Yui stood down like a man obeying a rule he disliked.
He stepped back from the circle and looked Elias over once, from the dirt on his knees to the split in his lip.
"Get used to this feeling after testing," Yui said. "The suit spared you the worst part, and you still look half finished."
"I can still walk by myself."
"The suit can still carry most of the lie."
Yui turned and left through the side corridor without waiting for an answer.
Only after the door sealed did Elias let himself sit.
A medic team arrived with a compact stretcher, though he refused to lie down until the nurse threatened to write noncompliance on his chart. That got him seated fast enough.
She had black hair tied under her cap and the kind of calm hands that suggested she had patched up people who screamed louder than Elias ever intended to.
"What did you say to make Rakamaki treat baseline testing like a personal insult?"
Elias winced as she cleaned his lip. "I existed near him while holding a shard, apparently."
"That does it with him sometimes."
"Is he always like that afterward?"
She pressed a swab against the cut under his cheek. "He is worse with people he thinks might waste what they were given, which is context rather than an excuse."
Elias thought about the scars on Yui's wrists where the springs had held.
"I do not think he is evil, maybe angry and definitely tired."
The nurse paused. "He kicked you around the stadium for ten minutes and you are diagnosing his mood?"
"I am annoyed, and I am also alive because the fight showed me how far behind I am, so both can be true."
She studied him for a second, then finished wrapping the shallow cut near his brow.
"That is either maturity or head trauma, and we will monitor for both."
Oliver arrived before Elias could answer. His uniform was slightly off, his hair less perfect than usual, and he looked ready to start a second fight on Elias's behalf.
"What happened to no serious injuries?"
The nurse straightened. "First Lieutenant Rakamaki stayed inside hard-stop limits. Kael is bruised, cut, and drained, but stable. The test produced usable output data."
Oliver exhaled through his nose. "That is a very official way to say he got beaten."
"Official wording keeps departments friendly enough."
Elias slid off the stretcher carefully. "I appreciate everyone being furious on my schedule, but can I change before the debrief?"
Oliver looked at the suit's reserve readout and frowned.
"Twelve percent remaining means you pushed it too low for a first session."
"I had a motivational instructor today," Elias said.
"Do not joke in the report," Oliver said, and Elias sighed. "That removes half my survival tools."
Oliver walked him back to the changing room. Elias returned to the green tracksuit, which felt soft after the connected suit released its last needles. The tiny punctures stung as he moved, and Dot stayed close to his chest without speaking much.
They took the elevator back toward Geras's office.
"What was the point of the first green outfit if I needed the combat suit anyway?" Elias asked.
"The green outfit carries passive tracking threads and keeps block residents standardized. The combat suit reads strain, distributes impact, and records output. You were supposed to use it on the obstacle course first, but Rakamaki accelerated the combat portion."
"That is a diplomatic phrase for it."
"It is the phrase I can put in a report without starting a disciplinary argument before dinner."
They reached the fifth floor.
The receptionist from earlier looked up from her terminal, then took in Elias's bandages with one slow blink.
"Warden Geras is waiting inside now," she said. "Lieutenant Oliver, remain outside unless called."
Oliver stopped beside the door.
Elias looked at him. "You are not coming in with me?"
"Apparently I am being spared more paperwork."
The door opened.
Elias stepped into Geras's office with dirt still under his nails and Dot tucked against his shoulder.
Geras stood by a whiteboard covered in marked grids and red magnets.
He moved one piece, then looked at Elias's face.
"Rakamaki left several visible marks on you."
Elias touched the bandage near his brow. "He would probably call them educational damage."