🔥 Chapter 1: The Sacrifice of Ryu 'Jack' Baptise
Ryu "Jack" Baptiste is the product of a Japanese-American mother and an American father. At sixteen, he stood tall, lean, and handsome—an athlete who could've ruled his school if he cared enough to try.
But Jack was… different.
His hobbies didn't align with what most expected from someone of his pedigree. He'd rather debate manga lore than dominate in any one sport. Though he was immensely talented athletically—just like his father, a career Marine—his passions came first. He floated between social groups, never quite claiming one as his own. Popular, but not part of the social elite.
And at that moment, he was at peace.
Chicago—the Windy City—the Jewel of the Midwest. But beneath its iconic skyline and cultural brilliance was a darker name… one the world whispered with uneasy familiarity.
Jack stepped out of the comic shop, grinning as he held the latest issue of Naruto. The cool Chicago breeze tousled his hair as he strolled down the sidewalk, mentally theorizing what would happen now that the Fourth Great Shinobi War had ended.
Jack was too lost to notice the illegally parked car across the street. He is too absorbed in his theories about Sasuke and Naruto to see the sudden flash of headlights.
A young mother and her toddler daughter exited the Starbucks nearby. A group of teens swaggered past them on the opposite corner, loud and careless.
Screeech!
The sound of tires shrieked across the pavement. Jack felt a cold prickling crawl across the back of his neck. He froze, instincts firing. Time slowed.
His eyes darted to the scattering teens. Not the target.
The mother.
The child.
The black car swung around, windows rolled down, muzzles protruding.
Gunfire.
He could see the bullets rip from the barrels in slow motion. The woman turned to protect her daughter, arms outstretched. The child, frozen in confusion, Jack's legs moved.
One step, like wading through molasses.
Two—like swimming through cement.
Three—and he exploded forward.
No hesitation.
No second thoughts.
Just action.
He felt the heat as the bullets tore through his body. Then, fire. Molten, searing pain.
The world snapped back into motion.
Voices screamed around him.
Jack lay on the sidewalk, the manga still clenched in his trembling hand. Blood pooled beneath him. His vision blurred, but he saw the young mother's face twisted in panic, her tears falling onto his cheek.
He smiled at her.
Unknowingly, Jack Baptise had just saved the life of the President's great-granddaughter… and because of the first female president.
As darkness crept in, he thought of his mother's kind, proud face, and the towering mountain of a man that was his father.
He closed his eyes and died.