"What the hell is up with your overly-violent version of Momotaro! It's supposed to be a kids story, and the gorilla rips the demon king's arms off at the end! Who's making up this crap! What child wants to listen to that?!"

Shockingly, the strait laced Senku had dropped his logical demeanor, if only for a moment. To express what must have been an enormous amount of frustration, Senku casually kicked the stream before scowling as the droplets of water returned home. Chrome and Kohaku looked at each other uncomfortably. Even a miniscule display of Senku's emotions was rare, and anger was unseen. Kohaku looked away before suppressing a snort. Even Senku's hate was weak.

After Kohaku's retelling of Momotaro turned sour, the trio continued their rest by the side of the river in silence. Senku continued staring out into the river, pondering all that had been lost during the petrification event. Momotaro was one of the few stories his father told, and consequently Senku thought it was perfect, just the way it was. He had always tried to make it more interesting as Senku aged, but the young scientist preferred the original's stories simplicity. It was silly to get frustrated over a children's story, but it was also silly to retell Momotaro with the tone of a violent Shonen manga. After a long, awkward pause Senku finally dispersed the tension in the air.

"Sheesh. Everything comfortable about my old world was obliterated. Even Momotaro had to toughen up… He was supposed to befriend his animal companions by giving them dumplings. And why the hell would they only join him after he defeated them in combat!"

There was another brief pause, before Kohaku's face curled into a frightening grimace. Her Momotaro was as close to Ruri's version as possible. It was the only story the warrior girl ever felt like practicing. Many hours of Kohaku's own childhood were spent in front of her sister, absorbing, and retelling the 100 tales. Momotaro was the only one she still remembered. In a huff, she rose to her feet without getting off her rock before barking at Senku,

"What are you talking about! That story is so damned awesome! It has the most fights out of every story I know, and it teaches kids important lessons of life, like 'Lightning will blow you up', 'Strong people will blow you up' and 'wild animals are extremely dangerous.'

Just because your version was earlier, you think it's better?... You said it yourself, this stone world isn't comfortable, so why should our stories lie to us, telling us life is easy! Besides, if you've got problems with it, why don't you tell us your version so we can compare!"

From his sitting position, Senku looked skywards and faced the furious girl. Yet again it felt like she had grown 1,000 feet tall. He fired off a nervous smile, trying to gauge the temperature of Kohaku's wrath. Unlike the times the boys disregarded her beauty, Kohaku wasn't offended on a superficial level. Even Senku could recognize his blunder. He measured his options in his head, before taking a deep breath, and replying

"Sorry. I do not have my version memorized… and I don't want to criticize your storytelling. It was splendid that you told it with such detail, even though I don't like the content."

In an instant Kohaku returned to her much more pleasant 'typical self'. A few moments more and she returned to gathering the river's iron, satisfied by her victory through conversation. Senku made to join her, but a child's voice rang out before he had placed a foot in the water.

"I want to hear a story Senku! Tell us a story they only could have told 4000 years ago. You must have at least one. Even an outline I'd love to hear!"

Senku ignored the sweet little Suika, and made to continue his work, plopping into the stream, and grabbing a magnet. He only stopped gathering when he realized he was alone in his endeavor. Kohaku, Suika and even Chrome were waiting on the shore, magnets discarded, looking at him expectantly.

"Y-You can't be serious. Chrome, I've told you everything about the old world, can't you just tell it again for me?"

Chrome nodded his head left and right, before saying "You told me about all the creations humans had made, but never any stories. I want to hear one too! What fantasies did people come up with if they lived in such a fantastical time!"

Senku stared blankly at his acquaintances, trying to disguise his irritation. Gathering iron was critically important for all the scientific progress he had planned, yet it was being delayed over the discussion of entertainment. Sheepishly he asked "Would you three kindly return to gathering sand as I tell my story?"

Three blank stares answered his question for him, and with a mighty sigh, he returned to the wet rock he was sitting on before. He looked upwards to the sky for a moment, trying to recollect the stories he knew from 3000 years ago. After a minute he sat back upwards and said, "I have none."

The group's collective cursing was cacophonous enough to scare the birds away for miles around. Desperate gestures were all Senku could muster to try and calm his partners down, until he finally shouted "ALRIGHT! If it'll get you guys working, I'll tell you a story. This is the story about why I don't know any stories."

"Great, a story of excuses this is exactly what I had hoped to hear from an ancient sorcerer." Kohaku snarked, before walking out of the river to dry off. Senku quickly began to speak as the only muscle in the party made it clear she was preparing to leave. With a nervous warble, Senku began.

"People wouldn't share stories in person during my time, at least not any fun ones. I wasn't much for speaking, because most conversations were limited to discussing plans, or gossip. Storytellers in the traditional form had long ceased to exist. I imagine that if there were any as talented as Kohaku, I may have a higher opinion of small talk."

Kohaku turned back to look at Senku, surprised by his positive comment, but he never returned her gaze. He was busy staring at the clouds, recollecting what he considered simpler days. He had paused again, mulling over his next words carefully. The lull in talk was accompanied by repetitive splashing, as Suika lifted her feet in and out of the water. Senku looked down at her for a second before smiling,

"You didn't think that was it, did you? Storytellers may have been gone, but stories themselves had done nothing but evolve! Simply talking to groups of people at a time wasn't enough for my hurried world. We had books… or small collections of… fabric that we inscribed our thoughts on. Anyone could pick up a book, and read the story within, even if it were written hundreds of years earlier."

Chrome's eyes lit up at this, he had heard Senku discussing books before. Vast repositories of knowledge that he had absorbed. He had sat and read over hundreds, each filled with the scientific knowledge of a genius before him.

"You said you read countless books Senku! Why don't you tell us the stories within them!"

Senku choked for a second before replying "You want me to retell scientific textbooks to you? I'd personally love to, but all three of you would be asleep within minutes. The books I read weren't story books… they had… important thoughts in them."

"And stories aren't important?" growled Kohaku.

Senku shot her a nervous smile before continuing "Well they aren't written down in textbooks! Everything I read was… non-fiction, and therefore not a satisfying story. If you'd like I could tell you about all 118 natural elements, the smallest building blocks of all the materials that make up ever-"

"You made your point, they were boring, boring, stories that only you wanted to read! Now get back to telling us something interesting!"

"… Well then, if you're still interested, most of the stories we told in our time were… not told with words. We had these timewasters called 'movies' which probably would have terrified you! Each one was its own tale, and we would watch them via pictures that moved on their own."

Suika asked "Pictures?", but before Senku could answer, Chrome immediately spat out "Pictures were perfect drawings that were produced by the machine known as 'kameras'! You could point one at anything, hit a button, and the 'kameras' would draw it in an instant. Anything the eye could see would be captured, then you could take that 'picture' and keep it forever! An instant memory!"

"Ah yes Chrome, you sound exactly like a Kodak commercial," replied Senku, slightly miffed that his story was being sidetracked yet again. Before his friends had a chance to interrupt, he continued.

"Movies were pictures that became new pictures. They would change from one picture to the next so quickly, it looked like you were staring through a window into another world. Later ones also had sound to accompany them, furthering the illusion that you were watching something real. Each film had its own little tale to tell, and they could be about anything. We had some about adventuring through space, and even more set in our own world. We even had some that were set in the ancient past… and they looked remarkably like what the world is now! There were so many that you would be dead by the time you watched 'every movie' in a row."

Kohaku had returned to her perch and was listening with great interest, dipping her feet into the water along with Suika. Finally, she asked "When will we be able to see one of these? What sciences do we need to advance before we could… watch one?"

The scientist choked for a moment, replying "We haven't even finished anti-biotics and you already want to watch a movie!? If I knew my stories would be so distracting, I would never have started telling them!"

Kohaku growled again, grabbing the heavy magnet next to her, before meaningfully smacking it against the side of her rock. Her point made, Senku let out another exasperated sigh before continuing.

"Besides, making a movie was a science unto itself. Each one had to be put together by a mastermind, someone who could express tone using images alone. For example, even you three would understand the beginning of Star Wars. A small vessel is traveling through the empty void of space, floating along like a ship on the calmest river one could imagine. All its edges are rounded, making it rather elegant looking. At least, for a machine. It is firing weapons at something following it. Something we, the audience, cannot see. Suddenly a much larger vessel passes in front of our window. It is made of a dismal, grey, metal and shaped like a massive wedge. It is looks as utilitarian as it does heartless. This is an evil craft.

More and more of the destroyer vessel fills our vision, and it becomes clear that the first ship cannot hope to win against the second. The oppressive, monochromatic, craft keeps filling the screen until it's all we can see. Suddenly, the second one begins firing weapons at the first… and the cute ship begins to slow down from the damage."

Senku looked at his audience blankly, before he realized they were spellbound by his brief description. His lips curl into a prideful smile. Even Kohaku's adorably large eyes were locked onto his with anticipation. Chrome was simply staring, mouth hanging open like a child. The child, Suika, was rocking back in forth, shaking with nervous energy. After realizing all eyes were on him, Senku grabbed a magnet and got back to work, much to the chagrin of his friends.

As Kohaku drew closer to him, slapping the magnet meaningfully in her palm, Senku said "Hey! Don't get so hasty now. If you brain me, how will I be able to finish the story tonight?"

Kohaku shot him a frown, looking down at the magnet in her hand before plunging it into the water, defeated by his offer.

With a vicious smile Senku added "I guess you're right Kohaku; stories are ten billion percent useful! Now that I've started one you need to keep me around until it's over right?"

The girl shrugged before saying "It better have a good ending, or I'll still hit you after its done." With her point made, she returned to gathering the iron, and quickly enough the other two did as well.

After running his magnet through the riverbed one more time, Senku began to chuckle.

"I guess I know a few more stories than I thought, it's unfortunate that few of them are told with words. I once read in a comic book: That long, long ago, people sat under the starry night sky and gathered round a fire, as they listened to an old man tell frightening tales. They listened intently and let their imaginations take them into the world he described.

When the monster was about to catch the hero, he would always say:

'Okay. That's enough for tonight.'

'We want to hear more. I'll give you this fruit if you tell us more!'

'I'll tell you tomorrow! Now, go to bed!' "

Kohaku grunted in resignation as she splashed around the river before her eyes perked up yet again. A soft smirk curled across her face while she thought about the implications of his tale. Without looking back, she shouted

"That's a good story Senku! Even better than the one you were telling before. You should keep in mind that you'll starve if you stop storytelling now!"