Hanging up the phone, Julius looked at the video Jake sent him while ignoring the flood of messages he was pushing out.

  Looking at the boy in the video, his eyes flickered between the two of them, repeatedly verifying what he already knew when his eyes landed on him the first time.

  "Is it really you?" he said quietly. But before he could get another word out, he saw what looked like cyan veins starting from his neck and going down his arm, wrapping around it like webs.

  "Isn't that..." he said, leaning down and reaching out his hand. But right before his fingers made contact, he felt a hand grab his throat and push him to the ground.

  With breath being ripped from him, his eyes widened dramatically; he looked to see the gray-haired boy on top of him, his eyes squinting heavily and his teeth gritted.

  Unable to breathe, Julius lit his hand on fire, the blue burning brightly, but before he could even attack, the guy lifted him before slamming him down hard, disrupting his focus and causing the fire to flicker out.

  "Don't you dare touch me! I will die or be captured by you," he spat as utter contempt seeped from his lips.

  "I'm not," he attempted to say, but then he stopped mid-sentence when a reflection of light caught the guy's face, and he saw the squinted, vacant stare. And then it clicked. He was suffering from anima drain.

  He couldn't see or even hear him, for that matter; the guy was just going on instinct. But as that realization hit him, the next words escaped his mouth.

  "I will not—"

  But before he could get another word out.

  BANG

  Feeling the sudden release of the hands that were so viciously gripping his throat a moment ago, he turned over before he started to cough hysterically before breathing lungfuls of air in every other second that he didn't cough.

  Head throbbing, he turned back over to look up to see Jake holding a two-by-four, looking rather proud of himself as he stood right over him.

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  "You didn't respond to my texts," he said as he offered his hand to Julius.

  Grabbing it, he pulled himself to his feet as Jake continued.

  "So I tracked your location and got here as fast as I could."

  "Thanks," he said shakily, his body trembling from both the lack of air and the adrenaline that got dumped into his system.

  "No problem," he responded before looking down at the crumpled person beneath their feet.

  "Yeesh, I thought he was a good guy, but he just had to be a dick," he muttered in annoyance.

  "No, no," Julius said with a strained voice as he continued to cough. "It's not his fault he's suffering from anima drain," he said, pointing at the blue vein that streaked and webbed up his neck.

  Tilting his head curiously, he bent down to have a closer look. "Oh, that's good; he's sick, not an asshole."

  "Yeah, I think

  "That makes sense; anima drain will do that to you," Jake started before grabbing Riven's torso, hauling him up, and throwing him over his shoulder. "I saw some guys in black outfits using golden chains there right before he flew away."

  Getting over his coughing fit, he pushed his white & blue hair out of his eyes and looked up at Jake in confusion.

  "What are you doing?" he asked.

  "Well, we can't leave him here; if he gets caught by those guys, he's as good as dead for what he did to that royal."

  "Yeah, but..." he started, his reservations showing in his voice.

  "Come on, what would Ryuji do?" Jake asked.

  Upon hearing that, the image of a dark blue-haired boy resurfaced in his mind, this time with a beaming smile adorning his face.

  Letting slip an involuntary smile, he quickly changed to a groan of annoyance. "Fine, fine."

  "I can take him to my place," Jake offered.

  "Your place is a pigsty; I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy," he said, dismissing the idea almost immediately.

  "Fine, then your place."

  "What, no, my mom—" but he stopped, remembering his mom wouldn't be home until mid-afternoon tomorrow.

  "Actually," he started, only to stop again. "He choked me, though. I really don't want him in my house after that," he muttered, only to have Jake start chuckling.

  "What?" he asked, his voice tight.

  "Oh, come on, knowing you probably liked it a little," he said while still chuckling.

  "Do you want to die?" Julius asked, dropping snacks that had remained clutched in his hand all this time, only to raise both hands that were now lit with blue flames.

  "Okay, okay, okay, I'm sorry...sort of," he said, only for Julius to narrow his eyes back at him in annoyance.

  "Anyway, we have to go; the guys could still be looking for him," he said as he walked out the alley back into the well-lit night.

  "Wait, I never agreed—" but before he could finish his sentence, Jake was already gone.

  Eyes widening, he smacked his gums in response before grumbling under his breath. "Speedy bastard."