Neku ran his hands gently along the bony spine of his friend. Joshua shuddered and groaned under his touch in utter discomfort.

"Yeah...he's got about four discs out of place." The orange-haired teen reported "That makes three cracked ribs, one broken rib, one broken arm, and at least three out-of-place organs, one of them a kidney, definitely." He frowned "Strange, you mentioned a flogging, but I don't see any marks."

"You won't." Sanae said as he came over with some warm broth and crackers, "They healed him before chucking him down here. The pain and fever still linger, though."

"Again...bastards" Neku spat.

"Awe...you do care!" came the hoarse, weak voice from the patient on the couch. This was followed by a rattling coughing fit then silence.

"You are a prick, Josh." Neku stated, too concerned to be genuinely annoyed. "You are a manipulative, god-complexed, prissy ass who shot me...Twice. But you also don't deserve this, or whatever else they put you through. Now, sit up, you've got some broth to drink, and I swear if you comment on me feeding you, I will tell Mister H what really happened to his last coffee pot."

There was a hitch in Joshua's already labored breathing, and his scratchy voice whined "I'll take more lashes thanks, dear partner." he sniped.

Satisfied yet slightly disturbed at the flippant way Joshua addressed the painful punishment, Neku propped him up with a pillow and spoonfed him broth until his purple lids sank halfway and his breathing calmed.

Something was bugging Neku, and as soon as his patient was sleeping the sleep of the already-dead, he decided it was best to ask Sanae about it.

"Mister H" he started softly "You knew Josh when he was alive, right?"

Sanae paused in his staring out the window to look at the teen "Yes. Yes I did."

"Was he...masogynistic...before he died?"

The man stroked his chin "hmmm. No, can't say he was, Phones. However, the older he got, the more I noticed that he became, sadly, used to people hurting him. He began tallying his bruises, often being proud of one or two he'd gotten while being utterly infuriating to one of his bullies. J told me that they wished to make him powerless and afraid. He decided to rob them of their superiority by taking that power away from them."

"Do you think..."

"Oh by the Higher Plane I hope not! But knowing J, he probably did. And I can betcha they pushed hard as they could to get him to lay low. And I'm betting he snubbed each and every attempt, no matter how painful it got. It can get pretty intense, Phones."

"And Joshua weathered all of it." Neku mused "Because he was determined to not be powerless, or show those damn bastards his fear."

Sanae sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair "Yeah. But don't ask him to elaborate. His boasting can get...graphic"

"Prick" Neku said, but there was a half smile on his face. He stretched "So, how long until he can heal himself?"

Sanae shrugged "Up to him really. Josh may just allow his mortal body to heal naturally. You know how he always likes being taken care of. As long as we don't forget, true form or not, he's still the most powerful being in Shibuya."

"Hmm. You really think he won't cure himself?"

"Honestly Phones...I'm not even sure he can at this point. We'll just have to wait and see."

Yeah. Neku though, looking at his friend on the couch. Wait and see.