3000 Stars

Friendly Bruises

Taehyung might have felt guilty if he wasn't too busy laughing. His hack buzzed along his skin, still up and running, as a series of warning videos and scolding holographic robots paraded in front of him and a small compartment with a first-aid kit opened between them. Zen laughed as well. They laughed while Taehyung mopped up his bloody cheek and Zen stuck a bright pink seal over it. They laughed while Zen wiped the blood from his nose off of his face and bemoaned the state of his robe. They laughed when the last robot had finished scolding them and the door opened. The best laugh came when Zen turned on his hack to hide his bruises and it glitched over his face, putting his nose where his mouth was supposed to be.

Taehyung hadn't felt so light in years.

"Nice fight, V," Zen said, holding out one hand for a fist bump.

"Same to you," Taehyung said, punching it. Zen winced, shaking his hand out.

"So how's your life been?"

"Boring," Taehyung said. "Friends telling me I need to get back in the game. Upstarts who think they're better than me."

"Tough," Zen said.

"Tell me about it," Taehyung said, sighing and stretching. "Want to get something to eat? I'm starving."

Zen laughed. "You're always starving."
"Don't start that with me. It's been years!"

Zen shook his head. "Same old V. Come on, I'll treat you to burgers. A great joint opened right outside the area a month or two ago."

"Awesome," Taehyung said. "Then another round?"

"If they'll let us in," Zen said. "If you get so heated you don't stop fighting in the duel arena you get banned for a good two hours."

"Aww, so we can't fight?"

Zen shot him a smirk. "I think that old fight club is still open down the street. We don't have to follow the arena rules there."

"Sounds like my kind of party," Taehyung said.

Zen wrapped an arm around his shoulders, steering him out of the hallway, through the lobby and into the street. "There's new kids there, too. You'll like them."

"Oh? What're their names?"

"Just two of them. Namjoon and Yoongi. They've got talent."

"Yoongi, huh..." Taehyung laughed.

"What? You know him?"

"He's got a bet with my friend," Taehyung said. "Look, can you introduce me as X and not V? I'm not supposed to meet him until he wins the bet."

"Oh?" Zen asked. Taehyung saw a familiar sparkle in his eyes. "It's Tae, isn't it? I saw his score the other day. He doing okay?"

"He logged off," Taehyung said. "Dropped his friend by accident. Freaked out."

Zen's groan was one of empathy. "Tell him not to stress about it so much. Illusion is hard to master, but it's worth it."

Taehyung met Zen's eyes, the smile falling off his face. "I will," he said, but his tone was much more serious.

Zen knew who he was. He had always respected the personality split, especially when he met Taehyung's overprotective parents, but his habit of telling Taehyung important things by referring to him as a third person was unnerving. It was only Zen's arm around his shoulder that kept him moving forward as he struggled not to break down. Zen was still his friend. It was a miracle.

"I hope Yoongi challenges you," Zen said. "It'll make things interesting."

They stopped outside the burger joint, another booming spot with a sickly pink and blue paint job. Zen patted his shoulder and withdrew his arm, pulling out his phone. "I'll hack-message our friends," he said. "But Dreyk ran off about a year back. I won't be able to warn him."

Taehyung nodded, laughing to himself. "So be it," he said. "I'd love to get a couple of hits in on Dreyk."

Zen nodded. "Just be careful, yeah? I know you don't want to hurt people anymore."

Taehyung shot him a sharp look. Stupid Zen and his perceptive abilities. They entered the burger joint, and Zen ordered for him without checking, earning himself a look of respect. He remembered Taehyung's favorite burger? That was impressive.

Zen caught him staring and laughed, shaking his head. "People got all shaken up when you left," he said. "They'll be glad to hear you're back in the game."

"Yeah," Taehyung said, guilt coiling in his stomach. "That's good."

They waited for their burgers and found a seat in the corner, where they got distracted kicking each other in the shins and let their food get cold while they laughed at each other. Taehyung told Zen about Hoseok and Yoongi. Zen told him about their old friends and the new 10-Ks in the tournaments. Together they commiserated over the oncoming end of their summer break. Taehyung felt himself relaxing, the laughter and spilled ketchup doing more for him than the weeks of useless therapy his parents had signed him up for after he quit.

As his thoughts began to turn in that direction, he stopped them firmly, whipping them back to the present. He was V. He was V, he was a fighter, and he would not let therapy conditioning tell him anything else.

He knew better than that now. 

The slipping begins...

Getting ahead means I'm in a strange position. I wanna spoil, but I know better. I'm learning a lot about this game, Taehyung, V, and the past. I hope you'll have as much fun reading it as I am writing it!