It started with the sound of glass.
Not breaking—pressing.
A faint, deliberate tap against the window.
Mitsuki woke instantly.
Her body moved before thought, before fear. She was already on her feet when Rei's eyes opened, heart racing.
"Rei," she whispered, voice tight."Don't move."
The tapping stopped.
For a moment, the city held its breath.
Then—
The lights went out.
The apartment fell into darkness.
Rei sat up. "Mitsuki—"
She was already beside him, one hand over his mouth, the other pressed against the floor. Her ears twitched violently beneath her hood.
"They're here," she breathed. "Three. No—four."
Rei's blood ran cold. "How do you—"
"Listen," she hissed.
And then he heard it.
Footsteps.
Not loud.Not rushed.
Controlled.
The door handle turned.
Once.
Twice.
Click.
Someone outside smiled.
Mitsuki grabbed Rei's wrist.
"Run," she said.
They didn't use the door.
Mitsuki forced open the bathroom window with strength Rei didn't know she had. Cold night air rushed in. Sirens wailed somewhere far away—too far to help.
She pushed Rei first.
"Go!"
He hesitated.
That was his mistake.
The door burst open.
Men in dark suits flooded the apartment like shadows given shape. One of them raised a weapon—not a gun, but something humming softly, glowing faint blue.
"Mitsuki!" Rei shouted.
She turned.
Her eyes flashed.
Something in her snapped.
She lunged.
Not like a human.
She hit the nearest man low, fast, knocking him off his feet. Her movements were sharp, efficient—trained without training.
Another man fired.
The pulse hit Mitsuki in the side.
She screamed.
Rei had never heard a sound like that.
Not human.
Not animal.
Something between.
"Mitsuki!" Rei ran to her.
"Don't—!" she cried.
Too late.
A hand grabbed Rei's collar and slammed him against the wall.
"Subject exhibits violent resistance," a voice said calmly."Prepare sedation."
Rei's vision blurred.
Then—
Blood.
Warm.
On his neck.
Mitsuki's teeth sank into his skin.
Pain exploded—then twisted.
His senses sharpened.
The world slowed.
He smelled fear. Metal. Electricity.
He screamed.
Mitsuki pulled back, eyes wide with horror.
"I'm sorry," she sobbed. "I didn't have time."
Something inside Rei answered.
He moved.
Faster than thought.
He drove his shoulder into the man holding him, snapping bone with a sickening crack. Another lunged—Rei dodged, instinct screaming directions into his muscles.
He wasn't fighting.
He was adapting.
"Impossible," one of the agents muttered.
Mitsuki stared at Rei.
Not with fear.
With awe.
And terror.
They ran.
Through alleys.Over fences.Across rooftops slick with rain.
Behind them, the city came alive.
Helicopters.
Sirens.
Red lights cutting through darkness.
From a secured room miles away, Director Kagami watched the feed.
His expression didn't change.
"So," he said calmly, lifting a small vial filled with dark green liquid."Evolution is contagious now."
He removed the cap.
"And love," he continued, "has become a liability."
He drank.
Rei collapsed in an abandoned subway entrance, chest heaving.
Mitsuki knelt beside him, hands shaking.
"I ruined you," she whispered.
Rei looked at her—really looked.
Her ears exposed.Her tail trembling.Her eyes wet.
"No," he said, voice low, changed."You saved me."
Something deep beneath the city roared.
Not an animal.
Not a man.
But something learning what it could become.