The alley was silent except for the dripping of rainwater through broken pipes.
Ryotaro stood at its mouth, coat hanging wet around him, his hand resting casually at his side. To anyone else, he might have looked like a boy walking home late. But his eyes—the sharp, calculating eyes of a detective—were locked on the figure hunched ahead.
The man's back rose and fell with jagged breaths. His body shook, flickering between human and beast. Horns burst and receded. His pale eyes glowed like ash in the dark.
The Orphnoch.
"You followed me…" the man rasped, voice hollow. "What are you? Who are you? Are you the one who killed me"
Ryotaro tilted his head slightly. His voice was calm. "Not exactly. I'm here to ask you one thing. Who was driving the truck?"
The man snarled. "You think I know?" His claws scraped against the wet wall. "All I know is someone wanted me dead. And now… now I can feel it. This body, this hunger…with that I can tear them apart."
Ryotaro's gaze sharpened. "So you're going after them."
The Orphnoch's lips curled into something between a sneer and a plea. "Wouldn't you? If someone tried to kill you? If your family was left defenseless?"
Ryotaro's hand brushed the Joker Memory at his belt. He could feel the man rage but it is never the answer about morality.
"You're not wrong," Ryotaro admitted softly. "But the moment you give in completely, you'll stop protecting your family… and start destroying them."
The man roared, his body twisting fully this time, bone armor ripping through flesh as the Orphnoch form emerged. Massive claws, skeletal ridges, pale fire burning in its eyes.
"Don't tell me what I'll become!"
The ground cracked beneath his leap as he lunged.
"Fine," Ryotaro muttered, sliding the Memory into the Driver. "But I won't let you lose yourself."
JOKER!
"Henshin."
His form exploded into existence—black and violet armor, sharp lines cutting through the stormlight. The Rider stood tall, fists raised.
The Orphnoch struck first, claws slashing. Joker ducked low, countered with a sharp right hook. Impact echoed like thunder, but the monster barely flinched, swinging again. Joker blocked, their strength rattling the walls around them.
"You're strong," Ryotaro admitted, sliding back. "After all you have at least conscience. That's what makes you dangerous."
"I'll use this strength to protect them!" the Orphnoch roared. He swung wildly, cracking pavement. "I'll kill anyone who comes near my family!"
Ryotaro's fist met his chest, shoving him back. "And when your hunger says they are the threat? What? Kill them."
The Orphnoch hesitated for a fraction of a second. Enough for Joker to land a crushing blow across his jaw, dropping him to one knee.
Rain fell between them.
Joker didn't press the attack. Instead, his voice was quiet. "You're already dying. Every Orphnoch is. Your body is burning itself out, trying to hold what it was never meant to carry."
The man's pale eyes widened. His monstrous form flickered, parts of his face human again. "So… I can't stop it?"
Ryotaro shook his head. "No. But you can choose how it ends."
The Orphnoch collapsed fully into his human form, coughing, trembling. His hands were still streaked with claw marks. His voice broke.
"I just wanted… to see them again. My wife. My daughter. One last time."
Joker's armor dissolved, leaving Ryotaro standing there, rain plastering his hair to his forehead. He slipped his hands into his pockets, his gaze steady but softer now.
"Then go," Ryotaro said. "Say goodbye. I'll hold off anyone who comes for you until then."
The man stared, disbelief warring with gratitude. "Why… why would you help a monster?"
Ryotaro looked past him, toward the faint glow of homes in the distance. His voice carried the weight of something unspoken. "Because you're not the monster I'm after. You're just another piece on the board… pushed into place by someone else. Find them. Show me who they are. That's your last justice."
The man's hands shook, but he nodded. He staggered to his feet, bowing his head. "…Thank you."
Ryotaro turned away. "Don't thank me. I'll be the one to finish this when the time comes."
That night, from a shadowed rooftop across the street, Ryotaro watched.
Inside a small home, a wife gasped and wept as her husband stumbled in, soaked and pale. Their daughter clung to him, tiny arms wrapping around his shaking frame. He smiled weakly, kissed her hair, and whispered words Ryotaro couldn't hear.
Minutes later, he staggered out again, alone. His shoulders hunched, but there was a peace to his steps now.
Ryotaro's chest tightened faintly, though his face remained calm. A man given back his goodbye. That's more than most get.
At dawn, they found the body.
Not the monster. Not the glowing pale-eyed Orphnoch. Just a man. Cold, lifeless, lying in the alley not far from his home.
The storm had washed everything clean. To the world, it was a tragic end to a missing-person case. Nothing more.
But Ryotaro knew better.
He closed his notebook with a snap, jotting the last entry:
Subject terminated naturally.
Family safe.
Enemy remains unknown.
Case still open.
He stood, slipping the notebook back into his coat. His gaze turned toward the city skyline, where morning light pierced through heavy clouds.
"The mastermind's still out there," he murmured. "And I'll find them. Step by step. I am dead tired. System show me my rewards from last time."
[Host got new Gaia memories called Invisible Memory and Blade Memory.]
"Can I use then to change my form."
[Yes, you can.]
The Frog Pod clicked softly, recording his voice as if sealing the vow.
Somewhere else in the city, Kara Danvers folded her newspaper, her eyes shadowed. She had seen the same headlines. She had felt the same unease.
Their paths were drawing closer.
The Orphnoch was gone, but the storm he left behind was only beginning.
*********
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