"Moro...boshi-kun?" 

Katsuna whispered, her voice barely audible over the sound of her own ragged breathing. Moroboshi snapped up at the sound of his name, eyes widening behind his glasses as he stared at her. 

For a moment, neither of them moved.

The recognition in his eyes mirrored hers, and she could see the shock and disbelief written all over his face, "Katsuna...?" he croaked, his voice almost hoarse. He wiped the blood from his lip with the back of his hand, his gaze never leaving hers. "You...?"

She took a step back as she got up from him, her mind racing.

'This couldn't be happening. Not here. Not now. But there was no denying it. The boy I had known in high school—the one I had been alongside, laughed with, and shared so many memories with—was standing right in front of me. And he was...different. Older. More composed. But still, unmistakably, Dan Moroboshi.'

"Moroboshi-kun," Katsuna repeated, her voice trembling, "What...what are you doing here?"

He pushed himself to his feet, wincing slightly as he adjusted his glasses. "I could ask you the same thing," he said with a mix of confusion and concern, "Katsuna, why are you here? And why were you fighting me like that?"

She opened her mouth to respond, but the sound of approaching footsteps cut her off. Her head snapped toward the noise, and saw a group of soldiers rounding the corner, their weapons drawn. 

Her heart sank, didn't have time to explain, and she sure didn't even know where to begin.

"Katsuna, wait—" Dan started, but it was too late to stop her, she already left running. 

'I couldn't stay here. Not with the soldiers closing in. Not with Dan looking at me like I was some kind of stranger.'  She turned and bolted down the hallway, her mind a whirlwind of emotions that she can't even understand how terrified she is.

"Katsuna!" Dan's voice echoed behind her. 

But she didn't stop. 

She couldn't. 

She needed to get out of there, she had to figure out what was going on, and she had to do it before it was too late. 

As Katsuna ran, her thoughts raced with questions like, 'Dan was here. Dan was working with the SSSP. And he had fought me like I was an enemy. What did that mean? And more importantly, ...What had happened to him in the years since we'd last seen each other?'

Back into the SSSP...

(Dan Moroboshi's POV):

My heart was pounding so hard it felt like it might burst out of my chest. 

The same feeling I had when I told Katsuna 'I love you' on the day I left for the Japanese military. I thought I'd buried that feeling deep down after years of rigorous training, discipline, and the cold, unyielding reality of my work with the SSSP. 

But seeing her again—seeing her—brought it all rushing back. The memories, the emotions, the ache of something I thought I'd left behind.

Katsuna.

She was here.

In the SSSP headquarters.

And she had just fought me like I was her enemy.

My mind raced, a storm of confusion and frustration. 

'What the hell is she doing here? How did she end up in the SSSP? And why was she running? Why did she attack me like that?' The questions swirled in my head, but there was no time to process them. 

Just then, the sound of soldiers shouting snapped me out of my thoughts.

"The patient is escaping!" one of them yelled. I turned to see a group of soldiers rushing down the hallway, their weapons drawn. 

My instincts kicked in, and I stepped forward, raising a hand to stop them. "Stand down," I ordered, my voice firm and commanding. "I'll handle this." The soldier hesitated, his grip tightening on his weapon. "But sir—"

"I said stand down," I repeated, my tone leaving no room for argument. "Inform the superiors that I'll bring her back inside. That's an order."

The soldier nodded reluctantly, and the group dispersed, leaving me alone in the hallway. I took a deep breath, trying to steady my nerves, but the image of Katsuna's face—her wide, panicked eyes—was burned into my mind. 

'I couldn't let her get away. Not like this.' I thought.

I pulled out my phone and opened the CCTV live security cameras app, scanning the feeds until I found her. She was close to the main exit, struggling to open the heavy door. 

My chest tightened as I watched her, her movements frantic and desperate. 

She tried to break the windows, but they were reinforced, designed to withstand even the most determined escape attempts.

For a moment, I just stood there, watching her. 

There was an unreadable expression on my face, but deep down, I felt a pang of pain. 

This wasn't the Katsuna I remembered. 

The Katsuna I knew was strong, confident, and always in control. 

But the woman on the screen...she was scared. 

And that scared me.

I pocketed my phone and moved quickly, my footsteps echoing down the empty hallway. 

'I had to catch her before she did something reckless... Before she got herself killed.'

-------

(With Katsuna's POV):

The door wouldn't budge. 

No matter how hard I pulled, it was locked tight. I glanced around, my heart racing, and spotted a window. Maybe I could break it and climb out. But as I raised my fist to strike the glass, I froze.

A shadow loomed behind me, and I didn't need to turn around to know who it was. 

The presence was unmistakable. 

Slowly, I lowered my hand and turned to face him.

Dan stood there, his expression unreadable. 

In his hand was a gun, pointed directly at my head. 

My breath hitched, and I raised my hands in surrender, my mind racing. 'This can't be happening. Not Dan. Not him.'

"Katsuna," he said, his voice calm but firm. "Don't make this harder than it has to be. Come with me."

I stared at him, my heart pounding. "Dan, you don't understand—Hey!" 

"I understand enough to know that you're here for a reason," he interrupted me, his tone was sharp as well as his grip on my upper arm tightened slightly, "You're in SSSP custody now. And you're not going anywhere until we figure out what's going on."

I wanted to argue, to get out of his grip, to explain, but the look in his eyes stopped me; Boring into me like I was concrete while he drilled my head like it was nothing and what's worse is that there was no warmth there, no familiarity. 

Just cold, hard determination. He wasn't the Dan I remembered. Not anymore.

Reluctantly, I nodded, and he lowered the gun, gesturing for me to walk ahead of him. I did as I was told, my mind racing with questions and fears. What would happen now? What did the SSSP want from me? And what would Dan do when he found out the truth?

---Interrogation Room--- 

The cold, sterile interrogation room was harshly lit. Cuffed to the table, I struggled to process the chaos while Dan watched, arms crossed, his expression unreadable. For a moment, neither of us spoke. 

Then, I broke the silence. "Moroboshi-" "Katsuna," he cuts me off, his voice low and measured as if he was calculating his approach, "Why were you running?" I opened my mouth to respond, but before I could say anything, I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the two-way mirror. 

My heart sank; the struggle had wiped away my makeup, exposing my pale skin and the faint markings on my face. I froze, Dan, on the other hand, followed my gaze, his eyes narrowing as he took in the sight. 

For a moment, he just stared at my reflection before turning back to face me, his expression unreadable. Then, slowly, he got up and stepped closer, his eyes locked on mine.

"Katsuna," His voice barely above a whisper, "What...are you?"

I suddenly felt this tightness in my throat, like dread was taking over me. Dan knew. That realization hit me hard, making me feel winded and exposed. All my lies and the careful facades I had built just fell apart. 

There was no more hiding and no safe place left in the shadows. There was no turning back now; the decision was made, and things were going to be different from here on out. The truth was out, and I had to deal with whatever came next.

"I'm...Xandarian," I admitted, my voice trembling. "I'm an alien, Dan. And I've been hiding it my whole life."

The words hung in the air, each syllable a weight dragging down the atmosphere. Silence descended, thick and palpable, following my confession. It was a silence so profound, it seemed to amplify the frantic beating of my own heart. 

I watched Dan, every muscle in my body tense with anticipation while waiting to see what happens next as he continues to stare back at me, his gaze fixed and unwavering, but his expression was a bewildering puzzle. 

Almost nostalgic that I remembered, he would have this complex look of shock every time I did something unexpected to him and it was evident that he was in a mix of clear disbelief, but underlying those was something deeper, something inscrutable that I couldn't quite decipher. 

The seconds stretched into an eternity, each one amplifying my anxiety. Then, finally, he sighed. 

A long, drawn-out exhalation that seemed to release the tension that had been gripping the room. With that sigh, a wave of relief visibly washed over his features, softening the hard edges of his surprise.

"Well..." he began, the word lingering in the air, "...that makes both of us then, I guess." 

My head tilted almost automatically in utter bewilderment, desperately needing to understand on what he meant by that, "What do you mean by that?" I asked.

He hesitated, a slight pause before he spoke, as if carefully choosing his words. 

The silence returned, though this time it felt different, charged with a strange anticipation. He opened his mouth, and then, he uttered the completely unexpected, the utterly unbelievable truth. 

"I am... a hybrid of both human and alien."

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

"NANI!?"