Shadows of Identity

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Title: "The Truth Beneath the Silence"

The day had started like any other.

HQ was alive with its usual madness—Junior balancing a stack of mugs, Dew arguing with Mark over who misplaced the thermal detonator prop, and Tee threatening to cut the WiFi if they didn’t shut up. Sky sat at the far end, stoic as ever, clicking through reports like a machine.

And Nani—still wearing MJ’s body—sat in his seat, a bundle of nerves, clutching the wrong folder with trembling hands.

He had spent all night trying to make sure the documents were in order. MJ would’ve done it perfectly. But Nani... he was still learning. Still pretending.

He didn’t even realize the mistake until it was too late.

The doors burst open with a sharp bang. The Chief marched in, fury in every step. All chatter died immediately.

"MJ!"

Nani’s spine straightened like a whip. He looked up, startled. "C-Chief?"

The chief slammed the report on the desk. "Explain this. Now."

Nani stood, confused, taking the folder and flipping through it. His stomach dropped.

Two different cases. Two very different cases. Merged into one.

"I— I must have—"

"Do you have any idea what this means?! This is an active narcotics file mixed with private identity records! One more error like this and we could lose our license to operate!"

Nani stumbled over his words, throat dry. "I didn’t mean to— I thought—"

"You thought?!" the chief barked. "You were trained better than this, MJ. What’s wrong with you lately? You’re slow, distracted, acting like a rookie— and now this?"

The words came like bullets. Loud. Sharp. Merciless.

"Maybe you’re not fit for fieldwork anymore. Maybe it was a mistake bringing you back."

The moment that word hit—mistake—something inside Nani cracked.

He flinched so hard he nearly dropped the folder. His body tensed. Breath hitched.

His vision blurred.

He was no longer in HQ.

He was in the alley again. The shadows. The blood. The pain. The terror.

The hands grabbing him. The knife plunging in.

It wasn’t his fault, but he's still here.

Not MJ. I'm not MJ. I’m not supposed to be here.

The room began spinning. Tears brimmed, uninvited. His throat burned as he choked back sobs.

"I’m sorry," he whispered. "I didn’t mean to... I’m sorry..."

He sank to the floor. Shoulders hunched. Arms wrapped around himself.

The room froze.

Sky was the first to move.

He stepped in front of the chief. "That’s enough."

“Hey,” Dew snapped, standing up. “Back the hell off.”

“He didn’t do this on purpose,” Mark added, face hard.

“You’re crossing the line,” Tee said, stepping forward.

Junior added, “Maybe something’s wrong. You ever think of that instead of going full volcanic rage?”

Sky joined, lips tight. “That’s MJ—he’s saved this place more times than you can count.”

Dew stood next, furious. "He’s clearly not okay. You don’t keep kicking someone when they’re already down."

Tee followed. "Sir, with all due respect, MJ hasn’t been himself for months. You know that. You should have asked what’s wrong instead of going full military."

Junior placed a hand on Nani’s back. Mark grabbed the folder and spoke coldly. "We’ll fix this. You can leave now."

The chief grumbled, muttered something about insubordination, and left.

Silence returned.

Only this time, it was heavier.

Nani was still on the floor, shaking quietly. Sky knelt beside him.

"Hey... look at me."

Nani didn’t.

"Please," Sky said softly.

And when he finally lifted his head, they saw the tears. The fear. The sheer ache of carrying a lie.

Dew crouched down. "MJ... what’s going on? This isn’t just stress. It’s something deeper, isn't it?"

Nani’s lips trembled. He opened his mouth, closed it.

Then, Dew stood. Frustrated. "You can’t keep doing this to yourself! If something’s wrong—TELL US, WE WON'T BITE YOU."

Her voice snapped him out of his freeze.

So he told them.

Everything.

The night he was attacked. The alley. The stabbing. The pain. The darkness.

Then, the hospital.

Waking up.

In MJ’s body.

"I remember the ceiling. It wasn’t white. It was yellowed, like old paper. And I thought I was dreaming. But then I saw the reflection in the monitor. The hand. It wasn’t mine."

The room was completely still.

"MJ’s my older brother," Nani whispered. "He was everything I wasn’t. Brave. Smart. Unshakable. I was the messy one. The scared one. The one who never fit in. And now... I’m in his place. I didn’t ask for this. I didn’t want to lie. But no one believed me. Not even the doctors. I tried to explain. I tried soo damn hard to explain everything."

His voice cracked.

"I thought... if I stayed, maybe I could find a way to fix it. But every day, I feel like I’m breaking him more. And now the chief... he’s right. I am a mistake."

Tears poured down his cheeks.

"I stole his life."

Sky moved first.

He reached forward and pulled Nani into a hug. A real, solid, warm hug.

Nani stiffened.

Then broke.

The others followed.

Dew wrapped her arms around both of them. Junior squeezed in beside Mark, whose eyes had grown red. Tee crouched, placing a hand on Nani’s knee.

No one spoke for a long time.

When Nani finally pulled back, he expected anger. Betrayal. Confusion.

Instead—

Dew wiped his tears gently. "You’re not a thief."

Junior nodded. "You’re our friend, our small brother."

Tee’s voice was quiet. "And you’re hurting. So now we know. We’re going to help."

Mark sighed. "Guess it explains why you stopped beating me at Sudoku."

Nani gave a small, broken laugh.

And then Sky...

Sky touched his cheek, thumb brushing a tear away.

"You're not MJ. But I think... maybe I like you more."

Nani stared.

And for once—he didn’t feel like a lie.

He felt real.

He felt seen.

And for the first time since waking up in a stolen body, he breathed.

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