Rivalry or? [dreamnoblade]

Chapter 1: The Rising Star

     Technoblade threw an iron sword over his shoulder. What a trash weapon, he thought, it had only lasted him a month. He had been defending his title for almost a year, he would go broke if he had to buy swords that frequently. He wrote a note for his manager then changed from his iconic red coat to a more unassuming one. Luckily, coliseum fights were held with a lot of space between competitors and audience, so a simple outfit change was all that was needed to conceal his identity.
     The city streets were bustling with life as they always were right after a fight. Folks figured that as long as they were in town already, they might as well do their shopping. Unfortunately, Techno was in the same camp, having to squeeze through people in order to get oil before it sold out. He kept his head down as he walked briskly through the market, hoping for less crowded streets. As he waited in the long line for grain, he overheard gossip. He didn't pay attention to gossip if he could help it, but this time was special.
     "... might even be better than Technoblade!" A man was whispering.
     "You think? He's still new, doesn't have nearly as much experience."
     "But have you seen him fight?! Rumor has it that he's been training for years."
     "I don't know, it's probably all baloney they made up for money."
     "If you don't believe it, see for yourself, they have a show next to the meat and corn stall."
     Techno paid for his grain and left. The rumor wasn't even worth thinking about. Every other fighter claimed they were better than Technoblade, it was as meaningless as saying you could parry. Techno went about his errands, avoiding people as usual, planning on returning to his home as soon as possible. However, by coincidence or subconscious curiosity, he ended up at the famous meat and corn stall.

     Dream thanked the owners as usual and headed out to the open area where his friends had just finished setting up. A sizable crowd had grown already because of the coliseum fight earlier, so he was glad he'd remembered to have his mask on before they started. George gave the thumbs up and with a dramatic flare Dream turned around and announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Dream and welcome to my show!" A decent smattering of applause followed and Dream continued with his speech, reminding the crowd to donate money if they could, and explaining today's challenge. "Me and my friends made this special cloth that with completely cover my vision, I won't be able to see a thing." Sapnap took his cue to demonstrate, making startling gestures to both George, without the cloth, and Dream, who had put it on. After the crowd had been suitably convinced, Dream continued, "The challenge is a simple duel, no tools, just fists, whoever gets hit once loses."
     George was the first to take up the challenge, as a demonstration. He did pretty well, avoiding half a dozen fists and throwing a half dozen himself before losing. People jumped at the challenge after that. Most did terribly, only exchanging one punch before losing, but the crowd was still entertained. The bowl Sapnap was carrying for people to put money in had to be emptied out multiple times.
     As the day was winding down, and less people took up the challenge, Dream started scouting people. Taking off the blindfold, one person stood out, a bulky man almost as tall as he was with hair he could've sworn was pink who seemed vaguely familiar. "How about you, sir? You seem to be strong, wanna have a go?" He asked, taunting.
The man flashed a nervous look before rejecting and disappearing into the crowd behind him. Fighting types didn't reject offers like that, so this guy was probably just a socially awkward blacksmith with all muscles and no technique. Sounds boring for both him and the crowd, so Dream quickly let it be and challenged the second toughest looking guy he saw.
     When the day was over they packed up, gave the stall owners their cut, and went home to count their earnings. "Three times as much as yesterday, wow!" George commented.
     "We gotta thank Technoblade next time we see him!" Sapnap joked. Dream laughed along, but couldn't stop thinking about the man who had refused the challenge. He seemed way too familiar for some reason. He knew all the blacksmiths in the area, but that didn't seem quite right. He had an awkward refusal, like he wasn't used to saying no to things, maybe he was rich. Dream also noticed a scar on his left palm. He wondered where he got it.

     Techno's walk home was different than normal. Not only the warm sunlight now streaking almost horizontally across the city, nor the unusually thin crowd, making it almost comfortable to walk around. No, it was Dream. If he didn't know better, he'd have said he'd never heard of the man before. But now? Every other person seemed to be talking about him. Dream this, Dream that, stall owners disappointed they missed his show, pedestrians gloating about how they almost won against him, even thieves, wondering if he'd made enough money to steal from. He understood why everyone was obsessed of course, even he was impressed, staying to watch a lot longer than he'd planned, but he couldn't help but feel a nagging suspicion creep over him. This guy's going to be more popular than me. He wasn't angry, but he knew others would be. Logically, it wouldn't be hard. Techno only had coliseum fights every other week at best, and it seemed like this guy was out a few times a week, thinking about it, he was surprised it hadn't happened sooner.
     He fixed a simple dinner when he got home and went to read one of his favorite books. But he couldn't concentrate on it. All he could think about was that boy in a mask. He was tall and slender, but not weak, so he was probably fast. Even when sweaty and exhausted, Dream had still exuded a captivating amount of charisma when he had challenged him. This guy would definitely be someone to look out for.

     As the weeks went by, Dream started to notice the bulky guy more and more. He stood out a little too much, or maybe that was just him, but despite his obvious prowess, he would never step up for a challenge. Something about the way he walked, the scars covering his skin, and the way he looked at jerks who bumped into him made Dream think that this guy, if he ever got the change to fight him, would be a really good opponent.
     "Dream?" Sapnap asked as he came in.
     Dream immediately snapped out of his daydream and looked at the guy who had just come into his makeshift office. "Yeah, what's up?"
     "We've reached the magic number."
     Dream's eyes lit up. As he rustled through his stack of notes and plans, he responded, "Call George, we'll need his help." Sapnap left and Dream's excitement did nothing but rise. Finally they had enough money to fund his plan to expand his fame. He hadn't told anyone, just in case it didn't work out, but it was now or never. He finally found what he was looking for, a paper titled manhunt.