She turned to Emi, her demeanor shifting back to brisk professionalism. "Continue your [Aura of Respite] while I work. It will keep him comfortable. Focus it here and here."

She tapped specific points on my torso with clinical precision. "The nervous pathways are most accessible at these junctions."

Emi nodded and stepped closer, placing her glowing hands near my chest exactly where Dr. Sandoval had indicated. The soothing warmth of her Aspect spread through me again, dulling the sharp edges of the pain.

Her face was inches from mine now, her concentration evident in the slight furrow of her brow and the determined set of her jaw.

Dr. Sandoval rummaged through a nearby cabinet, muttering to herself in Spanish. She produced a syringe filled with an iridescent blue liquid that seemed to pulse with its own inner light.

The fluid inside swirled and shifted, catching the light in ways that suggested it wasn't entirely bound by normal physical laws.

"This might sting a little. Or a lot. Reports vary." She grinned, holding the needle up to the light and tapping it to remove air bubbles. The liquid inside shimmered hypnotically.

"On the plus side, your ribs will heal in hours instead of weeks. Modern medicine is such a marvel, especially when you ignore all those pesky regulations about mixing Gate-spawn genetic material with human tissue."

"What's in that?" I asked warily, eyeing the glowing concoction with justified suspicion.

"Oh, just a little something I cooked up. Mana-accelerated stem cell therapy with a dash of Gate-spawn regenerative enzymes. Perfectly safe." Her smile widened, revealing those too-sharp teeth again.

"Mostly. I mean, the last three test subjects only grew minor extra appendages, and those were easily removed with minor surgery."

Before I could protest, she jabbed the needle into my side, injecting the glowing substance directly into the area around my cracked ribs.

It felt like liquid fire spreading through my chest, a burning sensation that radiated outward from the injection site in waves of increasing intensity.

"Son of a—" I bit back the curse, my back arching involuntarily as the pain temporarily overwhelmed even Emi's healing aura. My vision blurred, the edges darkening as I fought to remain conscious.

Emi immediately intensified her healing aura, the green glow brightening as she focused all her energy on countering the pain. "It's okay," she whispered, her voice soothing and steady despite the alarm in her eyes.

"I've got you. Focus on my voice. The burning is normal—it means the treatment is working." Her fingers trembled slightly with the effort of maintaining such a powerful healing field, but her determination never wavered.

"Breathe with me. In... and out."

The burning sensation gradually faded, replaced by a weird tingling numbness that spread through my chest like ice melting into water.

I could almost feel my tissues knitting themselves back together, a sensation as unsettling as it was relieving. Dr. Sandoval nodded, apparently satisfied with this reaction.

"Good, good. Your body isn't rejecting it. That's a promising sign." She made some notes on a tablet, her fingers flying across the screen with manic energy. "Most interesting metabolic response I've seen this month. Accelerated absorption rate, minimal cellular rejection."

She glanced up at me, her eyes gleaming. "You're quite the specimen, Stray Dog. I'd love to get a tissue sample sometime. For science, of course."

She produced another, smaller syringe with a clear liquid that seemed to shimmer with tiny silver particles suspended in the fluid. "This one's for the concussion. Hold still. If I miss and hit your brain stem, you might forget how to breathe, and that would create so much paperwork."

This injection went into the base of my skull, and though I braced myself for another round of agony, it was surprisingly painless. A cool sensation spread through my head, clearing the fuzzy edges of my thoughts like mist burning away under the morning sun. Colors seemed brighter, sounds more distinct, as if someone had fine-tuned my senses.

"There we go," Dr. Sandoval said cheerfully, disposing of the syringes in a container marked with biohazard symbols and what looked suspiciously like arcane runes. "You'll be right as rain by tomorrow morning. The ribs might be tender for a day or two, but the bone integrity will be fully restored." She winked.

"Though I'd recommend avoiding further beatings for at least 48 hours. The regenerative enzymes need time to fully integrate with your cellular structure." She wagged a finger playfully. "Doctor's orders."

"I'll try to pencil that in," I replied dryly, testing my range of motion and finding the pain reduced to a manageable ache. "Avoiding beatings isn't exactly in my job description."

"Ah, youth. So eager to get pummeled into oblivion." Dr. Sandoval snapped off her gloves and tossed them into a biohazard bin. "Blue-hair, keep that aura going for another ten minutes while the treatment integrates. You're doing well—nice, steady output."

She pointed at me, her expression suddenly serious. "And you, Stray Dog, come back tomorrow for a follow-up. I want to see how those mana channels are adapting. They're... unusual." Something flickered behind her eyes—genuine scientific curiosity mixed with something that might have been concern. "I have a few theories I'd like to test."

She disappeared behind the curtain again, the sound of glass clinking and machinery whirring suggesting she had already moved on to some new experiment. The abrupt departure left Emi and me alone in unexpected privacy. The silence stretched between us, broken only by the soft hum of medical equipment and the gentle, melodic sound of Emi's breathing as she maintained her healing aura.

"Thank you," I said finally, looking up at Emi. Her hands still hovered over my chest, the gentle green glow casting soft shadows on her face, highlighting the delicate curve of her jawline and the determined set of her mouth. "For helping me. You didn't have to."

She smiled shyly, a faint blush coloring her cheeks.

"That's what teammates do, right? Even if you don't want to be friends."

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