Everyone thought he was dead. Those that were close and his enemies thought he had perished after falling off that mountainside and being pinned by a boulder to the snowy ground. Ryu knew himself better than anyone. The aging man lived out of spite. He had to live. That witch tried to kill him, but he survived.
Getting off the ground was ok. Amputating his destroyed left arm wasn't too bad either with frostbite settling in. He could barely feel a thing at that point. What was hardest for Ryu was moving on and leaving Rose. Ryu had to admit he'd gotten close to Rose in his two years of training her to become a medic. She was so kind and gentle to those around her. People didn't come like that anymore. He definitely had a soft spot for the young girl. Ryu didn't want that witch Charlemagne getting a hold of her.
To make sure Ryu knew where Rose was at all times, he spent the next two years developing his Monsuno Sight. All Ryu needed was a Monsuno on Rose to keep up with her every move. That Monsuno ended up being Vertigo. Even with Jeredy's genetic tampering to make the creature Rose's it still had previously belonged to Ryu. Ryu used Vertigo's eyes to watch over Rose, even while the creature rested in its core.
In the meantime, Ryu had trusted Jon Ace to keep Rose safe. The commander was her adoptive father after all. That turned out to be a mistake when Klipse all but killed the man, turning him into a weapon. It was such a pity, but nothing the former S.T.O.R.M medic could do. He had no quarrel with Jon Ace, but he didn't feel the need to give up his secrecy to help the man. Ryu continued to lurk in Vertigo's head, unnoticed by Rose or her friends. He found it pitiful that there were others in the group with the Monsuno Sight that did not sense him.
What Ryu did not expect was for Charlemagne to contact Rose and meet up with her soon after Jon's "death". Charlemagne had given Rose the Monsuno called Earthshaker, an uncontrollable malicious beast with a hatred for any human. The commandant marshal claimed it had belonged to Jon Ace and that Rose was next in line to get the creature. She feigned sorry and pity for the in-training medic. Ryu wanted scream it was a trap. He wanted to punch Charlemagne in her manipulative face. If Ryu had not been in the Mandalan Mountains when the exchange had occurred he would have given up his secrecy to protect Rose. The former S.T.O.R.M medic was well aware of Charlemagne's manipulative ways. He knew her plan was for Rose to be naïve enough to launch Earthshaker, dooming herself and Team Core-Tech along with her.
And Rose did launch Earthshaker not too long after that. Ryu mourned Rose that day for he truly believed she was dead. He watched from Vertigo's shocked eyes as the Monsuno's flaming claws slapped into her. That sweet girl was dead and he could have prevented it by killing that witch long ago. Ryu could hear a shattering heart from a mile away and that shattering heart came from the lowlander Rose had addressed as Dax. The old man thought it would benefit him to continue seeing through Vertigo's eyes, this time from the lowlander's point of view. Maybe he would find some closure through this.
Dax was harder to read than Rose. His thoughts were cloudy and angry. From what Ryu could gather from Rose, she held all the love in the world for Dax and the lowlander returned it. Ryu could remember when he felt that for his wife. Dax's thought patterns resembled Ryu's after the death of his wife and daughter in the avalanche that Charlemagne had caused by landing her soldiers on an unstable peak. But unlike Ryu, Dax's spirits had been lifted. Rose was alive.
Ryu's trainee was still alive, but barely. It turned out One-Eyed Jack had patched her up and bandaged her. The man was definitely no medic. Ryu knew he had to have used Monsuno essence in some way to keep her from fully dying. Ryu couldn't get in Jack's head though, not without Freedomstriker or Charlemagne seeing him. It didn't matter to the medic. Rose was alive and surviving. She was a little survivor just like him.
The ex-medic thought this was the turning point for Rose. Ryu believed she'd come to his side or even end Charlemagne for him. The opposite happened. To the medic's horror, Rose was willing to forgive Charlemagne. She believed with enough help, Charlemagne could return to society. His little trainee had even gone under the tutelage of her brother, Felix. It boiled his blood.
Ryu took a step back from his spot on the mountainside where he was watching Cloud Carrier Epsilon land. It looked like it was time to stop reminiscing and put his plan in motion. He stood with the help of his wooden walking stick. Ryu made sure to adjust his purple robe, wrapping it tightly around the nub of his right arm. It would a shame if the fabric caught on a crag or branch in his descent towards the aircraft.
The sun felt warm on Ryu's dark skin. He ran his left hand over the tattoo on his chin and over the ones under his eyes. It was as good a day as any to cause some chaos. Maybe soon it'd be a good day to take down his enemy.
Ryu knew Rose would side with him. All she needed was a little push.