The familiar sound of the docking collar locking into place was quieter than she remembered.

Akiko stood just inside the airlock, leaning against the inner bulkhead, one hand pressed to her side. The burn in her leg had gone from sharp to sour after the escape; dull throbs spaced between her heartbeat.

The familiar thrum of magic had worn off. Adrenaline too. Now it was just her, the metal under her boots, and the ache setting in like weather.

She keyed the inner door open.

The Driftknight's dim hallway lighting greeted her like an old scar. Functional, faintly buzzing, nothing like the city she'd just escaped. No music. No lights. No fools with open hands and wide eyes.

Just steel. Pressure. Gravity. Home, in its way.

Akiko exhaled as she limped toward it. The crew would be up. Maybe even awake enough to help. And Raya...

The thought of those steady hands, the way she could ground pain with a single look, pulled Akiko forward.

Her thoughts snagged there.

Raya, who always seemed to notice the limp even when Akiko masked it.

Raya, who didn't push, didn't flirt, didn't orbit her the way others did. She watched. She waited.

And that was worse. It made Akiko feel seen in a way she hadn't agreed to.

And maybe a part of her had started… bracing for that, every time she came back.

She reached the medbay hatch. Paused.

No use hiding the wound. Her suit was patched into the Driftknight's systems. It would have flagged her vitals the second she stepped aboard. If she didn't go in now, Raya would come find her.

And Akiko wasn't sure she wanted to see what her own face looked like in that woman's eyes.

Still, she exhaled. Straightened. And stepped inside.

Raya was already there, her back to the door, organizing vials with methodical precision. She turned at the sound of Akiko's approach, her eyes immediately locking onto the bloodstained suit.

"What happened?" she asked. Brisk, but with concern curling underneath.

Akiko eased herself onto the edge of a cot with a hiss of breath. "Let's just say the locals weren't thrilled to see me. Mana-infused dogs. Big, fast, sharp. The usual."

Raya crouched beside her, fingers already at the torn fabric. "You're lucky it wasn't worse," she said, inspecting the damage. "The wound isn't deep, but you've lost a lot of blood."

Akiko flinched as Raya peeled the fabric back, antiseptic stinging as it touched raw skin. Still, she stayed quiet. Mostly.

"What?" she muttered as Raya frowned. "I'm not bleeding that badly."

But Raya didn't answer right away. Her gaze remained fixed on the wound. On something inside it.

Akiko followed her eyes. Something shimmered beneath the skin. Faint. Blue.

Her breath caught.

"What is that?"

Raya's hands remained steady as she used a tool to nudge the speck free. Akiko twitched at the sensation but kept her eyes locked on the fragment as it emerged. Tiny, glassy, glittering with a faint inner glow.

"That came from the dogs," Akiko said, voice low.

"Looks like it," Raya replied, dropping it gently into a vial. She didn't speak for a moment, inspecting the wound again. Then, more quietly: "There's more."

Akiko's tail thumped the cot.

"Okay, now you're worrying me."

Raya retrieved another shard, sealing it beside the first. "It's not just crystal," she said. "It's warm. There's a faint vibration, like it's still... responding to something."

Akiko tilted her head. She could feel it now, the pulse of mana, subtle but unmistakable. The shard was still tethered to something deeper. "Yeah," she murmured. "There's mana in it. Weak, but active. Like it hasn't finished whatever it started."

Her mind flashed back to the dogs. Their glowing eyes, their twitching limbs, the searing bite. The pressure. The pull.

And now? Fragments of that force were inside her.

"That's not great," she muttered, trying to sound more annoyed than scared.

"No," Raya agreed. "It isn't."

She stood and began wrapping the bandage, her movements precise. "If anything changes—glow, spread, anything—tell me immediately. No waiting. No toughing it out."

She gave Akiko a long, steady look. One that held more than just medical concern.

"Whatever this is," she said, "I don't think it's finished with you."

Akiko's grin was faint, hollow at the edges. "Yeah," she said. "I kinda got that feeling too."

A pause. Then, internally:

"Why didn't you warn me?"

Takuto's voice came back, neutral as ever, but with an undercurrent of tension.

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

"Infection was not detected until you became aware of the symptoms."

"You're in my head. Shouldn't you have known before I did?"

"The neural link is localized to your central strata. Primarily cortical and spinal interface. Peripheral systems remain unmonitored unless elevated to conscious awareness."

Akiko blinked. "So what, my leg's not included in the subscription plan?"

"Not with current hardware."

A brief pause. "I can initiate fabrication of additional integration filaments. Wider sensorium would increase detection scope and internal monitoring. But you would need to authorize the expansion."

"Why do I feel a 'but' coming?"

"Fabrication will require time. And nutritional resources your current intake does not provide. Also, it will hurt."

Akiko closed her eyes, teeth gritting lightly. "Of course it will. We'll deal with that later."

Then, with a sigh: "Add it to the pile of things to take care of."

Raya sealed the glowing crystal vials, clearly focused and prioritizing while Akiko was elsewhere.

Akiko's focus returned to the real. Her ankle still throbbed, but she barely felt it. Her mind was already back at the ruins, sifting through half-formed theories and escalating risks.

"So," she said casually, "what's the rest of your night look like?"

Raya glanced up, arching a brow. "Running… some kind of tests on these," she said, gesturing vaguely to the vials. "Not like we've got a handbook for 'what to do when your crewmate starts sprouting magic crystals.'"

She sighed. "And trying to figure out why soloing mana-mutated wildlife sounded like a good idea to you."

Akiko grinned. "Hey, I didn't plan it. They kind of... happened."

Raya crossed her arms, leveling a look. "Trouble follows you like a shadow. What are you planning now?"

Akiko hesitated, ears twitching slightly. "I'm thinking of going back to the facility."

"Of course you are."

"There's something wrong with that place," Akiko continued, more serious now. "Something that warped those dogs. And now some of it's in me." She tapped her bandaged leg. "I need answers. Answers that can't wait."

Raya studied her, unreadable.

"And this is the part where you ask me to tag along," she said at last.

Her tail swished behind her, betraying her amusement. "You're sharp. That's why I like you."

Raya sighed, shaking her head. "You can barely walk."

Akiko pushed off the counter, testing her weight. It hurt. She didn't flinch.

"Whatever's happening out there isn't going to wait," she said quietly. "And I don't think it's done with me."

Raya's gaze softened slightly, her fingers drumming against the medkit. "And you need someone to keep you breathing."

"And maybe to drag me out if things go sideways," Akiko added. "You know, just hypothetically."

"You're impossible," Raya muttered, rubbing her temple.

Akiko leaned in, voice lowering to something almost sincere. "You're the best person for this. You stay calm. You don't freeze, and you've seen how fast this stuff gets out of control. I trust you."

Raya didn't answer right away. Then, with a sigh, she grabbed her medkit off the shelf.

"Fine. But only because I don't trust you to survive the night without me."

Akiko beamed. "Knew I could count on you."

She took a careful step forward, testing her leg again. Still hurt like hell. But she could push through it.

The airlock hissed open, and Akiko stepped onto the walkway with a bounce in her step and a grin too wide for someone still limping. Her tail swayed with barely contained energy, boots thudding softly against the metal.

Behind her, Raya followed at a more measured pace, medkit slung over one shoulder. "You're awfully chipper for someone who just got chewed on by mana-mutated dogs," she said dryly.

Akiko turned, walking backward as she grinned at her. Now that she had a path forward, the weight of her problems slid off her shoulders like it always did.

"Because this is the fun part! Ruins, mysteries, maybe treasure? It's like I'm back in my old world."

Raya raised an eyebrow. "It's not a ruin. It's a derelict research facility full of unstable tech and probable death traps."

"Semantics," Akiko said, waving a hand. "All we need is a few more people and we've got ourselves a proper adventuring party. You, me, someone for tech, someone who can lift heavy things. We'll be unstoppable."

"Assuming we don't die first."

"Don't be such a pessimist." Akiko tapped her chin. "You're our healer, I'm the rogue, and we just need someone with muscles and a tragic backstory."

Raya sighed. "How about someone with a survival instinct?"

"Sure. They can be the responsible one."

"Pretty sure that's supposed to be me," Raya muttered.

Akiko turned forward again, scanning the docking bay as they walked. Faint voices drifted from the cargo area. Likely some of the crew loading supplies.

"This is going to be great," she said, her voice practically glowing. "Just like old times."

"Your old times sound like a string of near-death experiences."

Akiko gave a breezy shrug. "They were! But I survived. Mostly."

"Akiko." Raya rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Are you dragging me into another disaster?"

Akiko laughed, bright and unbothered. "Raya, everything I do is a little bit of a disaster. That's what makes it fun."

They stepped into the open bay. The air here carried that strange weight again, soft tension curling at the edges. Akiko's ears twitched, picking up scattered conversation.

She inhaled deeply, grinning like a girl on the cusp of mischief.

"Let's find our party," she said. "Time to start the next adventure."

Raya shook her head, amused despite herself. "Lead the way, fearless leader. Just... try not to get us killed before we even leave the docking bay."

Akiko strode into the bay like she already had the mission won, her grin wide and her stride confident despite the limp still tugging at her steps.

Near a stack of cargo crates, two familiar figures stood in contrast. Joran, all brawn and quiet menace, was inspecting a crate with his usual no-nonsense focus.

A few meters away, Quinn leaned against the wall, eyes half-lidded as he scrolled through a datapad, radiating practiced disinterest.

Perfect. The tank and the ranger. Just what they needed.

"Joran! Quinn!" she called, waving. "My favorite people."

Joran looked up, frowning. "What do you want, Tsukihara?" His tone was blunt, but not unkind. "Shouldn't you be in medbay after… whatever that was?"

Quinn didn't even look up. "Let me guess. You're here to rope us into something wildly ill-advised."

Akiko planted her hands on her hips. "Not ill-advised. Inspired. I'm assembling a team."

Quinn glanced up. "A team?"

"For an expedition," she said, stepping closer. "We're going back to the research site. There's something out there. Mana crystal growth, weird anomalies, possibly some kind of failed experiment. Whatever it is, it's dangerous. And I want to get ahead of it."

Joran crossed his arms. "So naturally, your plan is to wander back into it."

"Not wander," she said. "Scout. Strategize. Survive. That's why I need you both."

Quinn raised an eyebrow. "This your sales pitch?"

"Not yet," Akiko said, lifting a finger. "Picture it: you, Joran, are our tank. The muscle who keeps the rest of us in one piece. Raya's our healer. Quinn, you're the tactical mind. The one with all the schematics and trick arrows."

Quinn's brow furrowed. "I don't have arrows."

"Metaphorical arrows."

"And you?" Joran asked, unimpressed.

"I'm the rogue," she said, with a flourishing bow. "The wildcard. The glue that holds the team together and occasionally explodes things."

Raya's voice drifted in from behind her. "You are the explosion."

Akiko grinned without turning. "Exactly. It's a complete adventuring party. All we need now is the dungeon."

Joran exhaled hard. "If this is about the facility, I'm not thrilled. That place was scrubbed for a reason."

"Right," Akiko said. "And whoever did it left things behind. Dangerous things. I'd rather we find out what's down there before it comes knocking."

Quinn shut off his datapad with a touch, slipping it into a pouch. "If there's salvage or data worth taking, the Reclaimers will want it first."

Raya adjusted her medkit with a resigned sigh. "I can't believe I'm going along with this."

Akiko turned, surveying her hastily assembled party like a proud general.

"All right, team," she said, "let's gear up. We've got ruins to explore, monsters to fight, and secrets to uncover."

Joran grunted something about reckless foxes, but he followed her as she strode toward the hatch.

Akiko grinned wider.

Just like old times. The party's all here.

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