On the way home
My head throbbed.
Maia rested.
At last, she allowed herself to close her eyes.
Even exhausted, she resisted sleep for a long time before surrendering.
So distant from the impenetrable, fearless woman I had first met.
Hard to imagine she could be this fragile.
The analgesics had clearly softened her defenses.
At the apartment
I settled Maia into the bed, prepared the IV line, and changed her dressings.
Without a biochip, the monitoring system couldn't connect.
I implanted a temporary nanochip in her hand.
Immediately, her vitals appeared on the holoscreen.
Stable.
Good.
Relief loosened my shoulders.
The emotional weight of the day pressed against my eyelids.
Keeping them open became effort.
I fell asleep in the armchair beside her.
"Hey. Wake up."
A muffled voice.
"Akiko."
I jolted awake.
"Yes?"
My neck ached.
My arms tingled, numb from the angle.
Orange light seeped through the window.
I had forgotten to darken the glass.
"Akiko?"
Maia again.
I checked her wounds.
Improved.
Too improved.
Only hours had passed.
I chose not to chase that thought.
"How are you feeling?"
My mouth tasted dry.
Exhaustion eclipsed last night's hunger.
My stomach growled.
Maia smiled faintly.
"You're hungry too?"
Her voice was hoarse.
"You as well? I'm sorry. I fell asleep."
I handed her the apartment control panel.
"I'll bring us food. Adjust the light if it bothers you."
I prepared breakfast—
fruit, bread, juice.
She needed it.
Her body showed signs of prolonged malnutrition and dehydration.
She had been surviving, not eating.
I returned with the tray.
Maia leaned back against the headboard.
I settled into the chair.
"Try to eat everything."
She nodded.
Lifting her arms drew a quiet groan.
"Damn. It hurts. Those—"
Her gaze caught her reflection in the mirror.
"Tch. They aimed for the face."
I knew she would retreat into silence if I asked what happened.
"Do you want help?"
She nodded.
I fed her piece by piece.
"How intense is the pain? Can you feel your legs?"
"Yes. Legs hurt more than arms. Back too. Rib. Face… everything."
She let out a small laugh.
How could she laugh?
"Has this happened before?"
She kept eating.
"I need to know. I'm your doctor. Have you fractured a rib before?"
A pause.
"It happened.
I'm full. It was good. Thank you."
"You're welcome."
I sat back down.
After a moment—
"How many times?"
She stared out the window.
I expected silence again.
"Many.
Hard to count.
But this is the first time I've been treated like this."
She tried to smile.
It twisted with pain.
I almost laughed.
Soft.
"I'll do an X-ray, all right?"
A shrug.
"No biochip?" I asked.
"Not from the Aether Network."
Strange.
Everyone in São Paulo received one at birth.
Even foreigners.
"Allergies?"
Silence.
I lifted another nanochip.
"I'm placing this at the nape of your neck. It won't hurt."
I brushed her hair aside.
Even the fine hairs carried that pale tone.
Disinfected.
Applied.
She shivered.
"That okay?"
We were close.
Her breath brushed my arm.
Heat climbed my face before I stepped back.
Her eyes followed.
"It's fine."
"Good."
I sat beside her, reviewing the scan.
"Maia… you have NB-Mend in your bones."
That should have been impossible.
I kept my voice steady.
"You have multiple microfractures. Your rib is worse. See these metallic traces? Nanites repairing bone tissue."
I pointed to the panel.
"UNITED is testing this in New York. How do you have it?"
I turned toward her.
"How do you have this?"
Silence.
I exhaled.
"I'll adjust your treatment. Higher calcium. Metaline injection. It accelerates NB-Mend integration."
"You have Metaline?"
Interest flickered.
"Yes. The compound was tested here briefly. I participated in its formulation."
"So they do that here…" she murmured.
"Only when UNITED requisitions it. I maintain a private reserve."
"How long until I recover?"
"At least half a lunation. Without NB-Mend, a full lunation."
Vitals stable.
The nanochip integrated seamlessly.
"You'll take care of me until then?"
The question caught me unguarded.
My pulse spiked.
"Yes."
A cough to mask it.
"Until you can manage on your own."
I left the room too quickly.
The wall cooled my back.
Blood rushed.
Heart racing.
Emotion overflowing.
Perhaps I needed cardiac tests.
I worked remotely.
Reviewed the latest CogniSynth research results.
Sent reports to the team.
From time to time, I checked on Maia.
Why did I think about her so often?
I noticed she seemed content watching comedy films.
Even if she barely smiled.
My favorite visiting hour?
Sunset.
When the gray sky ignited.
Orange. Pink. Lilac.
Color spilled through the window.
Bathed her in light.
Reflected across her pale skin.
She looked unreal.
I leaned against the doorframe.
Watching.
Again.
"Akiko."
She startled me.
"I need a shower."
Nearly two lunations had passed.
Her wounds improved.
Arms moved more freely.
Legs hurt less.
Bandages were smaller.
Only superficial cleaning now.
It had been a long time since I last bathed a patient.
"Can you move? I can prepare the tub."
I spoke too quickly.
"If you help me…"
She exhaled sharply, aware of her limits.
"I—"
I turned away.
Heat flooded my face.
Why was I reacting like this?
I disliked these unfamiliar sensations.
"Of course. I'll prepare it."
A strange flutter moved through my stomach.
Water helped steady me.
I turned on the hydromassage.
Steam filled the bathroom.
When I returned, she leaned on my shoulders.
She was heavier than she looked.
She planted her feet to ease the weight.
Steam blurred the room.
I placed a small stool at the edge of the tub.
Left her steady against the sink.
"You can…?"
I let the sentence hang.
She understood.
Those minutes stretched endlessly.
Water splashed.
"Yes."
A low laugh.
Relief.
I sat on the stool.
Sponge. Neutral soap.
I poured water through her white hair.
She washed slowly.
Each movement tight with pain.
"You're sure your parents don't have piebaldism?"
I worked shampoo through her hair.
She shifted the subject.
"I have many questions about you."
Oh, I imagined.
I rolled my eyes.
A pause.
Water echoing against tile.
"The main one is this:
Why did you help me?"
"I saw you hurt. I took an oath."
Truth.
I would have helped anyone.
Except—
Bringing anyone here would have been unthinkable.
I suppressed a frustrated breath.
She grunted softly as water hit her face.
"Alright."
"Does it feel better? I added something for pain."
I spoke casually, fingers brushing her scalp.
"Yes. Much better. Thank you."
She leaned back and handed me the sponge.
I washed her back carefully.
Less bruised, yet marked by scars.
One crossed from shoulder to waist.
Old. Deep.
My finger traced it lightly.
She shivered.
Remained silent.
"Done. When you're finished—"
She almost slipped rising from the tub.
I caught her instantly.
"Sorry. I want out."
Her body trembled.
I kept my gaze fixed on her face.
Why did I care so much?
"It's fine."
I steadied her.
Handed her a towel.
Looked anywhere else.
She laughed.
"Is it that bad? The injuries?"
"No. I'm used to it."
Her smile flickered.
"Good to know my wounds are in capable hands."
"I—"
I left the bathroom.
She was the first to make my heart race like this.
Absurd.
"Call me when you're done."
Later, darkness filled the sky.
Dinner time.
I ordered Japanese food.
Cooking felt impossible.
Or thinking.
We sat by the window.
Silence between us.
She broke it.
"Can you sleep here? It's a lot of space for so much… emptiness."
Strange hearing that from her.
She seemed softer.
Though alertness never left her.
"I feel alone sometimes too. I just stay busy enough to forget."
Why did I admit that?
"As you wish. The chair turns into a bed."
I brought a pillow and blanket.
She murmured something.
Barely audible.
"More than emptiness… I…"
"Sorry? Can you repeat that?"
"N-nothing."
My hands felt warm.
Why did her evasions disturb me so much?
I lay down.
"Thank you for taking care of me."
Her smile returned.
Cool.
"I'll remember this. I want to repay you. Anything you ask. Except… except…"
She paused.
"That. I can't answer your questions."
My chest tightened.
Time slowed.
"Don't worry about repaying me. You helped me on that train. And that night at the bar. I did this because of my oath. I would have done it for anyone."
A partial truth.
"I ask questions to everyone. Answering is always a choice."
Another partial truth.
A flicker of melancholy crossed her face.
Or perhaps I imagined it.
"Right. About that night… Anyway. I'll rest. Good night."
Something subtle shifted under that moon.
Since then, we grew quiet.
I asked about her condition.
Maia answered with her usual coolness.
Sometimes her lips parted, as if she would speak—
then sealed again.
Whatever she considered saying, she chose to swallow.
Time moved.
Frequent Metaline applications and the NB-Mend system restored her bones.
Stronger than standard human structure.
She complained about the metallic taste.
A common side effect.
UNITED's internal progress remained unknown to me.
Yet Maia's response was extraordinary.
That reminded me—
"Maia… I know you said you've repaid enough."
She stood now—tall, strong, scars mapping her body.
How had she earned them?
I set the thought aside.
She would leave tonight.
Perhaps the last time I would see her.
Why did that feel heavy?
She was one person.
There were billions.
Yet—
it felt as if she sang on a frequency no one else reached.
"Yes. What is it?"
"There's a study. About Rh null blood.
If you donate samples, it could help many people."
I sounded steadier than I felt.
"How would I send those samples?"
I blinked.
I expected refusal.
"An android courier could deliver them?"
"You can arrange that?"
"I can. Just tell me how."
She shrugged.
"Message me. We'll meet at Centrália."
"Alright."
She stepped closer.
That penetrating gaze.
Her vulnerability vanished.
The presence before me—
intimidating.
Commanding.
Unsettling.
And dismantling every defense I had.
"That's all?"
"Yes."
My throat tightened.
"I'll give you a box with Metaline."
I moved.
She blocked my path.
My breath paused.
Heart loud in my ears.
"Thank you.
Again.
For everything."
Her voice softened.
Her honey-colored eyes blurred my thoughts.
Perhaps what she truly wanted to say stayed hidden.
She stepped aside.
I stood there longer than necessary.
Disoriented.
She always left me like that.
"Should I call a taxi?"
I handed her the box.
Walked her to the door.
"No."
She paused at the threshold.
"Then…"
I looked down.
"Enough with the gratitude."
"The oath. I understand.
We'll see each other when you collect my blood?"
A spontaneous smile.
I nodded.
Unsure how to answer.
Everything felt unfamiliar.
"Alright. See you."
She waved.
"See you."
If I were honest—
when I watched her walk away,
what burned inside me was a silent request for her to stay.
Instead, I guarded the desire.
I would be glad to see her again.
So many veils.
Her words echoed long after she left.
They pressed against my chest.
I wished I could quiet them.