Suddenly, the door opened, the very one I had been staring holes into. Leisurely. Almost too calmly. I had expected Shoko to come rushing out.
"Satoru?!" Shoko, now standing in the doorway, spoke to me peacefully, "you can come back in now."
Finally!!
But the considered tone of Shoko's voice, behind whom I was now following, brought me a queasy feeling. First thing I did was look at the black surface of the examination bed and noticed how panic overtook me.
No sign of Mayu!
Shoko hadn't moved her two rooms over, had she – the ones that only had stainless steel tables in them?! The ones with the built-in drains, right?!
We walked without stopping and without the person I was desperately looking for, through the passage room where Shoko had earlier wanted to begin the blood analysis. The heavy scent of disinfectant creeping into my nose could not be ignored.
Without stopping, we moved on to the next door – inscription: Autopsy.
A cold shiver ran down my spine.
So cold, in fact, that it made me tremble all over.
In that room, where invisible blood stuck to the tiled floor.
In the one where death bore its scent.
The final examination before the final bed of infinity.
"... Isn't that Kento's handwriting?!", Mayu's questioning voice suddenly interrupted my dreaded train of thought, as she addressed Shoko, "but how is that possible? How can you have a cursed spirit lying here, when they dissolve upon being defeated?"
In disbelief, I observed the woman with lilac-colored hair as she stood at the dissection table – not on it – inspecting the altered human in front of her.
Alive and well. In her dark blue skirt uniform.
As if the threatening emergency from earlier had never happened.
Speechless, I cast a brief and concise glance at Shoko, who calmly answered Mayu's question right away.
"Because that wasn't an ordinary curse spirit."
Shoko gently placed her hand on my shoulder. Of course she didn't miss that I needed to process what I had just seen and push away my worst thoughts.
"Who does shit like that?!" Mayu exclaimed as she turned toward us.
Her gaze immediately landed on me.
"Satoru!" she said with a wide smile and covered the short distance between us in a few quick steps, throwing herself into my arms without hesitation.
I remained frozen in place.
She snuggled against me—closer. Wrapped her arms around my back.
I was too stunned to push her away—or even want to.
On the contrary—surprised and hesitant, I eventually wrapped my arms around her too.
No anger. No fever. No slap in the face—just... Mayu.
Soft and comfortingly warm.
Her fingers gently stroked my back, while I rested my cheek against her head.
The weight that had just been lifted off my chest could've knocked down a few walls. Hell, the entire dorm... Finally, a wave of relief washed over me—something I had desperately needed.
Who would've thought she'd become so important to me that I nearly lost my composure…
Pah, nearly!
"How are you?" I whispered, looking down at her.
At the same moment, she tilted her tired-looking face up to me. A happy smile on her lips.
By now I had completely tuned Shoko out, so I thoughtlessly placed my hand on Mayu's cheek. I was just immensely relieved that I didn't have to find her lying on one of those uncomfortable tables.
"I'm fine again, but I still feel weak and exhausted."
I guided her face back to my chest and held her more tightly. Once again, she started with that comforting caress—the very one I had definitely needed more of.
"So…" Shoko cleared her throat behind us, making her presence known. "I couldn't find any signs of poisoning in the blood analysis."
Oops!
Guess my emotions had gotten the better of me—enough to make sure I'd be dissected later by the world's best doctor. And not just physically... I mean my whole damn inner self.