Hardly had Kiyotaka reached the academy and brought the car to a stop when I was already rushing toward the waiting Shoko. I stormed into the sterile and brightly lit examination room, Mayu in my arms, who was becoming weaker and hotter by the minute. Shoko flinched at first, but immediately rose from her stool upon realizing her waiting had come to an end, and threw on her white lab coat.
"Lay her down here," she instructed, pointing to the prepared examination bed before tying her shoulder-length hazelnut hair into a ponytail.
Without hesitation, I gently laid the nearly motionless Mayu on her left side on the black-padded bed, watching as Shoko gave her a first inspection.
"What exactly happened, Mayu?" she began her assessment, softly removing my blood-smeared jacket from her leg, which she examined with compassionate precision.
"... Claw- …" Mayu's answer came out as a slurred mumble.
She didn't seem capable of forming coherent words anymore, which slowly pushed me to my limit.
"Oh dear, you poor thing. That curse really did a number on you, huh?" Shoko remarked, evaluating the trace the cursed spirit had left behind, and placed my jacket at the foot of the bed.
A barely noticeable nod from Mayu.
"But... why is she burning up like this?! Has she already developed a fever from it?!" Shoko threw over her shoulder, shocked, hoping for more detail from me—which I immediately provided.
"She only mentioned that the cursed spirit struck her with its claws."
"I see."
Shoko held her hands above the injured leg, and a turquoise smoke began to swirl around her fingers. Starting from the top, I watched as the gaping wound closed in the blink of an eye. It took less than a minute, and from the massive injury that stretched from her thigh down to her ankle, only a faint scar remained.
"There we go, sweetie. Your fever will go down now," Shoko said with certainty, resting her hand gently on Mayu's waist before turning to me.
"According to you, she was alone—right?"
Annoyed, I averted my gaze, which served as both answer and reprimand for the doctor.
"Well then," Shoko continued in her now more relaxed tone, "I imagined our first real encounter differently. Yes, I know this is technically the second time I've come across Mayu, but I don't count a quick hello and a 'Welcome to the academy' as a proper meeting."
"You're right," I acknowledged nonchalantly, my eyes fixed on Mayu once more.
She still lay motionless on her side, eyes closed, as if asleep. My worry for her continued to burn fiercely inside me—a feeling that unsettled me. I silently prayed for Shoko to soon give the all-clear.
I pushed off from the bed, walked over to the counter across the room, and soaked a cloth with cold water from the sink. Returning to the examination bed, I began gently wiping Mayu's leg clean of the partially dried blood.
I intentionally ignored Shoko's puzzled expression, which told me more than any words could have.
"You remembered the cold water trick," she said, sidestepping her obvious curiosity about my unusual tenderness, to which I responded with a slight twitch of my mouth.
"Yeah, I did."
Much better. Now she truly looked as though nothing had happened to her.
"How's she doing? You must've spent quite a bit of time with her."
"She's doing well," I confirmed briefly—though more preoccupied with my growing guilt. This wasn't the best moment to engage with her teasing tone.
Today should have gone much differently… Hopefully, her fever would drop soon. She was breathing rapidly and shallowly through her slightly parted lips. Still unresponsive—sharing none of her thoughts with us.