Two large luggage bags landed with a soft "boom" on the cobblestones of the Morioh bus station. Sighing heavily and wiping the sweat from his forehead, Josuke looked back, but before he could even straighten up, Tomoko, who seemed to have been waiting for her son at the bus station since its opening, hugged him tightly, almost knocking him down.
"Josuke! Welcome home! You've been gone so long, you've completely stopped coming to me with your work!" She chattered while hugging her son tightly, a rare moment when she could afford to be gentle, before making it clear to Josuke again that in the Higashikata family home, he would live by her rules again, as in childhood. It wasn't that he minded, after all, he had his old PS1 waiting for him at home and a private space in the form of his room.
After loading bags of belongings and various gifts for family and friends into the trunk, Tomoko started the car and they headed home.
"Nothing has changed here at all." Josuke's gaze was directed straight at the streets, shops, and passing cars.
"Josuke, fasten your seat belt." She looked at him sideways, narrowing her eyes.
"Oh, okay, okay! Just don't look at me like that." Josuke hurried to fasten his seat belt, despite the fact that he was basically too lazy to do it. He pretended to look out the window again, but when the car turned onto the street where the house was located, he suddenly straightened up. No one had ever lived in the house opposite, the lights were always off, although the plot itself was always well maintained. Apparently, someone has settled there now. And he became even more interested when he saw a human silhouette in the window.
"Do we have new neighbors?" Josuke asked without taking his eyes off the figure.
"Ah? Yes, not so long ago. In fact, Morioh has grown significantly in a year, with so many new families..." She shrugged, and finally the car pulled into the garage door, plunging the car into semi-darkness as the gates closed behind them.
"Hmm, then I'll pay them a visit later, I need to be polite."