Take Me to the Sky | BTS+

There Will Be Blood

Hoseok stared into the bloodied, splintered gate that separated him from the fighting pit. He could see the bright sand outside as he peered between the bars. He could see the pool of inky red from the battles of the day that had ended less than gallantly.

He could smell the smell of rust and sweat and shit from the not too distantly dead bodies that had been dragged by their heels from the sandy stadium.

The opening games were always the most insufferable to watch. Just a bunch of prisoners and criminals from various fortresses all given the same offer: "Win this match in the fighting pit, and you can dock time off of your sentence." Brutal, bloody, clumsy deaths often were the result. The kind that can't help but make your stomach turn, no matter how seasoned you were at killing people.

At least, that was how Hoseok felt about it.

He adjusted the strap of the bracer laced against his left arm. It was a smidge too tight. He tried to focus on his gear, on the task at hand, even though Yoongi's words were still echoing in his head in that crackling tone of the in-ear comm system: "It was Tae."

This changes everything.

Chimin appeared just over Hoseok's shoulder. He reached out a hand and adjusted the back strap of Hoseok's breastplate so that it was the right degree of secure. As he did so, Chimin said, "Yoongi still hasn't been able to break the last wall of security in the anti-magic coding for this stadium, but once he does all hell is gonna break loose. Are you prepared for what comes after that?"

"You've already asked me this, Chimin, and the answer hasn't changed."

Chim stepped back and crossed his arms. He was wearing a loose fitting white shirt and green joggers, his blonde hair falling shaggily around his sharp eyes as he sized Hoseok up in his combat gear. Hobi's light reddish armor was a combination of leather and linens, with soft padding that bulged over his shoulders and major joints, but didn't restrict his movements.

Hoseok spoke up again, his grip on the hilt of his longsword tightening, "Joon, Tae, it doesn't matter. This is the right thing to do. I'm prepared for what comes next."

Chim gave a single, careful nod. "Alright then."

A horn sounded. The gate just behind Hoseok opened and light spread into and over him and Chimin inside of those shadowy barracks. An unseen announcer's voice bellowed out his name and Hoseok stepped out into the blaze of sunlight and the overbearing gaze of all who had come to throw their political jabs at each other, and then to be entertained.

Hoseok saw Kim Taehyung's slender, black leather-clad frame walking out of the open gate opposite to him.

Fire raged in Hoseok's belly, the fire of vengeance. He was ready for this. He'd been ready for this for a long time.

He and Taehyung turned towards the announcer's podium and bowed as a gesture of goodwill to the crowd. There was a roar of shouting and applause in response.

Then Hosoek and Taehyung squared up in the direction of each other.

Tae reached behind his back and unsheathed two short swords with a single jagged hook at the tip of each blade.

Hoseok shook his head in disapproval. Brutal.

Then Jung Hoseok unhooked the waste strap for the sheath of his Geji longsword. He pulled the slim blade from its case, then tossed the green sheath aside into the sand. He braced two hands onto the hilt of the blade and let it rest low towards the sand as he waited.

Kim Taehyung loved games. He was good at them. It'd been some time since he'd gotten to stop worrying about the mess inside of him concerning what was right, what was wrong, who was going to scold him after the fact, or what the terrible consequences of his actions would end up becoming.