demons in disguise

The restaurant had never felt so quiet.

Renji still felt their presence lingering in the air, like a phantom hand pressing against his throat. The moment Yuuji and Kaito had left, the tension dissolved, but something thick and suffocating remained. It sat in his chest, refusing to leave.

The way Yuuji had glanced at him… that fleeting look, sharp and unreadable, like he had already decided Renji's worth in a single second—it made his skin crawl.

"You look like you've seen a ghost," a voice muttered.

Renji turned to see Kenta, one of the restaurant's older workers, leaning against the wall with a cigarette dangling between his lips. He was grizzled, sharp-eyed, and had seen too much of the city's filth.

Renji swallowed the lump in his throat. "Who the hell were those guys?"

Kenta exhaled slowly, tapping his cigarette against the ashtray. "You really don't know?" His lips curled into something that wasn't quite a smile. "Kid… you're lucky you're still standing."

Renji stiffened. "What do you mean?"

Kenta sat down, rubbing his temples as if deciding how much he should tell. Then, in a voice low enough to not be overheard, he said:

"They go by many names. But in the underworld? They're demons

Renji's breath caught in his throat.

Kenta continued. "Yuuji—the pale one? He's not just dangerous. He's the one who owns the entire fucking underworld. The drugs, the assassinations, the black market trades—if it happens, it happens because he allows it."

Renji could hardly process the words.

"And Kaito?" Kenta muttered. "That red-haired bastard with the pretty face? He's even more terrifying in some ways. He kills like it's a game, always smirking, always acting like it's all a joke. But trust me—he means every word he says."

Renji's fingers curled against the countertop.

Kenta took another drag of his cigarette. "They don't just rule the underworld. They've rotted in it. Their social life? Completely wasted. No attachments. No lovers. They don't even care about the men they play with."

Renji blinked. "…Men?"

Kenta nodded. "They're into men, yeah. But don't think that makes them soft." His voice dropped lower. "They chew through people like fucking cigarettes. Playboys, but not in the way you'd think. They take what they want—then toss them away like they never existed."

Renji felt his stomach twist.

"They'll tell you you're special. That they've got their eyes on you. But it's all a lie. No one actually means anything to them." Kenta crushed his cigarette against the ashtray. "They don't love, they don't need. They just ruin."

Renji swallowed, feeling bile rise in his throat.

Kenta leaned in slightly. "You don't want their attention, kid. They don't just kill their enemies—they erase them. No one crosses them alive."

Renji exhaled shakily.

"And the worst part?" Kenta muttered. "They're only getting stronger. The chairman of Jigoku-kai wants to make them his heirs. Some say he already has."

Renji could barely breathe.

Kenta stared at him grimly. "They have the power to hug this fucking city in their palms." He exhaled a long breath. "And when they do? There won't be a damn thing anyone can do about it."

A chill ran through Renji's bones.

He had seen powerful people before. But Yuuji and Kaito?

They weren't just powerful.

They were monsters.

You don't cross them. You don't even breathe wrong around them. If you do…you disappear."

Renji sat at the bar, swirling the amber liquid in his glass, the dim lighting casting long shadows across the worn-out counter. His mind was a tangled mess, replaying the events of the night over and over. Kaito's touch, Yuuji's unreadable expression, the sheer power they exuded.

He was trying to shake it off—chalk it up to the alcohol messing with his head—when the bartender, Kenta, let out a slow sigh, shaking his head as he wiped down the counter.

Kenta tossed the damp cloth over his shoulder, grabbing a cigarette from the pack on the counter. He lit it, the glow briefly illuminating the deep lines on his face. His eyes flicked toward the door where Yuuji and Kaito had left moments ago.

Kenta let out a humorless chuckle. " What matters is what they've done. And those two? They own this city. You wanna know how deep their roots go?" He tapped the bar twice, as if sealing a deal.

Renji didn't respond, but Kenta took his silence as permission to continue.

"They're not just rich kids playing gangster. They are the fucking underworld. Drugs, arms dealing, extortion, assassinations—you name it, they control it. Even the cops don't touch them. The only reason they aren't rotting in prison is because every judge in this damn city owes them a favor."

He took another drag of his cigarette, watching Renji carefully.

"The pale one—Yuuji." He said the name like it was a curse. "He's the one you really need to watch out for."

Renji swallowed, gripping his glass a little tighter.

"There's a reason they call him the Reaper. He's cold. Precise. Efficient. You won't hear him coming, and if he's after you, you won't see the sunrise. People say he never raises his voice. Never shows emotion. Just smiles that eerie fucking smile right before he puts a bullet between your eyes."

Renji felt a chill creep down his spine. He had seen that smile.

"And Kaito?" he asked, though he wasn't sure he wanted to know.

Kenta snorted. "Kaito's a different kind of monster. He enjoys the game. He's the one who plays with his prey, makes them beg, gives them hope before snatching it away." He shook his head. "Between the two of them? I don't know who's worse."

Renji sat in stunned silence.

It made sense. The effortless power, the untouchable aura they carried. They weren't just dangerous. They were the gods of the underworld.

Kenta leaned in, voice lowering.

"They've got no attachments. No lovers. No family left. Just power. Money. Control. They use people like toys, men included." He scoffed, shaking his head. "Hell, maybe especially men. They chew them up and spit them out without a second thought."

He leveled Renji with a stare.

"So if I were you? I'd stay the fuck away from them."

Renji didn't respond. He wanted to. He wanted to tell Kenta he had no plans of getting involved. That he wasn't stupid enough to play with fire.

But the memory of Kaito's lips had grinned effortlessly, the way Yuuji's gaze had lingered just a second too long, the ghost of a smirk playing on his lips—

It was already too late.

And for the first time in his life, Renji realized he might have stepped into something he wouldn't be able to escape.he couldn't even stop thinking about them what was wrong with him .