"So no poisoning?" Mayu asked, glancing past me toward Shoko. "Weird... Then what caused that life-threatening almost-death?!"
"To be honest," Shoko began, puzzled, as I gently let go of Mayu, "I was actually hoping you—or rather, the two of you—could answer that."
Almost death… The images from earlier still ached inside me.
Mayu shook her head calmly, gaze dropping to the floor. As expected. I wondered if she had noticed anything at all.
"We should head back to the examination room. I want to keep monitoring Mayu."
Back in the suggested room, which now struck me as neat and orderly, I sat next to Mayu on the cot—where she had fought death just a short while ago.
Only now did I notice that Shoko had cleaned up the chaos from before. The vial, the IV, and the needles were all gone.
Shoko tucked Mayu's finger back under the pulse oximeter's sensor. I stared at the monitor, instinctively hoping it wouldn't show those dramatic readings again.
A steady heartbeat sounded.
And the values—unlike before—now appeared completely normal. A heart rate of 72 beats per minute, an oxygen saturation of 97%, and blood pressure settled at 120 over 80 mmHg.
Another little weight fell from my heart.
I definitely didn't want to go through such a dramatic scene again. Not with a comrade, let alone one of my students—and especially not with Mayu.
"So, Mayu," Shoko began thoughtfully, "what exactly happened? In the department store. Start from the beginning."
A justified question—I didn't know either.
"Well, I was honored with the task of exorcising the curse spirit in the department store," she said happily, "alone. While Satoru waited on standby outside. Al—" Shoko interrupted.
"Why alone?!" As if I'd sensed it already, my scolding was about to begin.
"You shouldn't have left her alone!" Shoko threw at me.
"..." I was just about to defend myself when Mayu interjected in a firm tone.
"Yes! It was absolutely the right thing, Shoko. We train pretty much every time Satoru is home. Every. Minute. Every. Day. And without success. None of what he tries works. If I hadn't really wanted that mission, I would've said so."
I grimaced—only slightly. Yeah, she was defending me, but still… That move ranked somewhere around 'Satoru Gojo, impulsive idiot'. Though I did feel a little proud that she was slowly starting to spread her delicate wings.
I glanced subtly over at Mayu, who continued explaining.
"I really believe in the method—just throw someone into cold water but still keep an eye on them. And that's what Satoru did. I was supposed to call for him, like we agreed. But I didn't. On purpose. It was my mission, and I wanted to finish it—and I did!"
"Stubborn," Shoko snorted, echoing my own thoughts, "you almost died in my hands, kid! Do you know what a scare you gave me—no, us?!"
Us. Shoko wasn't exaggerating. Not one bit.
"It was closer than close, Mayu. You were already a case for the ICU! Just a few more minutes and you'd have suffered multi-organ failure. And I wouldn't have been able to fix it."
That fact hit like a massive slap to the face.
"... What kind of readings did I even have?!"
Shoko shot her a sharp glance, tilted her head, and raised an eyebrow.
"Fever of 41.6°C. Blood pressure 85 over 50 mmHg. Pulse at 158 beats per minute, and oxygen saturation at 72%."
Mayu froze. Her mouth opened in shock, about to speak.
"... That was... me?!"
"Yes!" we both confirmed in unison. Same scolding tone.
She bit down on her bottom lip, scrunched, "Honestly a miracle I didn't die."
"You said it!" Shoko emphasized, "a real miracle! No idea how you—or better, your body—managed that, but it started regulating itself incredibly fast. I strongly suspect this wasn't a normal fever."
Silence. A short but heavy silence embraced us.
"Honestly," Mayu began thoughtfully, "it didn't feel like a fever either."
"Then what?" I looked over at her, intrigued.
"Like I was burning inside. Like fire spreading through me."
Silence again.
I immediately got caught up in a tangle of thoughts, a confused web of possibilities – and one of them stood out brightly.
"Maybe your cursed technique?" said Shoko, voicing exactly the possibility I had been thinking of.
But then I remembered, "That can't be it. She didn't show any traces of a curse earlier, when she was still lying here. No residues. Nothing. If that had been the case, I would've seen it."
Puzzled silence. That possibility simply couldn't have been possible.
Damn. A small bubble of hope immediately popped.
"Here," said Shoko and handed Mayu a bottle of water.
"Oh no, I already need to pee," she protested, pulling a face.
"All the better. You really need it despite the IV. But now first tell us exactly what happened at the mall."