Namjoon limped off the forest court with J-Hope under one of his arms, giving him a hand, a grimace on both their faces.  “And that’s what happens when you bring the big fellows out and don’t know what you’re getting into,” J-Hope grumbled with a tight voice, setting Namjoon on the sidelines to take a break while he turned around to watch the rest of the match, appearing a bit more tense than usual.

            The cheers from spectators spaced out around the walls behind the barrier to guard the retractable stadiums ebbed and flowed with the actions of the teams and it had taken them several long minutes to calm down after Namjoon was thoroughly countered by one of his opponents who had pissed him off.  He was suffering from a nasty claw strike down his front and back from one of the DB5K players.  While he didn’t remember which one, it seemed as if one of them was either descended from the divine mounts of the gods or just had a nasty ability to become a monstrous creature directly connected to them.  And they packed a helluva punch too.

            Fortunately, they’d resumed their normal guises and, like the rest of his own teammates, were competing head on in the field.  “Come on guys!” J-Hope cheered, hands clasped in front of him while he bit his lip nervously.

            Their team was trailing 3 to 4 in a five point match and it looked like they might be able to recover some ground.  Jungkook paired off with Jimin to counter Yunho while Jaejoong cut down a nearby tree, manifesting a shield with a surprisingly sharp edge to do so.  Yoochun caught it, made a gesture that seemed to draw all the water from its interior, and then speared it towards the oncoming attackers while Junsu carried the ball behind them, some sort of flames limning the exterior.

            “Water spear!” Suga warned, sprinting to stand behind Jin, both hands on the taller boy’s shoulders.

            “Got it!” Jimin announced, leaving Jungkook to divert Yunho so they could both get out of the path.

            “Watch the fire ball!” V cried in warning, flapping a huge gust of wind towards Changmin who was dancing in the air with him, strange wings on his feet propelling him around swiftly.

            “Go!” Jaejoong cried while he urged Junsu on, bringing up the rear.

            Jimin reached out to catch the oncoming tree, arms collapsing to absorb the shock against his chest while his feet slid back, digging furrows in the ground.  The tree broke upon him, shattering under his hands as momentum drove it forward, but the water encasing it whooshed past, dousing the young man and reaching back towards Jin and Suga.

            “Watch out!” Jin yelled and Namjoon blinked when he pulled a shell from the ground so they were standing in the bottom half where the top half was his shield.  Suga flinched noticeably when the water broke against the smooth surface, sending the liquid spraying off in all different directions.

            “Incoming!” V warned as he trailed Changmin now.

            “Go!” Suga called, pushing Jin forward so that the shell disappeared beneath his feet again, giving the other male a chance to use his crystalline whips to catch Yunho’s ankle and Changmin’s wrist, yanking hard.  They were distracted enough for Jungkook to stand before Junsu, golden body gleaming.

            Junsu smiled and tossed the flaming ball at him, jumping away while Jungkook grimaced at the heat.  V swooped low to extinguish the flames with another wind burst and cringed when Jungkook was immediately toppled by Jaejoong, a dull clang indicating there would likely be some indentation, who grabbed the ball, tossed it back, and continued pelting forward with his shield in place again.  At his heels, Yoochun caught the ball and hunkered behind his guard, though he wasn’t counting on Jimin taking monstrous form to catch him, flinging the unsuspecting male high into the air.

            “Changmin!”

            “V!”

            The two flyers raced for the target, but neither got to Yoochun before he tossed the ball off towards the mark zone.  Suga looped strands to catch it, twining around the heavy ball, but a handful of water from Junsu who collected the pooling liquid on the ground touched the cords.  In an instant, Suga let go, flinching as if he’d been burned, and the ball continued on to where Yunho was waiting to catch it.  Cheers erupted as he scored the final point, winning the game.

            “Aw man,” J-Hope sighed, brows furrowed at the result.

            “Why’d he let go?” Namjoon asked, rubbing his chest with a hand distractedly.

            “We’re getting better though!” he grinned at Namjoon, completely ignoring the question.  “That’s the closest we’ve gotten in months with these guys.”  He bent down to help Namjoon up again.  “Come on.  Let’s go congratulate them.”

            Without a word, Namjoon shuffled at J-Hope’s side and went to participate in the ending ceremony.  Jungkook was dented again and Jimin came out completely drenched, while the other side was weary but mostly unharmed overall.  They were all winded though and smiles abounded with hand shakes and congratulatory murmurs.  Even Namjoon was included and he finally got a better look at his attacker: of course it would be Yunho.

            “No hard feelings,” the taller male smiled with his hand outstretched.

            “Of course not,” Namjoon murmured dryly, shaking the hand only because it was expected.  He passed through them as quickly as possible and then tried to find Suga, more curious than ever about his strange behavior on the field.  When he did see him, he frowned to see V flapping slow bursts of air that made his hair wave wildly each time, clothes rustling in the artificial breeze.  “What-” he was about to ask before Jin swooped in.

            “They don’t call themselves the Gods of the East for nothing,” he explained, guiding Namjoon away from the court with a frown at his wounds.

            “When did you get a shell?” Namjoon asked while distracted.

            “I’ve always had it.  I just don’t need to use it often, though you could use some help it seems,” he reminded with a nod towards his torso.

            Namjoon waved the concern off.  “It’s nothing.”

            “At least you earned your self-proclaimed title today,” he forced a laugh, gesturing towards a string of demolished trees and such.

            “A lot of good it did me,” he exhaled in irritation, glaring after the DB5K team as they accepted the adoration of the spectators who were also threading out.

            “Eh, but you’re getting better,” Jimin spoke up when he snuck closer without either realizing it.  “We might have done alright if Su- if you didn’t have to switch out,” he amended and Namjoon looked at both of them just in time to see Jin frowning at the younger boy.

            “Seems I recall you telling us neither water nor fire has much effect on you,” Jin shrugged with a slow nod.  Which, to Namjoon’s mind, meant it had an effect on someone else in their team instead.

            “Is Suga afraid of water?” Namjoon asked with narrowed eyes.

            “Hah!” Jin barked a laugh, the sound a bit forced.  “You’ve got a lot to learn newbie.”

            Another glance over his shoulder found Suga in the midst of Jungkook, V, and Sunny, with J-Hope hovering behind all of them.  V’s wings were still going at a gentle pace and Suga was helping Sunny straighten Jungkook out once more.  They’d at least explained that when the metal was heated up, it was easier for Suga to get under and mold into the proper form again, though Namjoon wasn’t particularly sure of the specifics.

            Ground floor of the training center had several locker rooms for competitors to avoid the competition day crowds so Jimin and Jin guided Namjoon there to wait for things to calm down.  It didn’t take too much longer for Suga to come down after, surrounded by V, J-Hope, and Jungkook.  Only when they reached the enclosed space did they finally break off a bit and leave Suga some space.

            “Good match today,” he grinned at all of them, piecing his usual persona back together again with ease.

            “We might have done better if hothead over there had been able to keep his temper in check,” V reminded them with a frown.

            “What was I supposed to do?” Namjoon fired back with a frown.  “Let him walk all over me?”

            “You’re supposed to be a team player!” V snapped, calming down as soon as J-Hope grabbed his wrist gently, a subtle reminder to be calm himself.

            “There wasn’t anyone around me anyway,” he scowled, looking away with his arms crossed over his chest.

            “I was,” Jungkook raised his hand, looking perplexed.

            “I didn’t see you,” Namjoon tried to defend himself.

            “He’s a golden beacon.  How could you-”

            “Enough,” Suga interrupted V quickly.  “You’ve only been with us a couple weeks and I’m not surprised you lost your cool against them.  They’re a hard team,” he admitted fairly, earning silent nods from the rest of their group.

            “But… we do have to work on your teamwork skills,” Jin added, one finger pointing at Namjoon chidingly.

            “Suga.  Namjoon’s still hurt,” J-Hope prompted, throwing Namjoon under the bus since he seemed bound and determined to refuse their help.

            “I’m fine,” he denied quickly, shifting on the bench when all eyes returned to him.

            “Why do you always gotta be such a tough guy?” Jimin grumbled, arms crossed over his chest as he made an annoyed face at the seated male.

            Suga chuckled and drifted closer, a wry smile tugging at his mouth.  “Sounds like somebody doesn’t trust us yet.”  Namjoon rolled his eyes at the comment but didn’t say anything.  “Why didn’t you have Yixing take a look at you?”

            “I’m telling you, I don’t need it,” Namjoon grumbled, shifting his arms to hide more of his wounds.

            “And you’ll be doubly useless tomorrow when we meet to practice if you don’t have them taken care of now,” he snorted as he sat down beside him.  It was another comment that deserved no response.  “Come on.  Take your ratty shirt off,” he instructed with a laugh, gesturing at the mostly shredded cloth.

            “You should buy him a drink first, Suga,” Jin teased with a playful wink that earned him a glare from both males, though Suga’s was considerably less scathing.

            “Jin!” V grumbled, shoving the other male’s shoulder with a perplexed laugh.

            Namjoon debated while they bickered nearby and eventually just ripped the tattered fabric off when Suga kept looking at him pointedly.  He eyed the other male when he reached behind him, settling a palm on his scarred back, testament to various other matches and fights previously, and then blinked in surprise as he felt tiny grains of what had to be sugar running down the length of his injury.  By all accounts, it should have hurt like a , but it didn’t.  At all.  “You can heal too?” Namjoon asked in disbelief.

            Suga shrugged and nodded.  “Mostly surface wounds.  Jungkook’s only possible because it would hurt more for him to be healed if he reverted to his normal form so we found a different way.”

            Granules rolled along the length of his injuries and then back to Suga’s hand before he switched sides, making Namjoon flinch when Suga touched his chest with a soft, warm palm, and attended to the front using a similar process.  Namjoon was able to see that his hand turned powdery and discharged a thin stream of sugar from his person to take care of the severed flesh.  The granules accelerated the healing process substantially, though the sight reminded him of his earlier curiosity.  “Are you afraid of water?”

            “You’ll still have scars but at least it won’t hurt tomorrow,” Suga sidestepped the question, not meeting his eyes.

            It was enough of a ‘yes’ for Namjoon to feel accomplished in his guess.  “Why do you play then?” he tried again, baffled why anyone would be dumb enough to court that kind of risk in general.

            “Because I love the game,” Suga flashed him a bright smile that surprised Namjoon in its sincerity.  “Besides.  I’ve got these guys looking out for me.”  As soon as he nodded towards the rest of the team, he jerked to see Jungkook running to hide behind him.

            “Help!”

            “Jungkookie!” J-Hope laughed, flailing after him while V restrained the emphatic male.

            “Now what?” Suga asked, standing up to play mediator.

            “The usual,” Jin shrugged with a glance back at Jimin hiding behind his shoulder.

            “Aish,” Suga chuckled as he shook his head.  “Come on then.  Let’s get out of here and find some victory food!”

            “But we didn’t win,” Namjoon said while he got to his feet, somewhat baffled by their antics.

            “Nope, but we got through our first match with you as part of the team!” Jimin grinned over Jin’s shoulder, maintaining his hiding spot.

            “Oh…”

            “Yeah!” the rest of his teammates cheered, gathering around Suga to exit the room.

            “I’m never gonna understand these guys,” Namjoon exhaled as he glanced at his healed wounds.  Fingertips traced the knitted flesh and he grunted in grudging admiration.  “That’s a nice perk though.”  He took a second to rummage through one of the spare lockers, retrieving a sizable shirt to replace his for the time being, and headed out after them, the image of Suga’s smile stuck in his head from that stupid question.

            Namjoon had plenty to puzzle over when he went home for the evening, not the least of which was this latest discovery.  Despite the fact that he had lost the rematch just over two weeks ago, Suga had agreed to let him on the team.  He never did say why and they were all slow to warm up to him regardless.  It was getting better and J-Hope seemed to be more attentive to him than the others, but he could see Jimin and Jungkook edging their way towards him little by little.  He had no idea what to do about V yet, Jin was just meddlesome, and Suga was hard to read at the best of times.

            At least he understood why they always had Suga in the middle of the group when they crossed the moat.  Also why there was always someone to his side wherever water was present, such as the pools on the ground floor.  It explained beautifully why they never went into the swamp zone or any place with large patches of moisture as well.

            Namjoon held up one finger thoughtfully.  So he was the best player on their team, but also the most vulnerable.  Another finger joined the first.  He was a hard during practice and games but he was fair, which Namjoon could attest to.  Two more fingers rose up.  He was incredibly stupid for playing with that handicap but… he also really seemed to trust and care for the other guys.

            Just not Namjoon.  Well, not as much as them anyway.  He scoffed and laid back in his bed to stare at the ceiling.  Before he’d come here, he had ‘friends’ he’d hang out with but you always had to watch your back.  Everyone wanted to be the best and they weren’t shy about trying to make it happen any way they could.  Out here, that wasn’t even an option.  The monitors and training center personnel made sure of it.  When the other teams didn’t back it up themselves anyway.

            And his team had been trying to work with him, but he was definitely having a hard time fitting in.  “You know that’s because you’re an , right?” Namjoon told himself, scrubbing his face with his hand.  “Yeah…”

            One thing was certain though.  He didn’t like losing and definitely didn’t like being blamed as the cause of it.  Namjoon was certain the latter wasn’t true but it still stank anyway.  He glanced at his hand and flexed the fingers, thinking without any particular question in mind.

            His hand slapped down beside the bed and he huffed.  “Maybe it’s time to stop messing around.”

            It took him a great deal of convincing to try and meet with some of the guys for breakfast in the morning.  He honestly should have known better than to just leave the rest to Jin since he and Suga were the only ones to show up at Sunny’s Tea Shop, which also served some of the best pastries in town.  Namjoon glared at the taller male, who simply smiled back, and sat down with Suga while they waved a server over to place an order.

            “So Jin says you wanna turn over a new leaf,” Suga opened, leaning his elbows on the tabletop to regard Namjoon with amused eyes.

            That earned Jin another glare from Namjoon.  He had said no such thing!  “I don’t want to be on a losing team,” he corrected flatly, watching Suga’s brow rise and his lips thin.  That wasn’t good.  “And… I know I could use some… help,” oh that was hard to admit, “with teamwork.”

            “Two Sunny Specials and,” Jin looked Namjoon over briefly before he added, “a black root tea.”

            “Hey!” Namjoon muttered when the young man bowed and wandered off without hesitating at all.

            “Don’t worry.  It’s good for you,” Jin winked, hands folded on the table while he listened in on their conversation.

            “Why didn’t you order food?” Suga looked at his companion in disappointment.

            “Oh…”

            “Well go on,” Suga waved with a laugh as he ushered Jin off to the counter to take care of it.  The taller male did so grumbling under his breath in good natured discontent.  “So are we talking about another rematch sort of situation?” he prompted when his attention resumed on Namjoon.

            He was trying to be difficult wasn’t he?  Namjoon ran a hand through his hair and took a breath.  “No.  That was between me and you.”

            “And now it’s between you and our team?” Suga questioned while his fingers tapped gently on the tabletop.

            Reluctantly, Namjoon nodded in agreement.  It wasn’t even like there was a competition going with them but he just didn’t know how to handle them.  Like, at all.  Any time they were supposed to work together, he wanted to take over because he knew he could do it.  Even if he probably couldn’t…

            He almost felt as if Suga could read his mind by the expression on his face just then.  “Well, maybe it’s time you came up with your own nickname then,” he suggested with a shrug.  “Seems like Namjoon might be holding you back a bit.”

            Namjoon resisted the idea initially and reminded Suga, “Jungkook and Jimin don’t have nicknames.”

            “Golden Maknae and Jimin calls himself Dooley.  I don’t know,” he laughed, just as befuddled as Namjoon’s expression indicated.

            “You know, I already said I was the God of Destr-”

            “No,” Suga vetoed immediately.  “We both know that hasn’t worked for you in the slightest.”  Namjoon winced at the intentional jab and made a face while nodding.  “What else you got?  Surely there’s something up there,” Suga pointed at Namjoon’s head, closing one eye as if it would help him see better.

            There was a name but Namjoon wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to use it.  “What’s your real name?”

            Suga laughed at the question and leaned back in his chair, one arm hanging over the back frame.  “I’ll tell you when you finally beat me,” he offered, grinning crookedly.  “And don’t go trying to figure out around town either.  Cheater,” he snorted, making Namjoon duck his head in embarrassment since that was the first thing that came to mind.  “I’m waiting,” he sighed, looking towards where Jin was also waiting for food, leaning on the counter and conversing with the waitress behind the desk.

            Namjoon rolled his eyes and finally murmured, “Rap Monster.”

            “Huh?” Suga blinked, turning his attention back on the other man.  “Rap Monster?”

            “Yeah.  It’s an older nickname I used to have,” he shrugged and waved his hand dismissively, not making direct eye contact.

            “Please don’t tell me you love to wrap things as a hobby,” Suga muttered with a deadpan expression.

            “No,” Namjoon laughed once, smiling broadly at the absurdity of his choice and Suga’s first conclusion.  He leaned back and rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment, glancing up at Suga.  “My parents used to call me that.  I like the sound of it though.”

            “Oh please tell me how they gave you that nickname,” Suga grinned like a child.

            Namjoon opened his mouth to speak but then shut it as Jin approached with a tray of food.  “Here we go!” he announced, pleased with himself as he handed off a very sweet looking tea to Suga and placed one in front of his spot while Namjoon got the black tea that smelled bitter…  “And cinnamon rolls!  They are the best here.  Even my mom can’t compete though she’d have my hide if she heard me say that,” he admitted in a conspiratorial whisper.

            “Jin…  Where’s the meat?” Suga asked with narrowed eyes.

            Jin held his hands up in surrender and sat back.  “It’s coming!  You know it takes longer for them to cook it.”  As Suga settled down, mollified, Jin leaned forward and whispered behind his hand, “He’s grumpy when he’s hungry.”

            Namjoon couldn’t help but laugh at the display.  Around the others, Suga tended to have a much more amenable nature and this was something he could at least relate to.  “I know the feeling,” he chuckled as he took a large bite of the cinnamon roll, face going lax at the taste.  How had he not tried one of these yet?!

            “But you were saying?” Suga prompted around a mouthful, sipping tea to help it go down faster.

            “About what?” Jin mumbled with his hand in front of his mouth, confused.

            “Rap Monster,” Suga nodded at Namjoon.

            “Are we talking verbal rapping or paper wrapping,” Jin added, gesturing with his hands.

            “Neither,” Namjoon rolled his eyes, taking a drink of his tea and rather wishing he hadn’t.  “Ugh…  That’s terrible,” he glared at Jin.

            “It’s also really good for you.  Drink up.  You’ll need it,” he urged, reaching across the table to press the bottom towards Namjoon’s mouth.

            He set it down firmly instead and stated, “I am Rap Monster because when I was first learning to change forms, my roar was wrong.”  Suga and Jin exchanged mystified looks, the latter’s cheeks full of pastry.  Namjoon ducked his head in embarrassment again, ears turning red, and rushed, “I couldn’t say ‘Rah’ like I was apparently supposed to and it came out ‘Ra’ instead but my parents swear I said ‘Rap’ so it stuck.”

            “Oh that’s amazing,” Suga grinned and clapped Jin on the back, nearly making him spill his drink which he was trying to hide a smile behind.

            “I knew I shouldn’t have told you,” Namjoon groaned, hiding his face on the table.

            “I like it,” Jin coughed with his hand over his mouth, voice strained like there was something in his throat.

            “Me too,” Suga chuckled, snorting into his drink as he tried to control himself.  “I think it suits you.”  Namjoon looked up with a skeptical expression, glancing between the two, waiting for them to continue laughing.

            “Rap Monster.  That’ll work,” Jin nodded along, giving Namjoon a thumbs up sign.

            “Though I think we may need to shorten it to Rapmon for game days,” Suga nodded, eyes going wide as soon as he spotted a server heading their way with another tray.  “Yes!” he cheered, holding his hands out for the platter of steaming breakfast meats that he plopped directly in the middle of the table.

            “Thank you,” Jin mouthed with a wave at the server who was wearing a very bemused expression.

            Namjoon looked at the platter longingly, his mouth watering at the smell.  Suga already had a piece of bacon in his mouth and he blinked at Namjoon in confusion.  “Rap Monster.  What are you waiting for?  Eat up!”

            Oh thank the gods!  Rap Monster did not need to be told twice.