Jin buried his hands into the pocket of his blue hoodie, his familiar dark blue hat shadowing his exhausted and emotional bright green eyes as he slightly stumbled around the streets of Beigoma City. The tournament had ended for the day, and his battle against Shu Kurenai every other way but smooth, considering he had lost to him with two burst finishes.

Tears pricked the corners of his eyes and his hands curled into fists within his hoodie pocket, a shaky breath leaving his pale lips. He tripped suddenly and fell within seconds, hitting the ground and scraping up the palms of his hands and wrists, the same with his knees as he put a couple holes in his black jeans.

            "Damn it..." He muttered softly with a sigh, shaking his head slightly as he started picking himself up off the ground. Black shoes entered his field of vision, looking up to meet the familiar orange eyes of Naoki, a soft smile on his lips and his hand outstretched to him.

            "Hey, everything alright?" He asked, his eyes holding a familiar warmth for the younger male in front of him. Jin took his hand gently, wincing as his scrapes brushed against his skin.

          "Yeah, thanks Naoki..." The smaller blader said quietly, pulling himself up with the taller male's aid.

          "Sure thing. But seriously, what's wrong? You seem upset." Naoki asked, looking over the scrapes on the other's pale skin. The bright green-eyed male sighed lowly, keeping his gaze to the ground as tears threatened to fall.

            "I-it's nothing... I'm fine..." He said quietly, his voice quivering.

            "It sure doesn't sound like it Jin." Naoki replied, gently grabbing his wrist. Jin's eyes snapped up, meeting orange as his tears finally streaked his cheeks. The young scientist felt a pain in his chest when he seen the tears, his eyes softening. "Oh Jin..."

The black-haired male was frozen, his hands visibly shaking as he took in a shuddering breath.

            "Jin?" Naoki stepped forward, to which the smaller male took a step back.

            "I-I- I-I..." Was all that Jin could manage before he tore his wrist away from him and took off running, tears blurring his vision. He sobbed as he ran, dodging everything and everyone in his path.

             "Jin!" He heard Naoki voice call behind him, footsteps echoing after his own.

             "Leave m-me alone!" He cried back, trying to run faster. His lungs burned for air, but he wasn't going to let that stop him. He had always hated crying in front of people, and his best friend was the worst possible person.

             "We can talk about this! We're best friends, we tell each other everything!" The teenage scientist sounded desperate, but Jin didn't slow down.

The black-haired male continued to dodge people in crowds, coming a little too close and nearly running into them. He turned a corner and he skid to a stop, inches away from the wall of an oncoming building. He pressed his back against the wall and slid down it, burying his face into his legs and crying softly into them. A shadow stood over him menacingly, deep red eyes shining darkly as a malicious grin spread across his face. He leaned forward, snagging the smaller blader's hoodie and forcing tear-filled bright green eyes to stare into red.

             "Hey there boy... What're you upset about?" The male's voice sneered, his sharp teeth glinting in the light. Jin stared into his eyes fearfully, whimpers breaking through his lips.

The male smiled darkly at him, licking the tears that poured down Jin's cheeks, making him flinch and shake in his grasp.

              "Jin!" Naoki's voice resonated from afar, a spark of hope crossing Jin's thoughts at the sound of his voice. A hand covered his mouth and pulled him backwards harshly, hiding him from the young scientist. He whimpered, it muffled by the unknown male's hand as the other held his arms tightly behind his back. He was kept hidden in the shadows around a corner as Naoki came running down the alley, panting heavily and looking for his best friend. The taller blader looked everywhere, running his hand along the wall as he turned the corner a fist suddenly colliding hard with his cheek.

              "N-Naoki!" Jin cried out, his voice no longer muffled by the hand used in assaulting the teal-haired blader. Naoki fell to the ground hard, his head spinning and his vision blurring as he slowly looked up. Orange eyes found the smaller blader in the hold of a mysterious raven-haired male, only getting a look of the crimson red eyes before he fell unconscious. Tears continued to coat Jin's pale cheeks, fighting and struggling in the grip again to desperately try and get to the one he loved. The taller male holding him grinned at how hard he was fighting, forcing his hand back over his mouth and tightening his hold before he dragged him back into the darkness, the the unconscious scientist on the cold, dirt-covered asphalt.

~~~

A low groan echoed through the still air, orange eyes slowly opening to meet the darkening, star-scattered sky. Naoki felt a dull pain sting his cheek and flinched, his clothes and skin cold and dirty from the asphalt. He sat up and groaned, holding his head as it started to pound.

            "Jin..." Naoki mumbled softly, rubbing his head. Orange eyes snapped open when he finally remembered what happened, getting up off the ground. "Jin!" He yelled, running out of the alley and looking around.

The teenage scientist ran down one direction of the sidewalk, the streets somewhat empty besides the people out for dinner or something. Naoki was panicking as he ran around the streets, panting heavily while trying to call out his name. His vision was blurring with tears before he tripped suddenly, hitting the ground in a matter of seconds. He grunted at the feeling of his skin being scraped up, hiding his sweaty and dirty face in his sleeve.

              "Jin..." Naoki mumbled, finally moving and standing up as he brushed off his already dirty clothes. He continued down the street in a walk, finally getting to the building he was trying to get to before he tripped.

The sheriff's department.

He walked inside and told the receptionist there that he needed to speak with an officer, the girl smiling at him and nodding as she pointed to a hallway.

             "If you go down that hallway, Officer Wilson's office is the second door on your right. Tell him that I sent you." She said sweetly, going back to her work and answering the phone. Naoki walked down the hallway and to the office, knocking on the door and waiting for an answer.

~~~

              "No, I already told you, he was kidnapped! I've been trying to tell you this for the last ten minutes!" Naoki said in frustration, smacking his hands against his legs. Officer Wilson sighed softly, taking off his glasses and looking at the young scientist.

             "Mr. Minamo, I understand that you're frustrated, but you have no evidence on if this kid was even taken. I'd love to help, but there's not much I can do."

             "My best friend is out there either hurt or dead, and you're telling me there's nothing you can do?!" Naoki yelled, standing and slamming his hands on the officer's desk. "I swear to god, if I find out on the news that his body was discovered, it'll all be your fault and I'll take you to court!"

Two other officers barged into the office and seized Naoki's arms, Wilson apparently calling for them as the scientist started getting aggressive, and attempted to pull him from the room, Naoki kicking and clawing at their hands.

             "Let me go! I have to get to him before it's too late! He's going to die if I don't find him!" Naoki cried as the officers finally pulled him from the room. He fought as the two officers brought him to a room, shoving him in and cuffing him to a chair.

             "You stay here and cool off boy, someone will come by and check on you in a bit." One said, him and his buddy walking out of the room and closing the door. Naoki watched them leave through teary eyes and panted softly, bringing his free hand up to rub the tears away.

It felt like hours sitting in that empty room, but ten minutes later, the door opened to reveal a female officer. She smiled softly to him, walking over and sitting at the other end of the table.

             "Hey there hun, what's your name?" She asked softly, her hands folded on the tabletop. Naoki looked at her then looked down again, letting out a soft sigh.

            "Naoki..." The young scientist said softly, fiddling with the handcuffs a little bit. "What's yours?"

            "My name is Lucy, I'm an arresting officer here." She said with a smile as she got out her keys. Naoki felt his heart leap into his throat as she stood and walked over to him, thinking she was going to arrest him.

             "Please don't do this to me, I just want to find my best friend..." He pleaded, looking at her with sad orange eyes. She looked at him in confusion, unlocking the cuffs and putting them away.

             "What happened to your friend?" She asked, looking concerned now. "Did something bad happen to him?"

            "I watched him get taken away right in front of me, and I couldn't do anything to help. That's why I came here, I was hoping the police would help me find him, but the officer I talked to said that I 'didn't have enough evidence' to provoke a search." Naoki said, the look Jin had in his eyes forever haunting him. He looked so scared... I have to find him before it's too late. Can you help?"

Lucy gave him a friendly smile, nodding and going to her radio.

            "Let me call in some officers and then we'll get started."

~~~

He shivered against the cold concrete floor, the mysterious raven-haired male gone and his clothes nowhere in sight. Dull bright green eyes opened slowly, his vision blurred from the tears that continued to leak down his dirty face. He blinked slightly and sniffed, his vision starting to straighten as he decided to look around. His eyes suddenly snapped to something that glittered in the dim light of wherever the hell he is and slowly started to inch his way to it. He flinched and bit back a sob, the cold ground making his skin feel like ice and a deep, throbbing pain like fire on his insides as he closed his fingers around... His phone?

His dull eyes lit up at the spark of hope as he turned on and unlocked his phone, going into his contacts and clicking on the one name of the person he could trust, holding the device to his ear as it gave soft rings.

~~~

Naoki nearly lost his mind when his phone started to ring and he had seen Jin's name on the screen, answering in a damn heartbeat.

           "Jin, what's going on?! Are you okay?!" Naoki asked frantically, which had caught the attention of Officer Lucy. On the line, he could hear the soft sounds of his shuttering breaths, making him let out a sigh that he was alive. "Jin, baby, please say something..." The smaller male stayed silent, but eventually spoke up, his voice soft but hoarse.

           "N-Naoki..." He started softly, his voice cracking. "I-I'm so scared..."

           "Where are you Jin? Can you see anything?" Naoki asked calmly, trying to keep Jin from freaking out more so than he already probably was.

            "A-a warehouse... F-from what I can see... T-there's boxes... A-and I can hear music..."

            "That sounds like that furniture warehouse next to that night club a few blocks away." Lucy said, signaling the other officers. "Let's go, we've got a location!"

Naoki rushed out with the officers as he was on the phone, wanting to keep Jin calm as long as possible.

            "Jin, we're on the way... Please stay on the phone with me..." The young scientist pleaded softly. Not even a second later, Jin's phone gave a low battery warning, making him whine softly.

            "N-Naoki..." Jin coughed softly, cringing at his burning throat and whining again.

            "Yes Jin?" Naoki had replied, closing the door to a police car.

            "P-please hurry-" Was the last thing he heard on the phone before Jin's phone had died.

~~~

Sirens had cut through the air to alert bystanders of the laws presence, cop cars stopping outside the god forsaken warehouse. As soon as the car stopped, Naoki launched himself out of the car and to the door of the warehouse, throwing it open without hesitation. The teenage blader didn't see him at first glance, but he did find his light blue hoodie, picking it up and holding it close to him.

           "Jin?" He had called out, walking throughout the warehouse to find his best friend. He came around a stack of boxes and stopped dead in his tracks, his heart nearly leaping out of his chest. There, laying against the cold ground and wearing nothing, was Jin, shivering with force and whimpering weakly. Naoki ran over to him immediately, sliding in next to him and gathering him up into his arms. Green eyes snapped up to him and fresh tears filled his eyes as he latched onto him, sobbing against him. Naoki tore off his lab coat and draped it over Jin's naked form as officers flooded into the warehouse. Lucy and a few other officers found the two, one paging an ambulance as the female officer stepped a bit closer to the pair.

            "Alright Naoki, let us take him-"

            "No! I'm not leaving him again" Naoki hissed, holding his best friend even closer, some of the officers fanning out and going to search the rest of the building as Lucy stayed. Small hands gripped the front of his vest and Naoki leaned down, pressing a soft kiss to his forehead and rubbing his arm softly. Jin whined softly and moved suddenly, rolling out of his arms violently and emptying the contents of his stomach. Naoki reached over and pulled his hair away from his face while he rubbed his back, attempting to sooth the vomiting and shivering young male.

A few of the officers came back with the rest of Jin's clothes, a few of the articles torn to shreds even. Lucy looked at two of the officers and nodded, they nodding back as they moved forward and tore Naoki away from the black-haired male.

             "No! Let me stay with him! He needs me!" Naoki screamed as he fought the cops, desperately trying to break free. Tired bright green eyes stared at the officers as he reached out for his best friend. The teenage scientist fought and kicked, just wanting to be there and protect the love of his life. Lucy came up behind Jin and set a hand on his shoulder which, in turn, caused him to cry out in fear at the sudden touch. Naoki's eyes went wide at the sound of his pained cry, tearing his arms away from the cops and standing protectively in front of him. A fire burned in his eyes as he glared at every single officer in front of him, clenching his hands into fists. "Listen up! He started with a low growl. No one is going to keep me away from him! Shoot me, taze me, I don't care! But no one is going to touch him!" He hissed, sparing a soft glance to his crying best friend. Ambulance sirens broke the silence that washed over everyone, Lucy stepping forward slightly.

            "Take him out to the ambulance... He needs you and a doctor..." She said softly, taking the rest of Jin's clothes and shooing her men out of the warehouse. Naoki nodded and carefully laid his hoodie on him, scooping him up gently into his arms and walking toward the exit. Jin released a heavy breath and tried to stay still, the pain he felt still so fiery.

Green eyes looked around as Naoki carried his fragile body, a glint in the distance enough to make him whine softly.

            "... J-Jormuntor..." He whined quietly, reaching off in the direction his bey is laid. Naoki looked down at him and looked at the way he was reaching to, walking over and carefully picking up the dusty blue bey from the ground, handing it off to him. Jin made a soft noise of delight and curled against Naoki, still shivering from under the lab coat as they emerged from the warehouse. Paramedics attempted to take the small male away from the already agitated scientist but Lucy stopped them, allowing Naoki to gently lay him onto the gurney himself, adjusting the lab coat slightly and taking the hand that didn't have Jormuntor in it. Being loaded up into the ambulance, the medics checked over his vitals as they drove off.

              "There's no major injuries, but they'll be able to get a better look at the hospital." One told the young male. Naoki nodded and looked at the now sleeping boy, holding onto his hand tightly as he slept which made the scientist smile slightly. He leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to his head, laying his head next to him as he took in a soft breath, running his thumb across the dirt-covered skin of Jin's hand.

~~~

            "Well, tests and x-rays show zero signs of serious injuries." The doctor told Naoki, shifting the clipboard in his hand. "Still, we'd like to keep him for the rest of the night for observation."

             "Yes, of course..." Naoki agreed, glancing over to Jin who was staring out of the window. "Thank you for the help doctor."

             "Not a problem. Ill have a nurse check on him in a few hours, and you're more than welcome to stay with him for the night."

             "Thank you again."

The doctor nodded to him and left after, Naoki turning and walking back to sit with him, setting a gentle hand on top of his, bright green eyes moving and looking at him.

              "Can I go home yet...?" Jin asked softly, his eyes pleading to him and making Naoki sigh.

              "Unfortunately, no..." Naoki replied, watching as the sadness filled the smaller blader's eyes. "They just want to make sure you're alright Jin But don't worry, I'm going to stay with you the whole night..." He told him, sparing a small smile and holding his hand gently. Jin giggled softly and laid back into the pillows, sighing and closing his eyes for a minute.

              "I don't know what I would do without you Naoki..." He said, opening his eyes up slightly and looking at his friend. A small smile touched his lips as he squeezed his hand, pulling on him slightly. "Come lay with me please... I wanna cuddle..." Naoki blushed softly and gave him a smile, carefully kicking his shoes off and crawling onto the bed with him, wrapping him up in his arms and holding him close.

             "You know I can't say no to cuddling with you Jin..." Naoki smiled, kissing his softly. Jin laughed softly and nuzzled into him, looking up at him and smiling.

             "I know... And that's one reason why I love you..."

             "I love you too Jin..."

Naoki pressed a gentle kiss to his lips and rocked him softly, holding him close and nuzzling his nose into his hair, watching as the love of his life fell asleep in his arms, closing his eyes as he too slipped off to sleep...

~~ Good god, I'm back?! It has been far too long my guys! With everything going on with college, band, work, and this whole Coronavirus bullshit, I didn't think I would ever have the time to come back and start writing again! Let me tell you, this story was a WIP for the longest time, all the way back when I was a junior in high school. I'm so glad that I was finally able to finish it while I was off work for a few days. I'm gonna try to finish some other drafts I have, so be on the look out!~~

NightBear15 signing off...

~3724 words~