The steam from the morning shower clung to the mirror, a literal fog over my mind. I stepped out, towel in hand,
"I feel so refreshed," I murmured to the empty room, pulling on my clothes for the day ahead.
[Partner, do you remember anything about last night?]
"Mhm? What do you mean?"
[You were... active last night. Doing things you shouldn't have.]
"What are you talking about?" I frowned, checking my reflection. "I don't remember anything from last night. I slept like a log."
[Oh, partner... I am sorry, but this is for your own good,] she whispered.
Suddenly, my limbs locked. A cold, electric sensation surged through my body, then My own hands finished buttoning the shirt without my permission.
"What are you doing?!" I yelled internally, trapped behind my own eyes.
[I have to find out what is happening to you and what was in that syringe,] Nux replied, her consciousness expanding to fill the corners of my mind. [I am taking control.]
The transition was seamless. I or rather, we stood up. Nux tested the weight of my arms, a small, smile touching my lips.
"So, the substance doesn't affect me while I'm at the helm... That is good," Nux mused aloud, using my voice.
As she navigated our body toward the hospital where I worked, she paused, flexed a hand, and felt the hum of energy beneath the skin. "I seem to have more magical power than usual. Is it because I am merging my own reserves with Rin's? Technically, when I am in control, I have twice the capacity. More testing is required... once I am sure Rin isn't being manipulated."
The walk was interrupted by a stir in the crowd. People were actively recoiling, veering off the sidewalk to avoid a figure slumped against a wall. It was a woman, her clothes tattered and her face a map of bruises and exhaustion. She wasn't just injured; she was heavily pregnant.
"Miss? Are you okay?" Nux asked, dropping the analytical tone for one of urgent concern.
"Please... help me," the woman gasped, her voice barely a thread.
Without a second thought, Nux hoisted her into a bridal carry. Despite the extra weight, our body felt light, fueled by that doubled mana. We sprinted the remaining blocks to the hospital, bursting through the emergency entrance.
"Doctor Rin? Who is this?" a nurse asked, rushing over with a gurney.
"I found her on the street. Multiple blunt-force injuries and she looks to be seven or eight months along," Nux said with clinical authority. "Get her to a room and start a full workup. Also, send this for a blood panel immediately and bring the results directly to me."
Nux handed over a vial of my own blood she had drawn earlier in secret.
"Alright, Doctor!"
Inside the trauma room, Nux leaned over the woman. "What's your name?"
"Sa...ki," she wheezed.
"Don't worry, Saki. You're safe now," Nux said, offering a gentle smile that felt strange on my face.
"Tha...nk you..." Saki's eyes fluttered shut as she drifted into a forced sleep.
The nurse pulled Nux aside, her face grim. "Doctor, she's in bad shape. Aside from the physical trauma, she's riddled with infections and traces of various drugs. The treatment costs alone... she's clearly destitute. She can't afford this, and frankly, I don't think she'll survive the night."
"The cost doesn't matter," Nux snapped, my voice ringing with a sudden, fierce protectiveness. "I will cover it. I won't let a mother and her child die on my watch. Treat her. Everything she needs."
"Yes, Doctor."
A few hours later, the nurse returned with a folder. Nux retreated to a quiet corner and flipped open the results of my blood test.
"I knew it," Nux hissed. The data was clear. The syringe from the night before was filled with a cocktail designed to make a subject more suggestible while amplifying their base desires. "It's a good thing this can't touch me. Now, I just need a way to flush this out of Rin's system. Narcan? No, maybe Naltrexone or Buprenorphine..."
The door opened, and a senior surgeon stepped in, looking defeated. "Rin... we're doing our best, but the complications are mounting. Between the internal bleeding and the pregnancy, we can't guarantee both will survive. We can perform an emergency C-section to save the baby, but the strain will almost certainly kill the mother. I'm sorry."
Nux looked at Saki, who had woken up and was listening with wide, terrified eyes. "Any family?"
"None we can contact."
"Can't you save us both?" Saki sobbed, her voice breaking.
"We will try," the surgeon said softly. "But in case we can't... you have to choose."
"No, no, no..." The woman buried her face in her hands, tears leaking through her fingers.
As the surgeon left, Nux felt a strange tug in my chest—not just pity, but recognition. *I know her.*
"Can you... get my glasses?" Saki asked, trembling.
Nux searched the bedside drawer and found a worn case. As she handed them over and Saki slid them onto her face, a flood of my own suppressed memories surged forward. I remembered her now. I knew her story.
"It's no problem," Nux said, her voice softening as she reached out to hug the sobbing woman.
"Maybe I can heal her with my own powers,' Nux thought, her mind racing.
"You're the first person..." Saki sobbed into our shoulder, "the first person to treat me like a human being."
"It's okay," Nux whispered, patting her back as I felt my own heart aching through the possession. "I am here. We aren't letting either of you go."