Cowardly Warrior | Taehyung ✔

Reputation

Suga points at me. "Y-You? No freaking way. How could you be The Warrior? You're the niece of the King!"

"What does that have to do with it?" I cross my arms.

"The Warrior is an outlaw against authority. Meanwhile the King is the authority."

I explain the story of fighting against Chim and his cronies in the village square in defense of the falsely accused boy, years ago. Since people still remembered The Warrior, I decided to continue fighting randomly for oppressed people in the Kingdom.

"This is so crazy..." Jin shakes his head in disbelief.

"No, this is AWESOME. Our friend is one of the most legendary vigilantes, alongside being a noble. Who would've thought?" Suga says.

I grin when Suga calls me his friend.

"So you're not angry anymore?" I hopefully ask.

"I'm still a bit annoyed that you kept this magnificent secret away from us, but hey, since you're a symbol of rebellion against the King, I'll forgive you." Suga winks.

"I'm not against the King!" I exclaim.

Suga snorts. "There's injustices all across the Kingdom caused by the King's rule. You stand up against it. Sounds like defiance to me."

He's right. I guess I am a symbol of rebellion.. against my own family.

Jin crosses his arms. "Anyways, it's cool that you claim you're the Warrior, but how are you gonna actually prove you're them?"

"I can bring you guys alongside with me on my next duel. Someone will eventually recognize me," I suggest.

Suga shrugs. "There's no reason for you to lie about something so grand like this. I don't need evidence. I believe you."

He believes me... what a relief. And a few minutes ago, I thought we'd never speak again.

"But you gotta bring us along on your next vigilante adventure. Promise?" Suga asks.

"Promise," I assured him.

"I'm glad you guys made up but I'm hungry." Jin grabs his stomach. "Let's finally get our fried mangos!"

We finally step outside of the building.

Jin had guards perched outside the entryway to prevent anyone from coming in.

When Jin said he'd make sure no one was allowed in the fitting room besides us, he really meant it.

I enter the crowd and there's people whispering and pointing at me.

"What's going on?" I ask Suga and Jin.

They shrug, confused.

"Congratulations on winning." Some tall guy from a different academy says to me.

"Thanks!" I bow, appreciatively.

"Cheater," He snorts and walks away. His friends laugh beside him.

"Cheater? I'm not a cheater!" I stomp on the ground.

"Well, it sure seems that way." A man from my academy says. He pulls down his mask and I recognize him immediately.

"What do you want, Hobi?" I roll my eyes.

"I'm here to tell you what everyone here is whispering about you." He rolls up his sleeves.

"And what's that?" I asked.

"People are saying you cheated in the tournament. First off, when you pulled your opponent's leg and twisted it around, the judges were counting that as foul play, but Contestant 51 assured them he was fine so you won that round."

Sky did that for me?

"And when Contestant 51 jumped back several feet when you punched him in the third round, it looked awfully staged."

It did look really overdramatic.. I still don't know why Sky pretended to lose.

"So why are you telling me all this? Are you trying to rub it in my face?" I groan.

"No, all I'm saying is be careful. It looks like someone's tryna ruin your reputation." He looks around, wearily.

I gulp as Hobi pulls his mask up.

"Be careful," He warns, before walking away.

Was Sky out to ruin me?

***

"Hey, don't worry, Amir-uh I mean, Aman." Jin places his hand on my shoulder. He was trying to correct himself from saying my female name around in public.

"Yeah. We don't care what people say. We'll always be on your side," Suga assures.

I sigh. "Yeah, but now my reputation is ruined. And I don't get what Contestant 51's intentions were- well, at least I do know who he is."

"Who?" Jin asks, curious.

"Sky. The guy who challenged us to a game of strength the other day," I answered.

Jin seems shocked. "Wow. It's a small world that he was your opponent."

I nod. "It is. But I wonder what his intentions were..."

"Yeah, I don't understand why he would fake lose to make you look bad." Jin places his fist below his chin, thinking.

Suga paces back and forth. "Unless..."

"Unless what?" I ask.

"Unless if he knows you."

I raise my brow. "He does but we just met the other day-"

"What if you guys met before?" Suga suggested.

"Huh?"

"What if he's a ghost from your past with a vendetta against you?"

"I mean, I don't know-"

"Have you accumulated any enemies?" Suga wonders.

I whisper so they'd only hear. "Well as The Warrior, I've beaten a lot of people. Prevented them from taking money and goods, and stopped abusing their power."

"How many people?"

I bite my lip. "Too many to count."

"So that means..." Suga says.

"That literally anybody can be your enemy out to get you." Jin completes the sentence.

I shiver, observing the crowds of muscular, mysterious men around me. It could be anyone for any reason...

When was the next time he'd strike to ruin my reputation? Or worse- expose who I truly was to the world?

AUTHOR'S NOTE: hope u enjoyed! :) drop what u think will happen next :D

also check out my other story 'divine defiance' if you want!! i'd love to hear ur commentary on what u think so far of it!