton candy, but for someone who's never had it before, it must be a mind-blowingly pleasurable drug."
"Gotta thank Homura-Chan for making the materials for us." He said, taking a bite.
Senku stopped for a while, thinking about something. "Gen." He called, catching the mentalist's attention. "Do you know what kind of woman Homura is?" He asked.
Ginro overheard his question and started elbowing him on the chest. "What's going on? Do you get curious about girls, too?" He asked, nudging him.
Those caught the three sisters' and the pigtailed little girl's attention.
"Do you have a thing for petite girls?" He continued pestering him.
(Y/n) just laughed at this.
Chrome interjected. "I don't think that's what he meant." He said.
"You guys don't know Senku very well." Kohaku muttered.
Senku's face went from annoyed to serious. "We're being watched." He said, looking from afar. "All of us, by that Homura chick."
all of them stood there frozen in fear.
"I'm sure we are." Gen said. "She's the only one Hyoga-Chan trusts."
"Even right now?" Ginro asked with a nervous look."
"Of course she's watching us." Senku replied. "From a good distance, where she could see if we make big moves, so she can chase us down if we were all to run away."
Ginro shivered.
"Hah." Kohaku exclaimed. "Not that we'd ever run away." Kohaku remarked.
"Indeed." Kokuyo agreed. "We have many elderly people who couldn't endure a move."
"There are no cowards in this village who would leave the elderly behind." Kohaku exclaimed.
"Eep! N-no! Of course, there aren't!" Ginro said in a nervous tone.
"You just stuttered, Ginro-San." (Y/n) muttered under her breath, sighing helplessly.
"Well, Homura-Chan respects Hyoga-Sama like crazy." Gen started. "She'd never disobey him if he told her to watch us. So she won't cause us any trouble if we leave her be, but I don't think we could get her to switch sides or anything."
"But Homura-San is really kind." (Y/n) said, remembering her stay in the empire for the past month.
"She's only nice to you, (Y/n)." Gen sighed.
===============================
It was already sunset.
Homura was sitting on the tallest tree's tree branch. Then, she heard a racket under where she was sitting. She went down and hid behind a tree. Then, she saw the pair of modern scientists and the two brothers building something.
"You guys go on ahead." (Y/n) said, referring to the three males.
The three looked at each other and reluctantly agreed. When the three were gone, Homura appeared right behind her.
"Homura-San." (Y/n) called her as she turned around, making the pink female shocked. "There's cotton candy there." She said, approaching her.
Homura was wary of her. After all, Ukyo taught her a lot of things and she's related to Taiju, who was the first person ever to withstand Tsukasa's kick. But she's weak. "Cotton candy?"
(Y/n)'s eyes sparkled. She ran to her for a hug. "I thought you'd never talk to me!" She smiled and let go of her. "I better get going." She said as she went away, leaving the pink female shocked.
=================================
"Hey, Senku." Chrome called as soon as he arrived. "Why did you give the enemy cotton candy?" He asked.
He laughed maniacally. "If Homura's keeping an eye on us, she'll let Tsukasa know about the cotton candy." He said. "Sweets are really tempting."
"Some of them may be thinking 'Why not join Senku and the others?' right?" (Y/n) said, popping behind Gen. "Like Gen-San over here." She chuckled.
"Of course." He sighed.
"I'm sure he means that in a strategic way, too." Ruri said, catching everyone's attention. "But I think Senku-San also just wanted to share some cotton candy with a girl." She smiled and looked up at the starry sky. "I think that's all he really meant."
===============================
"P-p-please and thank you." Ginro said. He was dressed as a chef, groveling in front of Senku and Gen presenting cotton candy in a very formal platter.
Both Senku and Gen took the cotton candy and took a bite.
"Isn't this some kind of a meme?" (Y/n) muttered, looking at them with a deadpanned expression. "This was like the last vid I saw on TikTok." She sighed.
"This cotton candy . . ." Senku started, making the blonde male gulp air. "It's puffy and melts in my tongue, yet it has a good amount of roughness."
"Alas!" Gen exclaimed, making Senku look at him. He held the cotton candy stick with a pair of FUCKING chopsticks! "The inconsistency of the cotton is defeating the flavor's balance." He said.
Ginro started crying. "I'll work harder next time!" He muttered. Then, he realized what he was doing and threw his hat on the ground. "Wait, no!" He exclaimed. "You just made me go along with a meme! Who cares about how well-balanced cotton candy is!"
(Y/n) choked, trying to hold her laughter.
"You guys got the word 'meme', huh?" Gen deadpanned. "Was it in the Hundred tales?" He asked.
"Seriously, my dad is such a joke." Senku muttered while having his arms crossed.
Ginro was on the ground, whining. "Do we really have so much time to waste?!" He exclaimed, tightening the grip on his hat. "Tsukasa-Kun's gonna be here before our phone's done!"
Senku chuckled. "Relax, we're discussing a serious matter." He said.
"Like the flavor of the cotton candy?" Kohaku asked in a sarcastic manner, making a hand gesture.
"Nope." (Y/n) said, crossing her index fingers in front of her mouth. "If the cotton candy ends up with a buncha more clumpies, so will the wire." She said.
"Oh!" Chrome exclaimed. "That makes sense! Man, good thing we tested with Cotton candy first, huh?" He grinned.
"Yeah." Senku said, walking over to the machine near Kaseki. "We have to figure out what's causing the clumps before we throw in the gold."
"We're always doing last-minute trial-and-error, huh?" Kaseki said.
"Sorry, Kaseki-San." (Y/n) muttered.
He laughed. "It's okay, (Y/n)."
==============================
They all looked at the two brothers pulling the string back and forth.
Then, Chrome noticed something. "There!" He exclaimed, making the brothers stop.
"Yeah. It's the moment the rope's tugged in the opposite direction." Senku said. "The rotation speed drops, which causes it to clump up."
"Is there a way to make it work smoothly without losing speed?" Kohaku asked. He turned to the two beside the machine. "Using your brotherly bond, maybe?"
"It doesn't work that way, Kohaku." (Y/n) told her with a nervous smile.
"That's crazy!" Kinro muttered as both of them cringed.
"A way to make cotton candy without the machine losing speed . . ." (Y/n) trailed off, putting a hand on her chin, brainstorming.
"Then let's use a stupidly long rope." Chrome said, putting his index finger up. "Like a kilometer long."
That made the two look terrified.
"I'll die!"Ginro exclaimed.
"That's just plain mean to Kinro-San and Ginro-San." (Y/n) said, giving Ginro a back hug.
"How about we spin it by hand, like that generator there?" Kaseki suggested, pointing at the generator where Suika is standing.
"That's too slow." Senku said.
"Hah! That's what willpower's for!" Kohaku remarked.
"I told you, it doesn't that way." (Y/n) muttered, still hugging Ginro.
"Maybe if we take turns." Kinro suggested.
"We need people, though." Kokuyo said, walking towards the seven people who were discussing something about the machine. "We need to start preparing for the winter. We can't give all our manpower to science work."
"That's always the issue, huh?" Gen muttered behind him. "We can't use revival fluid to get more people."
Then, they all groaned remembering that fact.
Then, Senku chuckled. "Guess we'll have to make it, then." He said, making everyone look at him. "It's a bit of work, but super craftsman Kaseki-Sama can pull it off."
(Y/n) imagined something that makes everything turn in one direction in an infinite pattern. "Ahh!" She exclaimed, figuring it out.
All of them watched Kaseki do his work with a wooden piece.
"We're making what revolutionized energy in human history . . ." He trailed off, smirking. "The gear!" Then, Senku picked up Kohaku's shield and looked at it with a wide smile. "Kohaku's shield, just when we need it!" He exclaimed. "It's ten billion percent the right shape for a gear."
"That's a family Heirloom!" (Y/n) exclaimed, looking at Senku with a troubled expression.
"You're using that?" Kaseki asked.
"Didn't the village chief give that to his daughter to celebrate his victory?" Ginro said.
Kokuyo was behind the two, looking all shocked and flustered. Then, he replayed each and every memory of him from holding that shield to passing it down to Kohaku and smiled. "Well, I don't mind, but . . ." He trailed off. "It means a lot to Kohaku since she received it from her father. So, I don't know what she would say."
"Nah, I don't mind at all." She said, making Kokuyo's heart shatter to pieces.
"Ehh?" (Y/n) exclaimed. "Are you sure, Kohaku?" She said with a certain expression on her face while looking at the female's father.
"Yups!" She said as she picked up the materials, poked holes unto her shield, and hammered small wooden carvings to it. "Practicality first." She said while having a cat-like expression on her face.
"So savage!" Chrome and (Y/n) exclaimed at the same time.
Then, they've finally assembled the gear. Ginro spun it in a single direction, making cotton candy as Kinro watched.
"Woah, this is amazing!" He exclaimed. "It's so easy! I only have to go in one direction, and I can go down slowly! I could keep going forever on my own!"
That made everyone shocked and proud at the same time.
Gear acquired!
Then, Chrome had an idea on his mind. "Can go slowly?" He looked down, putting his hand under his chin. "Forever in one direction?" Then, he looked up, still thinking. "It spins around and catches . . ." Then, he finally had the gist of it.
(Y/n) looked at him, overhearing him mutter and smiled. 'Finally, someone had an idea.' She smiled at him.
"Holy crap! I have an idea!" He exclaimed, holding Kaseki's hands. "This is gonna rock!" He said with a smile and dragged the poor old man away.
"What has gotten into you?!" He asked.
"Just hear me out!" He exclaimed. He whispered something in his ear making the old man get all excited, sending a huge blast of red energy and knocked everyone away.
Now, Kaseki was the one dragging Chrome away. "Right! Let's haul ass!" He exclaimed, having all that red determination aura around him.
"Fire my man!" (Y/n) exclaimed, looking at Kaseki and Chrome.
"That's suspicious. What's Chrome up to?" Kohaku muttered, holding her head.
Senku groaned. "He must've come up with some scheme." He said.
Gen stood up. "When a boy's up to mischief, you're not supposed to look until he's done." He said, making a gesture, having that certain expression on his face.
Senku laughed maniacally. "We don't have time to be worrying about him." He said.
"Here we go again." (Y/n) muttered, massaging her temples.
"You're all in for a hellish work." He continued.
===============================
"We twist these gold threads together into a super-thin wire that we'll work into a coil." Senku exclaimed, doing a demonstration in front of the others.
"And how long do we need to make it?" Kohaku asked with a look on her face, holding the golden strands.
"I'd say . . ." He trailed off and pointed a finger on the ground. "From right here . . ." Kohaku nodded. Then, Senku smirked. "To that top of that mountain!" He exclaimed, pointing at a faraway mountain, making everyone yell with wide eyes.
"So we're relying heavily on manpower again." Gen said while having a deadpanned expression. "Thank goodness you became the village chief, Senku-Chan."
"Da you, ne? (Right?)" (Y/n) agreed, having the same expression the mentalist has.
==============================
(Y/n)'s POV
The work was so fucking hellish! Senku had everyone make gold wires and it still wasn't enough! That's if I did actually work. But it's true, tho, I can see the exhaustion on everyone's appearances. For two days . . . Two WHOLE days he'd lock me up in Chrome's shed just to keep me from checking on Chrome and Kaseki-San. I always notice them at night, doing things like chopping down wood and carving something. I took a deep breath and sighed. Ain't he a little too harsh? This time, I'm outside with Senku, checking the length of the coil wire we have. Senku looked at something that made me a little curious. So I did the same thing and boy did I regret it.
I saw a fucking zombie Chrome-look-a-like and yelled. "What the fuck?!" I flinched. "How is there a zombie in here and why does it look like Chrome too much?!"
"That's because it is him, idiot." Senku said, bonking me on the head. hard. And it hurts.
"It's . . ." He started to talk. Oh my Gawsh it is Chrome. "It's done, Senku."
"Dude!" I exclaimed. "You okay?" I rushed beside him and gave him a look.
"We stayed up for three whole days." He muttered.
Senku and I looked at each other with the same look on our faces. Then, the seven of us ran towards that direction, letting Chrome lead us into it.
3rd Person's perspective
Their eyes widened at the sight before them.
"What is this?" Kohaku asked, being mesmerized by the waterwheel in front of them.
Kaseki laughed, making everyone's attention direct towards him. "I'm awesome, too, but it's the blade of science that's really awesome." He said, referring to his tool. "It would've never worked if I didn't have this iron cutting tool. This damn thing."
Then, Chrome popped up beside him. "What do you think, Senku, (Y/n)?" He exclaimed with an excited smile on his face. "Is my invention awesome or what?"
"Sorry, Vitruvius is the first one to invent that." (Y/n) muttered under her breath, making sure Chrome doesn't hear anything she's saying.
"This is payback for when you two got me good with the magnet!"
"You can't be more shocked than that." Kaseki remarked.
"It's a waterwheel." Senku said with a mesmerized glimmer in his eyes.
"So you do know what it is?! Damn it!" Chrome exclaimed, reacting like how he reacted when Senku knew the magnet. Even Kaseki did the same thing.
"A waterwheel?" Kinro muttered.
"Yups!" (Y/n) answered. "It dates back to four thousand years before common era or should I say Seven thousand seven hundred years. Anywho, It was invented by Vitruvius." She lectured.
"I'd already come up with a name for it." Kaseki said in a sad tone of voice. "The forever spinning cotton candy machine."
Ginro slouched. "I like 'waterwheel' better." He muttered.
"Oh, I'm pretty shocked, alright!" Senku smiled at the two of them. "I can't believe you built something like this without any knowledge."
"What about (Y/n)?" Kohaku asked.
"Eh, I kinda figured they're doing something cool." She laughed nervously, scratching the back of her head with a sheepish smile. "But I didn't know it was Vitruvuis's invention! I'm impressed and proud!" She looked at it with glimmering eyes.
Then, Kaseki and Chrome cheered.
"Senku!" (Y/n) said with a determined grin on her face. "You better be thinking, what I'm thinking!"
Senku smiled at this reaction. "Yeah!"