Thank you for reading till the end of the chapter. I really appreciate all your support likes and comments.
One of my readers, Imina_SkuNano made a request a few days ago. She asked if I could write another Skynani fanfic, but this time with a darker, thriller-like tone. Iâm not entirely sure if I can pull it off, I'm practically a newbie in this kind of thing so, please forgive me if it does not meet the expectation. But Iâll do my best.
Please stay tuned for it! In the meantime, Iâll share a little snippet of the new story here.
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Chapter 1: A Shadowâs Warning
âI want him dead.â
The words hissed through my mind, sharp as shattered glass.
Nani⦠Nani⦠A voice called me from somewhere deep in the shadows. I could feel its pull, dragging me into the void. My body felt weightless, yet my chest ached as though I was suffocating. âWhoâs there?â I asked. âAre you here to take me?â
The shadows shifted, forming the shape of somethingâsomeoneâtowering over me.
"Nani, go back. Itâs not your time. You donât belong here. Keep moving forward. Donât look back."
Honk!
I jolted awake, my heart pounding. Blinking rapidly, I realized Iâd been standing in the middle of the street. How long have I been out of it? Damn it. I rubbed my temples and glanced at the traffic around me. Iâd barely noticed the blaring horns or the buzz of my walkie-talkie at my side.
These dreamsâor whatever they wereâalways crept in at the worst times. No matter how far I ran, they kept finding me. But I couldnât let anyone notice.
I sighed, shaking off the haze. Focus, Nani. Just do your job.
Almost a year had passed since I transferred to the Special Investigations Squad at headquarters. We handled the countryâs biggest casesâinternational drug cartels, trafficking syndicates, and corruption that ran deeper than most could imagine. These were the kinds of cases that made the news, the ones that required precision and nerves of steel.
I wasnât sure why Iâd been assigned here. Honestly, I didnât want to know. The team didnât need to know either.
They didnât ask questions, anyway. Joong, Dunk, Perth, and Santa welcomed me like Iâd always been one of them. It was almost ridiculous how protective they were. With my boyish face and quiet nature, they treated me like their little brother, always teasing and watching my back.
âYou should eat more, Nani,â Joong said the other day, patting my shoulder. âYouâre too scrawny to be running after criminals.â
âDonât bully him, Joong,â Dunk had chimed in, throwing me an extra protein bar. âOur babyâs perfect the way he is.â
The attention was overwhelming at times, but I didnât hate it. Their warmth was a rare thing, something I hadnât felt in years.
Captain Sky Wongravee, on the other hand, was an entirely different story.
He didnât join in their jokes, didnât tease me, and didnât offer protein bars. He kept his distance, his cold gaze lingering on me longer than I liked. From the start, heâd made it clear that he didnât trust me.
Sky thought I didnât belong here.
He hadnât said it outright, but I could feel it in the way he watched me, like he was waiting for me to screw up. I wasnât sure what heâd heard about me before I joined his team, but it wasnât good.
âJust do your work quietly, Hirunkit,â he said on my first day. âDonât expect me to clean up your mistakes.â
I didnât say anything. I never did.
The buzz of my walkie-talkie snapped me out of my thoughts.
"Suspect armed with a knife has escaped. Requesting immediate backup."
âRoger that,â I replied, already moving toward the emergency exit where the suspect had been spotted.
"The target is threatening civiliansârequest immediate support!"
My stomach sank as I quickened my pace. Rounding the corner, I spotted himâa frantic man wielding a knife, his eyes darting around wildly. Ahead of him stood a mother and two children, frozen in fear.
âHey! Stop!â I yelled, closing the distance.
But before I could reach him, somethingâno, someoneâexploded through the second-story window above us.
Glass shattered, sparkling like tiny stars as it rained down on the pavement. A figure dropped from the air, landing in a perfect roll that sent shockwaves through the ground.
Captain Sky.
The suspect stumbled back, startled, before raising his knife. But Sky was faster. He sidestepped the attack, grabbed the manâs wrist, and forced him to drop the blade. With a sharp kick, Sky knocked him off his feet, pinning him down with ease.
âTake him away,â Sky barked, his voice sharp and commanding.
Two officers rushed in to restrain the suspect, but my eyes stayed locked on Sky. Blood ran down his arm, a shard of glass still embedded in the muscle. Without hesitation, he yanked it out and tossed it aside, barely flinching.
âCaptainââ I started, but his piercing glare stopped me in my tracks.
âWhy are you just standing there, Hirunkit?â he said, his voice was low and cold. âEyes on the job.â
I stiffened. âY-Yes, sir.â
He strode past me without another word, leaving me standing in the aftermath. My heart was still racing, my breath shallow.
Sky was fearless. Calm. Completely in control.
Joongâs voice came from behind me, startling me. âStill staring at Sky, Nani?â he teased. âCareful, or heâll think youâre in love with him.â
Dunk chuckled, slinging an arm around my shoulder. âYouâve got to admit, thoughâheâs cool as hell. That stunt was like something out of an action movie!â
Santa joined in, grinning. âToo bad heâs not as friendly as he is cool, huh?â
I rolled my eyes, but a small smile tugged at my lips. No matter how tense things got, these guys never failed to lighten the mood.
âGo finish your report, little brother,â Joong said, ruffling my hair like I was a kid. âSkyâs not going to let you off easily if you slack off.â
As I turned back to work, I caught one last glimpse of Sky as he disappeared into the crowd of officers. He was bleeding, but he didnât stop for treatment.
The man was unstoppable.
And yet, as I watched him go, a nagging thought whispered in the back of my mind. Heâs watching you, Nani. Waiting for you to slip up.