Passing the Baton

The Rise

Ryu was taken to a medical bay in the Styx. He was extremely injured during his fight with Homura, but it took a while for him to feel the pain because of the adrenaline. So the moment the fight stopped his adrenaline rush left and the effects of the fight attacked his body. His arms ached, his knuckles hurt, and it felt like his head was split open. Still though he found himself wishing he could've finished his fight with Homura.

"You want to finish the fight don't you?" Han asked his son as Ryu nodded. Han just grinned and looked at his son. Ryu really looked like his dad now with the white in his hair, and his new physique.

"Hey dad. Looks like I might be here for a while, so do you mind telling me something?" Ryu asked slightly hesitant. He had never asked his father about this subject before. Han just nodded at him there was no subject Han would not talk to his son about.

"Why and how did you join the Yakuza?" Ryu asked his dad. Han bit his lip for a second, and Ryu was worried he might not get an answer.

"Well for that it all starts back when I was middle school." Han said as Ryu looked at his dad eagerly.

Flashback to Han's middle school days.

A kid with bright white hair was running down a hallway with 3 guys giving chase.

"Get the hell back here Han!" One of the boys chasing the 14 year old Han yelled. Han never even acknowledged the yell, and just kept running.

"What happened this time?" A girl in the hallway asked. This wasn't uncommon in school after all most bullies targeted Han, but this time seemed different in some way.

"You didn't hear Sakura-san? In gym we played dodgeball, and Han was the only person who was never hit. Even when everyone targeted him he always dodged somehow. It was kinda amazing to see." Another girl said to Sakura. This was Sakura Watanabe's first look at Han Tatsuya. Han kept running not giving his surroundings any mind. He knew this school like the back of his hand. After a few seconds of running the bullies gave up, and Han left the school. There was only a single class left, so Han just decided to leave.

"Han you can't just keep leaving whenever you want." A boy's voice rang out as Han approached the exit to the school. Han turned to see a boy slightly shorter than him with dirty blonde hair, and dark brown eyes. This was Giichi Han's best friend even though they were almost polar opposites. Han was carefree and didn't really care what anyone said about him. Giichi was careful and seemed almost desperate for anyone to give him validation or really just any attention in general. Maybe that's why they were so great together. Han and Giichi covered the other's blindspots and so if they were in sync they would be almost flawless. The only thing that kept the team from being truly flawless together was Han's attitude. Han was truly free spirited he did whatever he wanted whenever he wanted which made it impossible for him to truly work with anyone as a complete team.

"What're you talking about? I can leave whenever after all I'm keeping perfect grades on every test that matters, so even the teachers don't care if I skip a class here and there." Han said as he unbuttoned his dress shirt that was part of his school uniform. Under it was a plain black t-shirt that Han kept on so he could quickly change out of his uniform whenever he wanted to leave school.

"Damnit Han how can you not care about your education!? Seriously man you know that they won't be thrilled that you keep missing classes." Giichi said annoyed at his friend. He looked over at Han who just smiled wide.

"C'mon Gii-Chan I'll buy the ramen this time if you come with me." Han said as Giichi bit his lip contemplating the deal. Han saw the indecisiveness and decided to sweeten his deal.

"You can get 2 bowls if you want." Han said as Giichi unbuttoned his shirt revealing a plain red shirt underneath it. The best friends walked to their favorite ramen spot Han laughing at Giichi being swayed by free food the entire way there.