Ryuji carried out his usual patrol of the seas that he was deployed upon with his 45th Shock Battalion, sometimes Ryuji's battalion was used to end any uprising pirates so they don't become a problem later on, however before going to the Blues, he had explored a jungle with large monstrosities which he quickly evacuated because even the monsters on that island were too much for Ryuji, however... as they started to make their way to the Blues, Ryuji started to get slower in his movements, collapsing, having a fever... as it got worse, they decided to make a stop for Ryuji and get to the closest island, which is Ilusia, the ship's doctor said he couldn't help Ryuji as it was "out of his range" As soon as they docked, Tom grabbed Ryuji onto his back and walked into the town, making sure the 45th stayed on the ship.
Tom was usually the quiet one, but he even started to speak full sentences to each person and doctor he could find to try and check out Ryuji, a couple of them said yes and did check Ryuji, but they said he was having very unusual symptoms, ones that were out of their reach to treat. Tom visited several doctors who pretty much said the exact same thing, as far as they knew there was no cure for what Ryuji had and Tom was starting to panic, refusing to allow some random disease or infection to claim Ryuji's life. One doctor recommended somebody on the side, some considered her shady but he said that her skill as a doctor was probably the best this island's ever seen, and that she's their best hope. A name was dropped, known as "Valkyrie" but it wasn't much to go on for Tom.
Nonetheless, he wasted no time looking for the individual known as "Valkyrie" asking around, checking broad and large areas of the island for such an individual according to the description he got, but so far he's found nothing, it was starting to reach dusk but it still wasn't too late as Tom continued his relentless search.