SkyNani: Who is the Enigma?

The morning air was crisp, the sun hanging low, casting long, twisted shadows across the hospital courtyard as Sky wheeled Nani toward the waiting car. Nani sat silently in his chair, his face unreadable, eyes distant as if he'd already detached himself from this place, from everything around him.

As they reached the car, Dew was already there, his back against the door, arms crossed, his jaw tight. Sky bent down, carefully lifting Nani from the wheelchair, his muscles straining as he cradled Nani's frail form against his chest, gently lowering him into the passenger seat. For a moment, their faces were close, breaths mingling, and Sky felt a pang of something sharp twist in his chest – guilt, fear, longing – he couldn't tell.

Sky straightened, moving to the driver's side, but Dew reached through the window before he could close the door, his eyes sharp, his grip on the frame tight.

"I'll catch up soon," Dew said, his voice low, each word dripping with unspoken tension. "I have to keep Toby occupied here. Take care." He paused, his gaze shifting to Nani, softening for just a heartbeat before hardening again as he looked at Sky. "And you... don't hurt him like you always do."

Sky's jaw tightened, his hands clenching around the steering wheel as he gave a single, stiff nod. Without another word, he started the engine, the car lurching forward as they pulled away from the hospital, the city quickly falling behind, swallowed by the dense, sprawling wilderness ahead.

The road wound through thick forests, the trees leaning over them like silent sentinels, their shadows flickering across the windshield. Sky kept his eyes on the road, his voice a constant murmur, trying to fill the silence, to coax a response from Nani, but the boy remained silent, his gaze fixed out the window, his face pale and set, the muscles in his jaw twitching every now and then.

As they entered a more remote stretch, where the trees grew thicker, the road rougher, and the air heavier with salt from the nearby sea, Sky felt a strange, unwelcome warmth building in his chest. His heart raced, his breath growing shallow, and a familiar, dangerous heat spread through his veins – the telltale sign of his pheromones flaring out of control.

What...?

His hands tightened around the steering wheel, his vision starting to blur at the edges, each breath coming shorter, sharper, as if the air itself had thickened, turned to molasses in his lungs. He glanced at Nani, panic flaring in his chest.

Nani's eyes were closed, his head tilted back against the headrest, his face twisted in concentration, beads of sweat trickling down his temples, his fists clenched in his lap, his entire body tense, vibrating with a silent, fierce intensity. Thin streams of blood trickled from his nose, and as Sky's vision swam, he noticed dark streaks pooling in the corners of Nani's eyes, staining his pale cheeks.

Sky's mind raced, realization crashing into him like a tidal wave. He slammed on the brakes, the car skidding to a halt on the gravel-strewn road, the tires kicking up a cloud of dust as the engine sputtered and fell silent.

"Nani... are you doing this?" Sky choked out, his voice ragged, his chest heaving as he fumbled for the door handle, shoving it open and stumbling out into the open air. He collapsed to his knees, his head spinning, bile rising in his throat as his body struggled to process the overwhelming surge of pheromones flooding his system.

He braced his hands against the rough gravel, his vision swimming, every nerve in his body on fire. Then he heard it – the quiet creak of the passenger door opening behind him.

Sky forced his head up, blinking against the blinding sunlight as a shadow fell over him.

Nani stepped out of the car.

On his feet.

Sky's breath hitched, his head swimming, his mind struggling to comprehend what he was seeing. Nani took a shaky step forward, his legs trembling, his bare feet crunching against the gravel, nearly buckling beneath his weight, but somehow he remained standing, each step a precarious, staggering effort as if he were learning to walk for the first time.

Nani stopped in front of Sky, his chest heaving, his breath coming in short, frantic gasps as he reached down, his hand finding the top of Sky's head, his fingers threading through his hair. Sky felt it – the sharp, violent pull of his energy being drained, sucked away by the invisible force of Nani's unleashed power.

"Stop..." Sky croaked, his vision blurring, his body collapsing further, his knees scraping against the gravel as the ground seemed to tilt beneath him. "Nani... stop..."

Through the haze, he saw Nani's tear-streaked face, blood still trickling from his nose and eyes, his lips trembling, his eyes filled with a deep, soul-crushing sorrow.

"I'm sorry, Sky," Nani whispered, his voice cracking, his grip tightening in Sky's hair. "I can't trust you anymore."

Before the darkness claimed him, Sky felt the gentle, ghost-like press of Nani's lips against his forehead, a final, silent farewell.

Then, Nani straightened, his chest still heaving, his breath ragged as he stepped back. Sky's world tilted, his body giving out, his mind slipping into a cold, unforgiving void.

The car door slammed shut.

The engine roared to life, gravel spitting out beneath the tires as the car sped down the road, the sound quickly fading into the distance, leaving Sky alone.

A/N: ngl this is my fav chapter...heh heh