3000 Stars

Deal!

You have one message from Yoongi!

Yoongi: What?

T: Fight me. At the arena. Now.

Yoongi: Y?

T: You gonna fight or no?

Yoongi: Fine, wtvr. What time?

T: I told you already.

Taehyung shoved his phone in his pocket, yanking a hoodie on and taking a deep breath. It had been awhile since he went down to the arena. Best to get there early, make sure he didn't have to register before having an impromptu duel with a stranger. His heart was pounding. He took another deep breath to steady himself and felt his eyes drag across his bookshelves to a small box turned sideways, hidden beneath a stack of textbooks. Should he bring it? He wasn't sure. It was risky.

But that strange number...

He shook his head. No. Those days were over. He wasn't going to fall back on old habits, and he certainly wasn't going to walk into the arena with that sitting in his pocket. He pulled the hood of his hoodie over his head and left the house, hurrying down the street.

His phone pinged as he did, but he ignored it. Texts could wait until he was on the train.

***

***-***-****: Don't block me

***-***-****: I know where you are V you can't run away

***-***-****: You can't pretend it wasn't good

Taehyung's heart continued hammering in his chest as he stepped off the train, making a beeline for the arena exit. It was crammed with players this early in the morning, and he kept his hoodie on, carefully avoiding eye contact. He hadn't taken the time to confirm the limits of his power. Now, looking around, he wondered if he should have asked for an hour to have his power tested before asking Yoongi to duel.

He didn't see Yoongi anywhere, but that didn't mean anything. With his high level, it was highly likely that Yoongi had been drawn into another duel. Taehyung walked up to the front desk, slipping his phone across the glossy surface to the attendant.

"I have a duel today," he said. "Is it too late to register?"

"Not at all!" The attendant said cheerfully, giving him a quick grin. "First time?"

"Yeah," Taehyung said.

"Alright, I'll just put your code in and you should be set. Duel rooms are down the pink hall to the left, through the blue neon door. Have a good time!"

Taehyung blinked, startled, and took his phone as the attendant handed it back to him, turning to look for the hallway. That was much faster than his first time. A lot less personal, too. What other elements of the game had changed? His palms grew slick with sweat, and he shoved his phone in his pocket to avoid dropping it, following the attendant's directions and walking down the 'pink hall', a long, wide tunnel painted bright pink.

For such a busy day, it was surprisingly empty. Taehyung saw why as he passed one of the display screens mounted along the walls. Two 10-Ks were battling in one of the daily tournaments, sparks of energy and strange shapes exploding everywhere as they moved across the field.

Shoot. That was definitely not how he remembered it.

"Taehyung!"

Taehyung turned, taking a deep breath. Yoongi stumbled to a halt in front of him, face creased in confusion.

"What's this, all of a sudden?"

"I'll show you V," Taehyung said.

He didn't know what he was thinking. It was stupid. But the look on Yoongi's face was what really carried it home to him. He gulped. "I have two conditions. If you meet them, I'll let you meet V in person."

"You're serious!?" Yoongi asked. A wide smile slid across his face. "Deal!"

Taehyung took another deep breath. He was an idiot. He had gone in deep now, and Yoongi was sure to get what he wanted, given his progress. "What's your high score?" he asked.

"It jumped over four thousand this morning," Yoongi said. "Why?"

Taehyung nodded quickly, turning and walking toward the duel doorway. "First condition: you have to beat me in this match."

"Are you sure?" Yoongi asked. "You don't have much experience--"

"Second," Taehyung said, mind racing. "Second..." his voice lowered to a mumble, and he folded his arms, closing his eyes for a moment. What was something that would take Yoongi too long to achieve, something nigh on impossible? "You have to rank top in the 10-K tournaments for a year."

Yoongi's silence told him he had raised the bar high enough. He opened his eyes and snuck a peek at Yoongi. The young man stood, mouth open, staring at him like he'd never seen him before. Had Taehyung activated his power by accident?

"A year?" Yoongi said. "Top? Of the 10-Ks?"

"You think I'd just hand this over to you?" Taehyung said. "V retired. I need a reason to bring him back."

"But people rank for long periods all the time--"

"Never for an entire year," Taehyung said. "You said deal. Are you gonna back out now?" Please back out, he begged silently. This is a terrible idea.

Yoongi frowned, looking down at his shoes and scuffing one on the ground. "What brought this on?" he said. "Just a week ago you were saying you'd never enter the arena."

"I'm sick of watching you fumble around on FaceUpp, pretending getting V back online will be that easy," Taehyung said. "If you can do this, I'll find a way to make him come back, even if it's just to talk to you."

"A whole year?" Yoongi said, his voice dwindling.

"You must not want this that much, then," Taehyung said. "Another big talker, right? Just like the rest of them."

That did it. Yoongi's face hardened. "Fine," he said. "Deal."

Taehyung took a shaky breath.

I'm screwed. 

Fight next chapter!