Ryu needs to be drunker for this conversation.

“You think I’d be here if I had a choice?” he asks, taking a swig from his bottle of sake. The answer is ‘yes’, but he’s going to pretend it’s not. “The boy needs to be trained, and I want your help.”

Alma—the boy in question—does need training, so it’s not like he’s lying. He’s just omitting the fact Alma’s half-Maga from you, that’s all. Ryu doesn’t know if you’ll flat out reject his offer had you known.

It’s been a year since he last saw you. It’s very unfortunate you look good, too good. He almost wishes you looked like a mess instead. Maybe that’d ease the sting of the breakup. Ryu had asked for it, said he couldn’t give you the time you deserved, and that was that. He missed—misses?—you, he realizes.

“I’ll,” he starts reluctantly, “owe you a favor.”

He hates owing people favors, and he hates that he’s doing all this for Alma’s sake. Sure, it’s also an excuse to see you, but he’s doing it for a fifteen-year-old boy who’s also half-Maga, the very thing they work to destroy. The things he does for booze.