The Crouching Tiger Bears its Fangs (solo)

Much time had passed since Ryu had joined the academy. It wouldn't be much longer until he was qualified to graduate and join the Gotei 13. He was sure that he could do well for himself once he joined up, but was currently unsure of what division he should join. As he and Hana walked together toward their next class, the two were deep in discussion about the topic.

"So what squad are you planning to join?" Ryu questioned Hana, hoping she could shed some light on the various divisions? Holding a finger to her lips as a show of being in deep thought, Hana pondered her answer for several seconds.

"I'm not very sure. Papa has always wanted me to join the second squad, and I do have the required skills...but I don't wanna." Hana seemed rather annoyed about something as she finished her statement. Ryu decided to not inquire directly and poked at a different angle of her response.

"Why would your father want you to specifically join the second division?"

Hana cocked her head to the side and gave Ryu a funny look as though he'd said something strange. "Because Papa is the captain of the second division. He wants me to join so he can watch over me, but I don't like the idea of getting any special treatment...not to mention trying to maintain a professional relationship. With his personality that would be impossible."

Ryu had almost tripped over his feet in surprise after hearing Hana's declaration. "Wait...you mean to tell me that your father is a captain of the Gotei?"

"Yes, you didn't know?"

"Of course I didn't! You never mentioned such a detail before."

"Right, because I'm trying to prevent people from treating me differently because of it. I don't want people tiptoeing around me or sucking up to me because of my father's position."

Ryu could sort of understand where Hana was coming from. There was no shortage of people in society who would cozy up to someone of status to try and garner favors from them. With her personality, Hana likely was trying to prove herself without riding on the coattails of her father.

"But what did you mean about it being impossible to maintain-" he started to ask when an explosion suddenly roared from the other side of the academy grounds. Ryu could see smoke rising over the tree line. Shouts of panic and confusion rang out as students and faculty members ran in all directions trying to investigate the incident and restore order. Ryu and Hana froze in their tracks and tried to discern what was happening right now. And Ryu couldn't shake a foreboding feeling that this was like the first rumble of thunder signaling the arrival of a terrifying storm.

(ooc: I'll add the color speech later. This is all I got in me for now. Hopefully I can get all my mojo back soon. )