"I'll leave the village for now," Gen informed all of you, his lips still curled into a small smirk from Ginro's victory at the Grand Bout earlier on. "You wouldn't want to have to deal with an outsider who isn't even a contestant, right, Kinro-chan the guard?"

Said blonde stiffened up at the mentalist's remark, understanding the double meaning behind those words while the grin on Gen's lips widened in amusement before turning his attention to both you and Senku, "We can talk about your end of our deal after you've captured the village, Senku-chan and (Name)-chan."

"Sure," The green-haired scientist answered without a beat, not bothering to turn around to look at the other teen.

Meanwhile, you lifted your hand in a wave and said with a small smile, "We'll see you later, Gen!"

The bi-coloured teen nodded his head in acknowledgement, light blue softening slightly before he turned on his heels and headed out of the village towards the science shed.

"Chrome..." Ruri said breathlessly, relieved that said brunette's injuries weren't that severe while her heart was brimming with joy at his claimed victory over the strongest man in the village.

"Ruri-ch—" The blonde snapped out of her thoughts and looked at Ginro, who had called her name, standing outside near the hut with his back facing her. "Priestess, you're going to have to marry the winner, huh?"

"Don't worry," Ginro whispered as he turned his head towards her and grinned," Now it's just up to me or Senku to give up the victory. The winner is going to be Chrome. I can tell, you know. You really wanted Chrome to win, didn't you?"

Ruri couldn't reply, her face sporting a troubled look as she gazed down at said person who was currently being teased by Senku.

Meanwhile, said scientist was stepping on Chrome while praising him for his quick thinking during his fight with Magma. "Good job figuring out the difference between convex and concave, Chrome."

"Ow, ow, ow!" The brown-haired teen cried out, but you knew Senku's action didn't hurt if the large grin on his face was anything to go by.

You, on the other hand, was attempting to fight the grin that was threatening to break out on your lips as you tried to pull your green-haired friend away from Chrome. "Senku, that's enough! I think Chrome has gotten enough beating for today!"

Seeing this, Ruri made up her mind as she finally answered Ginro's question from before; a small, peaceful smile painting her lips, "No, as the priestess, I have no such thoughts. I'm only a servant of the gods. I will marry the winner of the Grand Bout."

There was a moment of confusion as Ginro tilted his head to the side while processing the blonde's words. "Really? Huh, I always thought...Wait a second...Does that means you don't really care who wins?!"

It was Ruri's turn to be puzzled as she replied hesitantly, "Huh? Well...That's right."

Meanwhile, Jasper, who overheard the conversation between the two, stared at Ginro with a deadpan expression and thought to himself, 'Try to read between the lines a little, Ginro. What else is Ruri-sama supposed to say?'

As the priestess' words slowly sank in, an idea began to form in the blonde's head as Jasper announced the fighters for the next round. "Match two of the semi-finals will begin shortly. Contestants, get ready."

Hearing that, Senku finally stopped teasing Chrome and got ready for his fight against Ginro. However, just as he was about to enter the arena, he was stopped by tiny fingers latching onto his hand and tugging.

Glancing down at where your fingers were wrapped around his hand, the scientist raised a questioning brow before shifting his gaze to meet yours, "What are you doing? The next round's about to start."

However, you were avoiding his gaze, (e/c) eyes glued to your feet as you didn't reply immediately, unable to speak past the lump stuck in your throat at what you were about to do. The silence stretched on for a few seconds until Chrome piped up in the background, yelling for Senku to hurry up as the next round was about to start.

"The next round's about to start, so you'll have to wait until I'm finished to speak what's on your mind," The green haired-teen commented, pulling his hand out of your hold.

Realizing you were about to lose your chance, you decided to throw cautions to the wind and thought to yourself: "Screw it!" as you tightened your fingers around the teen's hand, stood on tippy toes and leaned forward to place a chaste kiss on his cheek while your heart pounding like the persistent waves against the crumbling cliffs.

Red eyes widened in shock as your lips alight on his cheek like the small glow of candlelight, its warmness spreading like a tiny hundred sparks. As fast as it appeared, the warmth faded as you pulled back, the kiss lasting no longer than the flutter of a butterfly's wings.

Time stood still and the world faded as both of you stared into each other's eyes, drowning deep in the ocean of galaxies held within there. All you could hear was the rushing blood of anticipation as something unknown flickered in his eyes, disappearing before you could catch them.

Meanwhile, Senku was torn between denial and acceptance of how he felt towards you. Emotions, that he had always scoffed at, dug their roots deeper into his heart; awaiting to bloom into something more if he chose to embrace them.

However, before he could dwell on this, the two of you were interrupted by Jasper who was making the final call for participants to get ready for the next round.

Startled, both of you jumped apart and unable to meet each other's gazes, cheeks heating up in both embarrassment and nervousness.

"I-I'll go now," Senku stammered, letting out a nervous chuckle as he ran his fingers through his hair while attempting to calm his racing heart that he just realized.

Looking anywhere but at the scientist, you nodded your head and said, "S-Sure, sorry for holding you back."

"Right," The green-haired teen replied, unsure of what else to say.

Thus, both you and Senku stood there in awkward, gaze looking anywhere but each other and you couldn't help but blame yourself for pulling such an act that resulted in the current situation.

Realizing that neither of you was going to say anything else, the scientist let out a small sigh and headed for the fighting arena where Ginro was already waiting.

Before he could take another step, you called his name and upon looking over his shoulders, he was met with pink cheeks and blazing (e/c) eyes as you said, "That k-kiss," you stumbled over that word but pushed on, "was meant to be a good luck charm. I know you don't need it since the favour of winning is already in our hands, but I still want to wish you all the best!"

Without waiting for the other's reply, you turned on your heels and fled, too embarrassed to stay behind to see the scientist's reaction to your confession.

Senku, on the other hand, blinked once, twice before letting out an amused chuckle; his lips curling into his trademark smirk as he whispered under his breath, "Thank you, (Name)."

Meanwhile, you were hiding behind Kohaku who stared at you in confusion as you raised both hands to cup your warm cheeks, smiling like a fool. Well, a happy fool in love.

"You're welcome, Senku."

Time skipped

"Match two of the semi-finals will now begin. Senku versus Ginro. Both contestants, forward."

A loud banging rang throughout the arena as the drummer sounded the start of the next round and without giving his opponent a chance to strike first, Ginro let out a yell at the top of his lung as he swung his weapon at Senku who managed to dodge at the last minute.

"What's the hell's gotten into you, Ginro?!" The scientist exclaimed in shock and confusion as he barely escaped the next hit aimed at him.

"I mean..." The blonde let out a maniac laugh as he chased after Senku who was trying to evade every one of his attacks. "Ruri-chan said she'll marry anyone! So maybe I have a shot at being village chef, too! Maybe it's finally my time to shine!"

"He's going insane!" You let out a concerned cry as the green-haired teen escaped another attack by the skin of his teeth.

"G-Ginro, you..." Kinro grasped the sides of his face, eyes wide with disbelieved shock at the sight of his younger brother going ballistic.

Next to me, Kohaku was trembling in horror as she wrapped both arms around herself, muttering, "He's way too scummy."

Back in the fighting arena, said blonde was going on about what he would do if he was the village head as he kept running after Senku. "If I become the chief, I'll get to have ramen every day! And a harem! I'm going to turn it into a super awesome village!"

Meanwhile, the villagers watched the ongoing fight with dreaded expressions at the idea of the teen being their village chief and thought to themselves, 'Ginro...Anyone but you. We can't let him become the village chief.'

"We have to take down that scum now!" Kohaku commented in a worried tone as she watched the two played a game of cat-and-mouse. "But Senku doesn't stand a chance!"

You nodded your head in agreement, the furrow between your brows deepening as your concern for your friend grew with each second.

Chrome was the one who decided to take matters into his own hands as he tried to lift his weakened body, making a few attempts before managing to raise one arm where he grabbed Suika's broken mask, his lips curling into a weak smile, "Senku...Our weapon is science, is it not?"

He curled his arm backwards with his remaining strength and hurled the mask towards the scientist where it rolled a few times before coming to a stop in between his legs.

At that moment, Senku got the memo and smirked; that little rise in the corner of his mouth matching the confidence blazing within those red eyes.

Bending down, he placed his weapon on the watermelon mask and let out a small sigh, "I guess I don't have a choice."

Ginro, on the other hand, widened his eyes as he caught on to what the green-haired teen was trying to do, "You're about to use some crazy sorcery, aren't you? No, you don't!"

The blonde yelled as he charged at Senku with a fanatic grin, eager to end this match once and for all. Senku waited until the time was right before stepping on the end of the weapon that was facing him, sending the other end upwards where it hit Ginro right in the crotch.

You winced as foam formed in the blonde's mouth, his eyes bulging as he grasped his crotch area with both hands, a small gasp of pain escaping his lips before falling flat on his face.

You wanted to feel sorry for the kid but after seeing his fight with Senku and his villainous speech of taking over the village as the chief, you didn't feel an ounce of remorse for what happened to him because honestly speaking, he deserved it.

There was a moment of silence before Jasper raised a hand and declared Senku as the victor for this round. "Winner: Senku!"

The air was filled with excited cheers as everyone celebrated the scientist's victory, relieved that the village would live to see another day. "Ginro's down! Senku's going to the finals!"

Meanwhile, the Kingdom of Science was having a field day despite both competitors being their allies.

"The whole village has come together!" Suika clasped her hands in joy, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes.

"Yeah," Chrome agreed, a small smile painting his lips as he watched his fellow villagers cheering for the man that they were wary of at first, but now, on the way to accepting him as one of their own. "Now we can turn the village into a Kingdom of Science...And we can save...Ruri..."

His sentence trailed off as he was hit with a wave of dizziness and before he knew it, his vision blacked out.

You were the first to notice and ran over to the brunette, (e/c) eyes wide with worry as you got onto your knees and gently shook his shoulders, "Chrome, are you alright? Chrome, can you hear me? Chrome?"

However, you didn't get any response from your friend and as your concern grew, you called out to Senku in an urgent tone, "Senku, come quick! Chrome's unconscious!"

Glancing over, Senku's eyes widened at the sight of said person lying motionless on the ground and hurried over.

He wasn't ready to believe that the brown-haired teen would give in just like that. Forcing a grin, he used his weapon to poke the teen in hope of stirring response as he said, "All right, it's the final now. Now I just need to lose on purpose, and Chrome, you'll marry Ruri and become the village chief."

"Senku, no matter how hard you poke him, he isn't going to react," You let out an exasperated sigh as you tried to pull your friend away from Chrome. "Come on, stop harassing the poor boy."

However, said scientist ignored you as he kept poking and even let out a chuckle, although one could hear a hint of desperation in it. "Happily ever afters all round! Get up and..."

Despite his efforts, there was still no reaction from the brunette, not even a single twitch of the muscle. At this moment, he was filled with a sense of horror, thinking of the worst but was quickly assured by Suika and Kohaku.

"Um, he's conked out," The watermelon girl as she bent down to pat Chrome's head.

Hearing that, Senku let out a small sigh of relief while you slid your hand into his and gave a reassuring squeeze, earning a thankful look in return.

Crossing her arms, Kohaku smiled wryly and added, "He must be mighty relieved to know that Ruri-nee's going to be all right."

Although, as her words sank in, she began to panic as the realization dawned upon her. "Eh?"

In the background, the villagers were murmuring amongst themselves as they, too, came to an understanding. "Does that mean...What happens now?"

Meanwhile, at the centre of it all, you were starting to panic as the reality of the situation started to sink in. 'No...it can't be...does this mean that Senku is gonna...'

You shook your head, refusing to finish that thought as you tried to calm down and reassured yourself that this wouldn't be the outcome.

However, your worst fears were confirmed as Jasper made the dreaded announcement that no one wanted to hear, "The new village chief, the husband of the priestess...is the winner of the Grand Bout, Senku!"

After that, chaos broke out everywhere as everyone let out cries of disbelief and all you could do was stand there in shock, your mind spiralling into despair while you could hear was the sound of your heart shattering into a million, tiny fragments.

And the man in question could blink a few times as he tried to process the fact that he had not only acquired the position of the village chief but a married partner as well.

***

While everyone was still freaking out over the news, Senku had already more or less calmed down as he let out a tired sigh and said, "Well, this is a pain in the ass. So I just have to marry Ruri, and the whole village is mine, right?"

Then, he walked up to Ruri and looked her in the eyes, declaring, "I'll do it, then."

Everyone let out a gasp at the teen's easy acceptance of the new position while Suika cried out, "Senku's married!"

As chaos ensued once more, you remained rooted to the ground as the blonde's words echoed throughout your empty mind, over and over like a taunting voice as you relived this nightmare.

This was it, your goal of confessing your feelings to Senku was a failure even before it could even start, and you didn't know what to do. (E/C) eyes shifted over to said scientist who was arguing with the village chief, and it felt like an out-of-body experience as you watched their fight, your mind stuck on the never-ending loop of "Senku's married" like a broken recorder.

"Hold it, Senku! Where do you even come from?" Kokuyo exclaimed with narrowed eyes, refusing to accept the fact that this foreigner was going to be his son-in-law. "I won't allow an outsider to become the chief!"

"Well, well, if it isn't the former village chief," Senku retaliated with a mocking smirk. "I don't have a millimeter of interest in your lack of approval."

At that moment, you came to some sort of understanding as the green-haired teen ignored every single insult thrown his way by the village while the villagers surrounded them, their confusion murmurs filling the air as they debated who was right or wrong.

(E/C) eyes softened with endearment, a light chuckle escaping your lips that are curled into a small, sad smile when Senku stuck his tongue out at the Kokuyo, agitating the older male who looked ready to murder him.

"I guess it can't be helped," You murmured to yourself, shaking your head as you started to accept the fact that you might never have Senku to yourself. "After all, it's just like him to take everything if it means saving everyone else."

You might not be able to have Senku's love, but it didn't mean you couldn't have him in your life anymore; just not in the way that you wanted. But being his assistant and saving the world with him as he had wanted, that was more than enough for you.

Feeling as though a weight had been lifted off your shoulders, you approached your friend and punched in the arm while grinning, "Congrats Senku, who knew you'll be the first to be married off between you and Taiju."

Senku rubbed the area where you punched him, scowling, "Is there really necessary?"

The smile broadened your face as you stuck a tongue out at the scientist who rolled his eyes at your childishness, but even he could not fight the small quirk of his lips.

Meanwhile, the crowd was growing more and more restless by the inconclusive outcome. Although, they didn't have to wonder any longer as Senku turned to the villagers and demanded, "Whatever. A win is a win. Wine! Bring me wine!"

"That's too blunt!" Kohaku exclaimed while Kaseki commented, "You sound like one of those people!"

You, on the other hand, shook your head at the teen's bad manners and let out an exasperated sigh.

Being said, two villagers went to retrieve three pots of wine and brought it over to where Senku was but before they handed it over, they decided to check the quality of the wine first. "This barrel's no good. It's turned into vinegar."

Hearing that, Senku rushed over immediately. "Don't chuck it! We need that, too!"

Suddenly, the sound of coughing filled the air and all heads turned towards the source where they were greeted with the sight of Ruri hunched over, her hands flying to her mouth as she kept coughing up blood.

"Ruri-nee!" Kohaku cried out with worry as she knelt next to her sister, her hands hovering uselessly by her side as she didn't know what to do.

Smiling weakly, the priestess glanced over her shoulder to reassure the blonde, "I'm fine."

You cast a concerned glance at Ruri before shifting your gaze to the scientist, whispering, "Senku, she's running out of time, isn't she?"

Said person's face tightened as he nodded his head in reply, "She's definitely out of time. We just finished the Bout, and I don't even have time to rest."

Senku ran a hand through his hair, a tired sigh leaving his lips when he felt a hand slipped into his. He glanced down to the joined hands before lifting his gaze to meet yours, a pair of dazzling (e/c) eyes staring at him with