"May I speak to Drake,"the caller asked in a doubtful voice.

Ryu who had gotten back to building the blocks,"No, you may not."

​​

Taking the phone away from his ear once agian,the caller stared at the phone.He was pretty sure that the voice belonged to his friend but somehow,something was different.Maybe it had been a long time since he heard the accented voice,which is why he was feeling confused...

With his own foreign accent more pronounced,"Hey!Drake!Why can't I talk to you?Why are you being petty?And what is this about your house?"

Ryu smiled at the whiny tone and said,"Because you made my house of blocks fall!"

"..."

Ryu laughed at the speechless sound of his old friend,shocking the man further.

In a serious tone the man asked,"Drake?Are you alright?Did you knock your head against something?You sound weird..."

Smiling at having shocked the man,Ryu smiled and answered,"Yes,my friend,I am totally fine.Just happy to be here at your turf."

"So you did come here?Awesome..We have to meet up and celebrate tonight.We will be meeting after 16 years.Let me throw a big party to welcome you.We'll have a blast!Message me your address and I'll come pick you up for a drink now and we can catch up!!!"

Looking at his son busily playing with his blocks,Ryu denied,"Not yet!Let the coast clear and then we will have fun.Until then James,Thank you for holding the fort here.Hopefully we will meet up soon."

"Shut **,you b******!What thank you..I did everything for my friend and it's not like I gained nothing from it.Don't worry,I will be your shadow friend longer!"

After a few more minutes of idle chatter,Ryu ended the call and leaned against the balcony. For the first time in a long while thought back to the past.About his past self with a look of fondness on his face.

In the past:

A sixteen year old Ryu Long had come to Country A as part of the football exchange summer camp.Young and talented athletes from all over the world had been invited to participate in the camp.Many rich and famous people had also bribed the organizers to get their sons to participate,wanting to boast about their talents.And the organizers who were always in need of money had accepted the bribes gratefully.

Ryu and James had been a part of the few athletes who were there because of their skill alone.James was a boy who came from the slums and had been offered a scholarship based solely on his merit.Though the boy had a jovial nature usually and was aggressive on the field,off field he was known to be very amicable.But nobody knew the temper the boy hid within himself.Similarly Ryu Long had been invited as a part of the program but his seat had been payed for by his father who did not want someone else to lose out on a scholarship.None of the teachers had known in the beginning who was rich and who wasn't.Only later as the youngsters' attitudes and talents(Or lack)emerged were they easily classified.To make Ryu comfortable and easily acceptable in the western society, his parents had given him a western name when enrolling him into the camp.So Ryu Long was known as Drake Long.Because of his humble attitude and natural talent nobody guessed that he was also a rich heir.Naturally, since the coaches knew who were good and who had gained entry through the back door,they subtlely differentiated the teams without trying to overtly snub the rich heirs.They had to teach the rich heirs for the present but the talented ones only needed to be nurtured!They were the ones who would bring glory to theis coaches and so the teachers were biased towards these people.

However,some people were just too snobbish for their own good.Groomed to be arrogant,they found it fun and entertaining to humiliate and insult others.On the 3rd day of the camp,a group of such boys was playing opposite the other talented athletes.Drake and James were a part of this team.Having lost badly,the rich heirs were furious at these people.How dare these blue collared people win against us!Even if these players were some of the best athletes,the rich heirs expected to win.If not by merit then these people should have fallen on their knees and begged them to win!The leader of this narcissist group was called Nathaniel Cage.

Nathaniel Cage specially hated James because he was the one who had stolen the ball to turn out victorious and Drake because he had scored the winning goal!How dare these foreigners come and steal his thunder.He needed to teach them a lesson!Gathering his band of followers and hanger ons,Nathaniel planned to teach the pigs a lesson!No one could defeat him and get away with it.He planned to gather a few thugs as well to break these'e peoples knees and legs.Not once did that boy consider that such an action could ruin the future careers of these budding sports stars.

A week after their loss,the hired thugs made their way into the tents of the two boys.Swiftly placing a cover over the sleeping forms and tying them tightly,the two boys were taken to a field just outside the camp site,struggling and trying to escape.Thrown roughly to the ground,they could already feel bruises rising on their body.Once the covers were lifted,Drake and James faced each other and looking around saw that they were surrounded by a ring of the rich heirs amd the hired thugs..Understanding at once and without needing to talk they immediately got back to back and faced their attackers head on decidint to protect each other's back.Though the chances of them leaving here intact were too slim and next to none..Maybe if one could go and call authorities...But the one who stayed behind would definitely be inviting his death...