**HIGHEST POINT IN THE CITY, 6:00PM**

**JUNE 26, 2012**

As the evening sun glistened across the horizon, there were two individuals situated atop a

skyscraper, taking in the evening view. One stood with his hands behind him, wearing a

dark kimono. The other sat by his side, wearing a loose long-sleeved top white top with

dark long pants, one of his legs dangling from the building, and his tied shoulder-length

hair blowing with the wind; the two were Daisuke Taejin and Gyuwhan Ryūjin. Gyuwhan

was sitting down, resting his head in his palm, with a gloomy look.

“I like a change of scenery from time to time…it’s boring inside that old place.”

“I agree. It’s somewhat relaxing here, Ryūjin-sama."

Facepalming, Gyuwhan responded to him saying,

“Could you stop calling me that?...Gyuwhan is just fine.”

“…Stop reminding me of that geezer already.”

It had now been almost 2 years since that day…but as Gyuwhan gazed into the distance, he

vividly recalled those final moments as if it was just yesterday…

-----------------------------------------------------

**ABANDONED WAREHOUSE**

**UNDERGROUND LOUNGE**

*AUGUST 15, 2010**

"So, is everyone here?"

Within the old warehouse, inside an underground chamber, sat Ivan Ryūjin, Daisuke, and a

third individual by the name of Mujin, one of Ivan’s two right-hand men. They were about

to commence a meeting with their associates; the Leaders of the Big-Three, and the 3

leaders of the Dragons’ Religious Sect. Upon performing a magic spell, they linked their

energies across vast distances, manifesting their spirits inside the lounge, to discuss

matters surrounding recent events.

"Hearing you loud and clear, old man," Kallavan of the Inferno Gang responded.

"Oi, know your place. Stop acting all buddy-buddy with Ryūjin-sama," the Apocalypse

Gang’s leader, Ringo Himura ordered Kallavan.

"This is why I despise working with you bland assholes."

"Watch your mouth when you talk to me, peasant."

"For God's sake, both of you shut up!" Daisuke angrily commanded them.

"Good grief...can we get along for once? It's always the same, especially with you two."

"So, you requested a meeting, Boss?" Ringo asked.

"Yes. This meeting is being held for three reasons only. I want you all to take careful note of

what I'm saying."

"First of all, let me express how pleased I am with your progress over these years. It's been

quite challenging, but we've been able to make inroads regarding our ulterior goal."

"Preachers, you lot have done an amazing job increasing the amount of following that the

Dragon-Tails have. We now have loyal followers all over the country, who either serve as

spies or simply backup. I'm truly grateful to you all."

The 3 leaders, named Arata, Kentaro, and Mamoru, bowed themselves to Ivan.

"No need; we are quite honored, Ryūjin-sama."

Ivan turned to the gang leaders and acknowledged them as well;

"Also, Leaders of the Big-Three...Shigaraki Orochi, Kallavan...Ringo Himura."

"I must say, I appreciate the manner of authority that you three enforce. I know dealing

with mindless knuckleheads can be awfully draining, but you have all demonstrated

incredible leadership, of which I'm nothing short of impressed. I'm glad to know I made the

right choices."

"Although...that blunder was quite embarrassing, Kallavan."

He was referring to Kallavan’s encounter with Steffan Rakulli, where he and his underlings

ended up retreating to avoid reinforcements.

"Eh, Old Man?? I dealt the last hit in that battle!"

"Yes, but retreating when your opponent gets serious isn't exactly a good look."

"Shut it before I kill you, Ringo!"

"As I was saying, there are a few things I want to discuss in this meeting," Ivan continued.

"Firstly...Ronin-san's death."

When the two other gang leaders and the preachers heard that, they were shocked. To hear

such a high-ranking assassin like Ronin was now dead.

"Huh? Ronin's dead?"

"An elite like him?..."

"Oi, oi, oi...didn't those Hunter bastards swear an oath?"

Kallavan was enraged after hearing this, and his energy steadily began to flare up among

them.

"If they really had the balls to break that oath they made, we'll massacre them."

Ivan then calmed him down, giving him some more details on what really happened,

"Relax, Kallavan. Ronin-san had committed suicide after being captured and interrogated

by the Hunters."

"Tch, same thing, damn it!" he spat as he calmed down.

"Wait a minute, Boss. Interrogated?" Kallavan confusedly asked.

"Yes, that stuck out to me as well. He's unable to reveal crucial information thanks to the

Binding Spell, right?" Ringo followed up.

"That, is the second topic of this meeting...go ahead, Shigaraki."

"Yes Sir. What I'm showing you all right now are the memories I received from Ronin, right

before he died. Please pay attention."

Orochi-Style: Dragon Relay.

Weaving hand signs, Shigaraki performed the Dragon Relay technique, displaying to his

associates all the memories of Ronin before his death. They examined it all from start to

finish, from the night he was captured up to the final attack dealt by Danjo. Witnessing

everything, they couldn’t help but admire his integrity.

"Ronin..."

"Up until the very end, huh? What a guy."

"Danjo...that sly bastard."

"I was able to get rid of him, thanks to Ronin's taunting. He lost his cool and left the safety

of the Clans' Barrier, leaving him defenseless to my control over him," Shigaraki

explained.

"Tenchi Yamaguchi...he's a troublesome one. To think he actually managed to break the

Binding Spell...and as Ronin had deduced, it simply means they could get intel out of any of

us, since it's the same spell," Mujin added.

"Yes. What I'm saying is, I'm going to have to rewrite the Binding Spell. It's a fairly simple

process, so no need to worry," Ivan announced.

Mujin however, had more words directed to Shigaraki:

"Oi, Shigaraki...I hope you've learned a valuable lesson from this."

"?"

"Don't share intel with rugrats, you bastard."

The room was quiet for a moment. Undeniably, Ronin was not one of the 9, meaning

Shigaraki should have really thought twice before imparting certain knowledge to him.

But, the gang leader remembered the words that he spoke to his friend on that night…

"...Rugrat?"

"If he's not among the 9 of us, then what is he?"

"I'll fucking kill you."

"BOTH OF YOU, STOP."

This time, it was Ivan himself warning his inferiors to desist from conflict.

"...Does an argument have to be the last thing I hear?"

In that moment, Ivan reminded them all that he was near death, and they were speechless.

But Shigaraki and Mujin apologised.

"Sorry, Ryūjin-sama."

"Forgive me, Boss."

"Don't worry...anyway, it's time I bring up our third topic."

Letting out a sigh…Ivan announced to them:

"...Reinforcement of the Binding Spell, means my death."

They all looked at him in confusion; why would their Elder die by conducting a simple

spell? Furthermore, why would he do it if it meant an earlier death?

"Normally, it wouldn't take anything out of me at all, but you all know how old I am. I'm on

my last legs right now. Rewriting the Binding Spell for every single Dragon will definitely

kill me."

"Ryūjin-sama-!" Daisuke cried out.

"Crazy geezer. Why would you cut the little time you have left short? At least do it when

you're about to die!" Kallavan advised, flustered.

"Ryūjin-sama, why don't you let us do it?" Ringo asked him.

"Excellent question, Ringo-san. But, only Hellam's descendants can perform this spell. My

son is also out of the question, since he's not skilled enough to execute it."

While they all sat in sorrow, Kallavan desperately grabbed at strings in seeking an alternate

solution:

"Boss, is it really necessary to rewrite the spell? With Danjo dead, doesn't that mean they

now lack the secondary knowledge to even-"

"Kallavan,” Shigaraki interrupted.

“...just let the Boss do what he's decided to do."

"You have a point, Kallavan, but it's better to be safe than sorry," Ivan responded.

Filled with anger and sorrow, Kallavan got up, and released the spell on his end, leaving the

meeting.

"...Do what you please."

"O-Oi! Kallavan!"

"This guy..."

"It's alright. Give him some space," Ivan instructed.

As they were about to end their meeting, Ringo added a last-minute suggestion:

"Ryūjin-sama, let's all gather at the base with you tonight."

"...Let's all be at the Boss's side, in his final moments."

"Agreed," they all answered.

With that, they adjured the day’s meeting and released the spell. On the outside of the

lounge, however, sat Gyuwhan on the floor. He’d heard the entire conversation.

-----------------------------------------------------

**FAMILY GROUNDS**

**YAMAGUCHI MANSION, 7:00PM**

On the same day, Lord Tenchi was conducting a meeting with the High-Ranking

Hunters, to discuss the happenings of two days earlier. Fudo, Emir, Katashi, Hayami,

Steffan, Chojo, and Miwa were all present.

"So, everyone's here then? Alright, let's begin."

"Regarding the interrogation of One-Eye Ronin...before succumbing to his injuries, I was

able to gather some...terrifying information."

"For starters, our hypothesis on the revival of the 9 Dragons is about...I would say, 90%

true. There were many instances in Ronin's memories where he heard 'revival, revival,

revival', though the entity to be revived was never specified. The means of revival went

unaddressed as well."

Throughout his time being an elite Dragon, Ronin had been given numerous hints from

Shigaraki in regards to the 9 Dragons’ revival, though he never received specific details.

Even among the current 9, Ivan has withheld from them some crucial facts concerning the

Dragons’ revival. This information must never be shared by any means, and so it has been

kept away within the secret Dragon Scroll.

"Secondly...I'm 50% sure Hellam Ryūjin had a son."

Hearing this, the Hunters’ eyes all widened.

"I guess that's what they were trying to hide," Chojo responded.

"Whoever he is...he can't be left alive," Steffan menacingly declared.

"I'm with you on that, Steffan. But, the problem is finding out how he looks, and where he

is. More than likely, he's a guy that can't be found unless he wants to be found. He’s way too

careful."

"Then, let's just carry out some more interrogations-"

"No use, Fudo," Tenchi asserted.

"It was Danjo's power that helped in breaking that spell, and now he's gone. And, of course,

there's no other Dragon we've captured who possesses the skillset that Danjo-san had."

"As for my third point...well, this is more of a guess. They could be building an army."

"...You mean those religious ones?" Hayami asked.

"Yes. Furthermore, it's possible that not even the street preachers themselves are aware of

the hidden agenda."

As the Hunters sat in a state of complete helplessness, with no leads or any ideas on what

actions to take…it felt as if they were awaiting an inevitable apocalypse.

"...Can we really not do anything here??"

*sigh*

"Our predecessors were too careless...we don't even have a clue about what we're up

against, should we decide to carry out a full extermination of the Dragon-Tails...but, if we

kill even one of these guys, we'll start a war. Worst case scenario, those 9 Elders would be

revived."

"Even though we won that Dragon War...the 5 Ancient Clans were slaughtered in the

process. Five whole clans. It's one thing that our forces are now much smaller, but our Two

Warriors had some special power that led them to victory. That power still doesn’t exist

among any of the Clan members, not even us Heads or previous ones."

Tenchi looked up at the ceiling as he hoped for a miracle.

"It's a sad reality, but it's safe to say until that power gives birth again, we're sitting ducks."

"So, it boils down to what you first told us, huh," Emir remarked.

"Yes, brother. We just have to prepare for the worst."

"But that's also why I entrusted those trainees to you. In a few years...those kids, they'll be

our saviors. Not me, not Gado-san, but all 16 of them, as well as yourselves."

"I believe in all of you."

-----------------------------------------------------

**PRESENT**

Still atop the skyscraper, Gyuwhan and Daisuke looked on at the sunset, as Gyuwhan

continued to recall that day.

“Hey…how old was he anyway?”

“Truth be told…even I couldn’t tell you, Gyuwhan-sama.”

“…”

“I still remember…when I felt that energy flowing in…”

Looking down at Gyuwhan in silence for a while, Daisuke asked him,

“Your words back then…have they changed in any way?”

Looking back up at Daisuke, a heavy wind blew, and Gyuwhan started laughing.

“Haha...nope. Not one bit.”

As Gyuwhan recalled the words he said on that night…

-----------------------------------------------------

**ABANDONED WAREHOUSE**

**UNDERGROUND CHAMBER, 9:00PM**

"You're all here...thank goodness."

Inside a chamber were gathered the Gang Leaders and the Religious Sect Leaders,

surrounding Ivan Ryūjin who laid in his bed, his body extremely frail and his bones

piercing his skin. They had gathered as planned, to be with him in his last moments.

Gyuwhan was in the room as well.

"This is the first time you've all seen me like this, isn't it? What a sorry state I'm in..." Ivan

said with a chuckle.

"Ryūjin-sama..."

"Oi, does it really-"

"Don't bother, Kentaro," Arata instructed.

"The boss has his mind made up."

Ivan then began to address them all,

"It...honestly pains me to have to leave you all. It's not death that I fear, but rather the

thought of the achievements that have been made simply going to waste. The thought of

dying while accomplishing nothing...but, I've put my full faith in all of you...Shigaraki, Ringo,

Kallavan, Arata, Kentaro, Mamoru, Daisuke, Mujin...and Gyuwhan, my son-"

By the time he had called Gyuwhan’s name, he was already leaving the room.

"Oi, where are you going?" Ringo asked him.

"Hurry it up and die already."

They all stood speechless as he walked out of the room. Kallavan however, was infuriated

by him.

"...What did that brat just sa-"

"Kallavan."

Without much words, Mujin reminded Kallavan that the boy was hurting much more than

any of them.

"...Leave him."

Looking over to his right-hand men, Ivan instructed them saying,

"Daisuke, Mujin...I leave that kid in your care. I know he'll be in good hands."

"Yes Sir," they responded, bowing themselves.

"Now then..."

Raising his hands, Ivan then performed hand signs while chanting a spell. This went on for

about 30 seconds, until he finally declared:

DRAGON-BINDING SEAL.

The Binding Spell was successfully rewritten. In that moment, all Dragons everywhere

around the city felt a small change in their bodies, almost unnoticeable. A stronger spell

was now put in place, absolutely preventing the possibility of it being broken ever again.

As for Ivan…his time was now up. As his remaining Dragon energy departed his body, he

imparted one final instruction to the Leaders:

“Never forget our goal…I put my trust in every single one of you. Make me proud.”

Letting out one final breath…his soul left him.

Gyuwhan, who was outside the room, sat on the floor in complete silence, almost

emotionless. That was, until the Dragon Energy from his father, the other half of what he

originally received, came flowing right into him. It was at that moment he knew his father

was now dead…and tears ran down his face. He sat down, remembering all the moments he

spent with Ivan.

Leaving the sorrow-filled room, Daisuke came to see Gyuwhan sitting on the floor, crying

silently. He was unsure of what to say to him, until he heard the boy ask:

“Daisuke-san…the Clan Heads…”

“?”

“…Do they have sons?”

“…“

“Recently, about 8 years ago, we’ve heard from our spies that the Heads both had sons,

born on the same day.”

In the present once again, Gyuwhan’s devilish Dragon eyes glistened as he remembered his

words…

“I’ll make them suffer.”

**TO BE CONTINUED**