CHAPTER 26: OLD FRIENDS
'The Experience?' Zuko thought.
The words brought back so many memories he couldn't help but feel a bit light headed. It had been ages since he last heard those very words. More than 10 years infact. They used to mean so much back then but looking back at it now. Things had changed so much since then. Almost unconsciously a smile came to his face as memories flooded his mind of the days when the Experience was all he really cared about.
Back when Victor was in the 11th grade he met this group of nerds halfway through the year. These 3 nerds would go on to become his best friends. Brought together by the love of Dragon Ball Z the group became the bestest of friends. As they started to become good friends Victor suggested they form a band even though non of them really knew how to sing or play an instrument. They never really performed or did anything music related but more like a group just for the sake of it. Hanging out with each other, going around and doing pretty much all things nerd. From larping to debating about anime, manga, comics and everything in-between. Those 18 months he spent with them were the best of his school life. Everything in his life took off simply because of his friends. From his social life to his grades and everything in-between.
With a feeling of nostalgia he closed his eyes and calmed his frenzied mind.
"There you go…" came one of the familiar voices again. "Concentrate on my voice, on the memories of… us."
He focused on the voice. He could feel his fear that he did die again start to fade. His nerves calmed along with his hurried breathing. Feeling as fresh as ever he slowly opened his eyes. Standing there hovering infront of him were his three best friends from high school.
On the left was a tall young man with a slightly dark skin. As always he wore his t-shirt which usually had an anime character depiction, this time being Goku in ss3. He completed the set with a pair of slightly darker jeans and converse all-star sneakers. His name, Pauly, the tallest of the group.
Standing in the middle was David, he also wore jeans with different coloured converse all-star sneakers. His shirt was proper in an official sort of way in that it fit well with a nice suit and not cheap jeans. David was an odd fellow. His parents were very rich and supported him quite well but he didn't really show it with his wardrobe nor with the other things he usually bought. It wasn't a far fedged idea to say he was a 'stupid' rich guy.
The third and certainly not least was Masuku. The closest to Victor in the group. He was slightly taller than David and the lightest skinned in the group behind only Victor himself. He was quite scrawny and the nerdiest looking of the group. Like Paul he also wore jeans and shirt with Nike sneakers of varying quality. All his shirt however only depicted characters from Fairy Tail and no other anime. For Pauly it differed since he liked a variety of shows but Masuku was almost obsessed with Fairy Tail.
"It's been a while Victor!" Masuku began. They all eyed at Victor with a bit of nostalgia and disappointment.
"More than ten years I'd say," Victor answered. He could barely hold back the tears upon looking at his posy.
"Who's fault is that?" David asked with a knowing face.
Victor's smile quickly vanished as he understood what David was insinuating.
"I'm not the one who took off to China for some chick!" Victor answered defensively.
"I left to study to become a doctor and you know that," David shot back. "I was trying to follow in the footsteps of my father as you very much well know."
"Well I stayed and waited for you didn't I?" Masuku joined the conversation.
"We had a plan to meet up and study at the same university but then you decided to take a gap year." Paul added as well. "It was only because of you that David decided to live the country. You ruined all our plans and now you're doing the same thing again!"
"Don't be fucking stupid!" Victor roared. "After graduation we didn't see each other but we still kept in contact. I told y'all of my financial situation at the time. Masuku, you and I ran into each other at the campus for registration. You saw how desperate I was and the state my folks were in. It took most of our savings just to travel and register but it wasn't enough. I was the second best student in the exams in the whole country but it was worth for shit! The stupid scholarships only payed less than 40% so how was my cab driver Dad and maid Mom suppose to help me out!"
"Now you're the one being stupid!" David suddenly roared before Victor could continue. "Masuku told me you registered for the year. He also told me about the situation with your parents! So I talked with my folks for you! They were going to pay for everything but just before I could tell you that you went off the grid. When we finally got in contact with you after 3 months you were already working."
For but a moment Victor was stunned by the revelation. He did decide to take a gap year and safe up funds which was how he could go to college albeit a lesser known university. Thinking of what could have been almost brought tears to his eyes. His dream of partying like they did in Blue Mountain State did happen but it wasn't as fun without these three by his side.
"So this is why you guys came?" He instead changed the conversation. "To ridicule me over things that I can't change even if I wanted to?"
"We're just a figment of your unconscious mind," David revealed. "The reason we are here is you are ruining the plans we had once again!"
"You are trying to be something you are not," Paul added. "You are trying to be true to your desires but you are also still trying to follow the ridiculous script that Zuko had!"
"You were never the good guy!" Masuku joined. "Since you have lost most of your intelligence let me put it in a way you can understand. You were never Goku. You were always Vegeta, you were Light Yagami from Death Note. You were Niklaus Mikaelson of the Originals. The selfish and cunning bastard that seemed to always get what he wanted!"
Victor was taken aback by the sudden accusation. He got the point Masuku was trying to make but he just didn't see himself in that manner.
"Come on don't be ridiculous," he tried to defend himself.
"Do you remember what you did to poor Joshua at the start of senior year?" David suddenly asked with a knowing look.
Poor Joshua. At the start of senior year of Victor and them, Joshua as a junior started his campaign to run for student body president for the following year. Unfortunately for Joshua, Victor's crush at the time, Ruzan, was also in the running. In order to get in the good with her, Victor used every weapon in his arsenal to ruin the boy. So much so that he had to get a back surgery and transfer schools. Somehow it played out that Ruzan and Victor became an off and on thing throughout the year. Seeing the ruthless level of Victor, the boys made sure to never get on his bad side. Although they had arguments as such, fortunately it never got that far.
"Fine I get your point," Victor surrendered.
"We are not saying go that far but to stop trying to pretend you are something you are not!" Paul added. "Remember all those great memories we had if we could get into the world's of one of our favorite shows. I know this world is not DBZ, One Piece or Naruto but it still has its charm. It's still one of the coolest cartoons we've ever seen."
"Don't forget about Bleach!" David added.
"There's also Fairy Tail!" Masuku joined as well.
The other three suddenly looked at him with disagreeing faces.
"What!?" Masuku demanded. "Fairy Tail is one of the best manga out there!"
"You can't put Fairy Tail on the same level as those anime!" David disagreed.
"Fairy Tail is a good anime," Paul added. "One might even say a very good but it is not an elite anime."
"DBZ is at the very top of the list," David added. "Followed by One Piece, Naruto and Bleach. Fairy Tail is on the same level as the new shit like Black Clover and My Hero Academia."
"A third tier!" Victor joined in as well.
"I get DBZ is by far the most popular. Even people who have never heard of anime know Goku but One Piece and Naruto is at the same level as Fairy Tail. Bleach might even be slightly lower than that!" Masuku shot back.
"Bullshit!" David roared and took a step towards Masuku. Masuku didn't back down and stepped up as well as tensions rose.
"GUYS!!!" Paul suddenly screamed to shut them up. "Remember why we are here!"
On those words by the very tall and intimidating Paul, they both backed off.
"Victor you gotta do better bro." Paul proceeded to Victor. "You gotta stop the shit of being weak as shit and the fucking stupid and naïve rash decisions that you keep on making."
"You used to think through everything but now it seems like you're not even thinking about your next step." David added in a calm voice like he didn't want to start fighting just a minute prior.
"You used to have an eidetic memory but all of that is now gone," Masuku added. "You can't just expect to think at the same rate you once did on earth! You have to slow your thinking now. Think clearly about your goals and how to get as strong as fast as possible!"
Victor took their words to heart but he still felt like they were missing something.
"I get your point guys!" He admitted. "I am not as smart as before. My decisions so far have been on the spot decisions which were correct most of the time on earth. It seems I have to learn to think slow."
The three were satisfied by his response. At least he admitted he had a problem.
"There is still one more thing though," Masuku suddenly added. "It seems you have not given it much thought but there is a way for you to become stronger than the Avatar!"
[A/N: Read 10 to 20 chapters ahead on my patreon available now.
patreon.com/ImperialFantasies]