The next day, Ryuji sensed it the moment he stepped onto school grounds.
They weren't just watching anymore.
They were testing him.
---
Thread One: Kurohane Pressure
After lunch, a tall, sharp-jawed student named Renji Tetsuma approached Ryuji in the hallway.
He wasn't just a student.
He was one of them.
"Tatsugami," Renji said with a too-calm smile. "Got a minute?"
Ryuji didn't answer. Just stared.
Renji nodded toward the rooftop. "Let's talk where it's quiet."
The two walked in silence, students parting around them like water.
Once they reached the rooftop, Renji dropped the act. His smile vanished.
"We know who you are," he said, voice cold. "You've been playing house here long enough."
Ryuji said nothing. Just leaned on the railing, looking over the city.
Renji stepped closer. "The Kurohane family doesn't appreciate ghosts from old clans floating around our territory—especially ones carrying dragons on their backs."
Still, Ryuji didn't move. Didn't blink.
Renji lowered his voice. "Stay away from the young lady. Or next time, we won't talk."
Silence.
Then Ryuji finally spoke, his voice like frost:
"If I wanted a warning… it wouldn't come from a child."
Renji froze.
In a blink, Ryuji stepped forward, his gaze dead and empty. "Tell your masters the dragon hasn't forgotten. And I don't run from shadows."
He walked past him without looking back.
Renji didn't follow.
---
Thread Two: The Tension Between Them
Later that day, Aika found him again.
This time, she approached him.
They stood by the stairwell, the same place he'd once shattered another boy in seconds.
She looked into his eyes and said quietly, "I know who you are now."
Ryuji didn't respond.
"You've been hiding it, but you let me see it," she continued. "Why?"
A long pause.
Then he answered, softly.
"Because some things aren't meant to stay buried forever."
She stepped closer. "You're from Tatsugami-gumi, aren't you?"
His eyes didn't flinch, but the way his hands tightened ever so slightly at his sides… confirmed everything.
"Why are you here, Ryuji?"
He looked at her, and something flickered behind his calm.
"Because I made a promise," he said.
"A long time ago."
The hallway seemed to freeze around them.
"What kind of promise?"
He looked away. "The kind you can't walk away from."
Aika stared at him. Her heart was pounding—and not from fear.
"You're not what I expected," she whispered.
He looked at her with something dangerously close to emotion in his eyes.
"Neither are you."
---
Closing Scene: The Fire Awakens
That night, in a dark room filled with smoke and low voices, a new order was given.
"Ryuji Tatsugami. The Black Vow.
If he won't leave…
Then make him bleed."