Chapter Text
The brackets came in, and Chrome was going to fight Magma before Kinro. Ginro would fight Magma first, then Chrome, then Kinro, assuming any matches before were won. "Fuckfuckfuck-" Chrome shook his head. The first fight was Senku and Magma. Chrome was in the same bracket as them. And Kinro was on the other side. Chrome sighed, he hadn't had the time to train much, not at all. "Senku, is there any scientific way to make me win?"
"Well, not really, we haven't got time to use any of my favorite cheating methods. I do think, however, that I've got some caffeine, and I know a very cool trick." Senku chuckled. "It's time to reinvent modern medicine!"
"Senku we have like 20 minutes!"
"Yes." Senku nodded calmly. then grabbed a small piece of metal. "Thankfully I made this ahead of time!"
"That is?"
"A hypodermic needle! I have type AB so I'm useless for tests."
"Type?" Chrome asked.
"Of blood. GEN!"
Gen peaked around the corner. "What's going on, Senku-chan? I heard something about blood."
"What's your blood type?"
"Oh, I didn't know you cared about that sort of thing, pegged you as an almost, uh, anti-superstition person." Gen smiled innocently. "B."
Senku stabbed Gen.
"OW! What's that for-ohhh."
Senku drew the blood, and it filled a tiny vial attached to the needle. Senku then heated the bronze needle til the glass could be clamped off, incidentally sterilizing the needle. "You know your RH-factor?"
"No? What's that?"
"Sorry, I meant positive or negative."
"Don't know."
"Dam." Senku sighed. "We'll just go with 'RH:Chrome or RH:Anti-Chrome.'" Senku stabbed Chrome. He stuck the bloods together, and looked at them for a bit. "Yuzuriha! Taiju! You two are being a bunch of bores, get over here and give me your blood!"
"Senku, what are you doing now?" Yuzuriha sighed.
"Reinventing blood typing." He stabbed the two of them. "Yuzuriha's O-type so it doesn't matter what she compares with, but she's a universal donor. Either Chrome's blood will bond with Taiju's, making him AB type, or won't, making him A."
"I still don't understand any of this." Chrome said.
"It's organic chemistry, no one understands it." Senku shrugged. "We just sorta see what happens and weather it was a pattern."
"That was a joke, right?"
"More or less."
"Senku, did someone loose a lot of blood?" Yuzuriha asked.
"SOMEONE'S HURT? TAKE MY BLOOD!" Taiju gasped.
"Taiju, there's a like 75% chance your blood could kill someone. Anyways Chrome's fine, we're just gonna engage in some good old fashioned cheating."
"Am I going to have to eat someone's blood for power? Science really is like a hubris story." Chrome mumbled.
"Nah, I'm gonna inject it into you." Senku looked at his vials. "Chrome is A type, and his Rh-positivity is the same as Taiju. Sadly Yuzuriha isn't a universal donor, because she's's got RH-not-Chrome."
"What happens if you inject me with RH-not-chome?"
"Nothing really. Just the second time we do it you die a horrible death."
"Are you sure this is safe."
"Not at all." Senku started pulling much more blood out of Taiju, and didn't seal the vial.
"Is Taiju gonna survive without his blood?" Chrome asked.
"He'll be fine. He's done this before."
"I have?" Taiju asked.
"Blood donating." Yuzuriha said with a sigh.
"Oh yeah we've all donated blood!"
"Donated implies people need the blood. Why would you need extra blood?" Chrome asked.
"Hyoga needed blood, right? We're both AB, so we matched and I just used my blood instead of wasting the rest of your times."
"Ohhh, so like, that helps people get better."
"Yep." Senku chirped.
"But- I am better."
"You're not best though!" Senku exclaimed. "Blood takes oxygen, which has the power to release the chemical energy in food, and gives it to all your cells. If you have oxygen and food in your cells you can do stuff. Fighting uses a lot of energy, sometimes faster than a normal amount of blood can carry, and having more blood means your energy regenerates faster."
"So I'll attack like crazy fast and not get tired?"
"Yeah, more or less." Senku sterilized the needle for the umpteenth time and injected Chrome. "Eat this. It has caffeine. That's a drug that'll make you excited and less likely to hold back. It'll also make your body a little better at keeping your cells full of the other half of the energy equation: food."
"Shouldn't I just make sure I have enough food in me?"
"Theoretically yes, but eating before exerting yourself is risky, however sugar can be extracted from plants, and a little isn't going to cause indigestion unless someone mixes in other stuff like longer carbs. If I mix the little I have left from when Tsukasa prevented me from making weapons with some salt and water, we can make Gatorade!"
"Help from alligators? Huh?"
Senku laughed. "No, it's just a drink athletes used to like, it keeps you fueled up and hydrated!"
"So I won't get too thirsty or hungry!"
"Yep. Now go!" Senku shoved Chrome. "Hopefully the blood helps and doesn't kill you." He mumbled.
"I thought we matched?"
"I could be wrong. Now win!"
"Got it!" Chrome ran off.
Chrome marched up to the arena. Senku was calmly sitting there with his legs crossed, weaving something. "The hell are you doing here?"
"Ruri confirmed my father was a villager." Senku stretched. "I'm competing!"
"That's fully impossible."
Senku chuckled. "You'd think, but this village is as old as the statues, and coincidentally, my father wasn't dead when that happened, so there was an overlap."
"You're nonsensical. And anyways what can you do? You didn't bring a weapon."
Senku smiled. "No one got around to outlawing sorcery."
"I wish I had more time, and a more tired Magma to fight, but I'd love to see the damage I can do." Senku tapped his foot nervously.
"Senku?" Chrome sighed. "You're delirious."
"Nah, let's-"
"LET'S WHAT LITTLE MAN?" Magma grabbed Senku by his shirt and pulled him to his feet.
Magma went to drag him into the ring. "Hey, gimme a minute."
"Huh?"
"No rule on who gets to start it, and I want a minute to finish this." Senku held out his woven fabric.
"I'll tear it up when we start then. Sorcerers are so strange and womanly." Magma dropped Senku and went to grab his axes, thankfully replaced with blunt clothed ones for the the tournament, to practice.
"Senku, you're insane, what can some fabric do against Magma? Maybe run a bit to tire him out then forfeit?"
"Not a bad plan. However, this isn't a weapon." Senku grabbed a cloth-tipped spear and walked into the ring. "Ready!"
"It's been about a minute, you're not a punk who'll keep me waiting. Good on you. Now time to break some bones!"
"START!" The ref shouted.
Magma lunged at Senku, who ran away, circling around until the wind pushed his hair away from his eyes rather than into them.
Magma followed and cackled. "The weak should learn from rabbits! Being downwind keeps you hidden, and I can face you unbothered, but you must flee to keep your hair from your face!"
"Yeah but it keeps me safe." Senku poured jars onto the ground. A foul-smelling gas emerged and flowed to meet Magma.
"AHHHHG-" Magma face away and rubbed his eyes. "IT HURTS! CHEATER!" Eyes closed and red, he lunged at Senku, who dodged around him. Magma fallowed on sound alone.
"You have five senses, Magma." Senku put wax in his ears. "I can take away three."
"I'LL KILL YOU!"
Senku pulled the stomach of an animal out of his cloak. It was small, but stretched by whatever exceedingly light filling it contained. He dodged another attack, and threw it towards Magma. It floated up every so slightly, and right when it neared his head Senku threw a small glass jar with copper spikes sticking out into it. It exploded brilliantly, and Magma's head snapped the other way and he fell to the ground. Senku took the opportunity to pour more of the gas on him. Blood trickled from Magma's ear as he stood. He opened one eye and screamed.
"YOU DEMON! I'LL KILL YOU ALL!" He kept the eye slightly open despite the pain it must have caused, and, coughing from the gas he inhaled, punched Senku right out of the ring.
"Senku is down! And knocked out!" The ref waved his hands. "Magma wins!"
Senku groaned, and purple bloomed on his face.
"NOW WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?" Chrome slapped Senku repeatedly, on his forth attempt Senku's eyes fluttered.
"Fuck that hurts..."
"EXPLAIN?"
"After I die in peace." Senku closed his eyes.
Chrome slapped him. "EXPLAIN?"
"Owww- okay, I will. Mustard gas is just sodium hydroxide and ammonia. Hydrogen-oxygen mixtures make great flashbangs and can be made with water and electricity. Now. Sleep time." Senku went to sleep.