The sky darkened as night settled over the city, and Josuke and Ryuji pedaled their bicycles along the quiet streets. The faint hum of their tires on the pavement was accompanied by their casual banter, the weight of the day lifting as the two of them laughed together. Their bikes weaved through the streets with the ease of childhood friendship, yet the night seemed to bring with it a subtle sense of foreboding.
Ryuji, ever the joker, broke the comfortable silence with one of his trademark dark quips. "You know, Josuke," he began with a devilish grin, "I heard the rangers are recruiting demons now. Imagine that—your next job could be working along said one. I bet they'll make hell of a soldiers."
Josuke chuckled, his laughter light, though he didn't fully understand the weight behind Ryuji's words. "Man, you've got a twisted sense of humor. You should seriously tone it down sometimes."
But Ryuji just shrugged, his grin never fading. "What can I say? I'm just messing with you."
Josuke shook his head, laughing nervously, unsure if there was something more to the joke than just a harmless quip. Ryuji had always had a knack for making light of the darkest things, but Josuke never knew when to take him seriously.
"Anyway, have you heard? I saw a bunch of rangers blocking off Shinji Forest last night," Ryuji continued, clearly unfazed by the conversation's direction. "Seems like something big's going down out there."
Josuke's heart skipped a beat. The mention of Shinji Forest immediately brought back memories.memories of his destructive rampage there. His powers, his uncontrollable rage, and the destruction he caused. The incident had left a scar on him, both physically and emotionally, and now, Ryuji was bringing it up casually.
Josuke quickly masked his discomfort with a forced smile. "I thought you and your family arrived this morning. How did you see that?"
Ryuji gave him a strange, knowing look and let out a small, cryptic laugh. "Let's just say… I have my ways of keeping an eye on things. Don't worry about it."
Josuke didn't like the sound of that, but he pushed the thought aside. "You're always so cryptic, man. It's like you have a secret life or something."
Ryuji smirked but didn't elaborate. "Maybe I do. Maybe I don't." He glanced over at Josuke, his eyes twinkling with mischief. "Either way, it's not like the rangers would be up to anything bad, right?"
Josuke frowned, now slightly more uneasy than before, but he forced himself to laugh. "Yeah, right. I wouldn't want to be around those guys anyway if they were . They seem like trouble then."
As they approached the orphanage, the familiar sight of the building gave Josuke a sense of relief. The other kids greeted him warmly, and for a moment, the weight of the world seemed to fade away. But in the back of his mind, he couldn't ignore the unsettling feeling that had settled deep within him.
Ryuji, sensing the shift in the air, clapped him on the back, bringing him back to the present. "You good, man? You look a little spaced out."
Josuke forced a smile, nodding. "Yeah, just tired, I guess. It's been a long day."
As they entered the orphanage, Josuke couldn't help but glance back at Ryuji, who had already turned to head toward his own destination. There was something off about the way Ryuji spoke—something Josuke couldn't quite put his finger on. But for now, he pushed the thoughts aside, opting to focus on the present. He had a lot to process, but with Ryuji around, it felt a little easier to ignore the growing unease in his gut.
But deep down, Josuke knew he had no idea how far it would go before he had to confront whatever secrets his world was hiding.