** I do not own any of the photos

Ryu was having another nightmare. It had been triggered by seeing what she thought was one of Tobe's men while leaving the station earlier.

"I want my daddy! I want my daddy!"

That was all little Ryu could scream as her mother dragged her towards the long black car. She could smell the cigarette smoke before reaching the vehicle. Her mother didn't say anything as her nails dug into the flesh of the small arm she had a grip on. Soon the doors to the vehicle opened and she saw it was filled with tattooed men.

"Fuck..." Ryu sat up, finally able to wrench herself out of the dream before it continued. She swung her legs over the side of her bed and looked around. It was still daylight out but she felt as if she had been asleep for a minimum of 50 years. Looking at the time on her phone it was only 2pm and her head had a jackhammer going off inside of it.

"Jesus, I'm never drinking any more of that tea again. Shit."

Standing, she stretched, her joints popping back in place. Ryu needed to do something as she needed to clear her head so she could think. If that was one of Tobe's men, she had to do something about it. She had no choice. Ryu opened the drawer on her nightstand and pulled out a half dollar coin that her father had given her. It helped give her guidance when she was indecisive.

Heads; motorcycle ride. Tails; training in the gym. It was tails.

Ryu changed into her workout clothes. Her training session would be brutal but she was ready for it. The more it hurt, the better she would feel later. It was just her brothers at home so she didn't mind not covering up completely. They had all seen her tattoo so many times that they didn't even pay it any attention any more. Ryu's tattoo is something she never wanted. It was forced on her by Tobe and her mother. A black demon that covered her entire back.   From the nape of her neck to the small of her back, there was nothing but a design of intricate ink work.  Black with shades of grey the tattoo was void of any other color. 

Black demon.

The name her mother repeated to her over and over instead of using her daughter's given name. A name she had come to not only embrace but personify.

Black demon.

The tattoo was not the only thing striking about Ryu. Underneath the clothes she always wore was a chiseled and muscular physique. Her scars were still visible but only close up. Dressed, Ryu picked up two of the free weights she had in her room to take back to their workout area.

Walking down the hallway, she heard Tomo and Seiji in the kitchen. She didn't have to say anything as she came into view, they could tell by what she was wearing that she was having a day.

They just let her go about her business. After she was gone they looked at each. Ryu was not doing good mentally and it was only a matter of time before she exploded. Hopefully her workout would help dissipate what she was feeling.

Earbuds in and music cranked up, Ryu started on the treadmill followed by the elliptical then weights. Still no clarity, so she tried the punching bag. Her shins were already scared from her nonstop muay thai leg kicks against the wooden dummy that Uncle used to practice on. After 2 hours, Ryu gave up on her workout. Now she desperately needed a shower. Walking out of the gym room she was a sweaty mess. Tomo was the first to see her.

"Feel better little dragon?"

"...no. I'm going for a ride."

"Be careful sis." Seiji was worried about her.

"I will."

Showered she put on her full 'race gear'. She wasn't going for a calming bike ride, this would be filled with high speeds and adrenaline. While Ryu was in her room changing, Seo showed up. Tomo took him straight to the kitchen.

Ryu would ride her sport bike, something she rarely did because she always ended up with a speeding ticket. Tonight she just wouldn't get caught. Soon she was clunking down the hall in all of her gear, the only thing visible was her face. The gear she had on was a special motorcycle body armour. If she did wipe out on her bike she would be better protected. She went past the kitchen when her name was called.

"Ryu?"

She turned to see Seo. "Why are you here?"

"Sanada asked me to drop your containers off."

"Hmpfh." Ryu continued towards the genkan but Seo went to follow her. Seiji stopped him.

"That's not a good idea."

Seo looked at Seiji then Tomo who nodded. The men all let her go.  Ryu's sport bike was huge, it had to be to accommodate the high horsepower engine.  Soon the roar of the motorcycle was heard as she sped off out of the compound.  

{Ryu, ready to wreck havoc}

40-50-80...cruising speed. The bike hugged the curves like a tight bikini all the while high tempo electronic music filled her helmet. She could feel the pavement as it scraped her knee guard while death kneeling into the hairpin turns.   The feel of speed was pure exhilaration. 

{Ryu kneeling through the curves of the road}

Straight a ways meant open throttle. 100-110-120...coasting.  Ryu rode like this all the way into the congested city.  Flawlessly, she zipped through two red lights uncontested.  Irritated drivers honking their horns in disapproval.   The next red light she stopped at. In the adjacent lane, was a very familiar motorcycle. The machine was meant for racing as well. It was Sergeant Yibo, but in her current gear, she was unrecognizable.  Ryu was going to have some fun.

She revved the engine while clamping down on the brake, never taking her gaze off of him. Rear tire screaming, white smoke bellowed out the back of her bike. Yibo couldn't believe the balls of the rider next to him. He quickly flashed his police badge at the unknown rider clad in black, thinking that would bring some sense to them. Two more quick revs and the rider flipped him off. Light still on red, Ryu could sense the way was clear and kicked the bike out of neutral. Taking off, she continued giving Sergeant Yibo the solo finger salute.

1st, 2nd, 3rd, she zipped passed the gears as she sped through the intersection. What Ryu didn't know is that there was a police car near Yibo. Both the car and Yibo took off after her, sirens blaring from the car. Yibo had a police flashing light on his motorcycle as well. Ryu heard him speeding up behind her over the music that was still playing.

'Sucker face! Bring it pretty pretty boy'

Ryu weaved through the cars like a seamstress. She slowed a little so Yibo could pull up alongside her.

"PULL IT OVER NOW!"  To say he was pissed was an understatement.  That someone would so blatantly ignore his authority or the law was infuriating. 

Ryu blew him a kiss and took off again, Yibo was able to keep up with her, but only because she allowed him to, but not for long. She didn't want him to wreck. What Yibo didn't know was that her bike had a little secret. It was in no way street legal and was turbo charged. Switch flipped, Ryu left him in her dust. Yibo had no choice but to end the pursuit. She zipped through the city, there were CCTV cameras everywhere. That was fine as her bike didn't have a tag or any identifying marks, neither did what she was wearing.   Plus Ryu knew where to go where she would eventually lose the citywide surveillance. 

Time to head back home. She was getting hungry.