Yoichi stared at the white ceiling. Aside from the recurring ambulance sirens, the room remained silent.
Because he didn’t want to invade Okamoto’s privacy, he didn’t use her phone and distracted himself with his thoughts instead; from reminiscing about what happened the previous week to planning his coming livestreams.
His mind drifted away at times, helping time pass slightly faster. He constantly checked it on the locked screen of the phone until it marked eight o’clock, the time his father told him they would visit him.
At the exact time, someone knocked on the door before opening it. A doctor stepped inside and closed the door.
“Good morning, Ms. Okamoto. Was your night restful?”
“Not really,” Yoichi laughed nervously. “I’m not Okamoto. I swapped bodies with her yesterday after we touched.”
He blinked frantically. “Hm?”
The door opened behind him. He turned around to see Verónica and Okamoto controlling Yoichi’s body.
“Hi, doctor. I’m Manami. I swapped bodies with a guy after I broke his nose yesterday.”
Yoichi’s ears perked up at his voice coming from another person.
The doctor took a moment to stutter, “Is… Is that so? And who is she?”
“She needs to stay close to him because the disease of the guy I swapped bodies with is mutated. He pushes people away and she pulls them closer, so staying together cancels the effects out.”
“That’s… interesting. In that case, I’ll give you some privacy. Shall I return in thirty minutes to begin your rehabilitation?”
“If it isn’t much trouble.”
“Not at all.”
He walked past them to leave the room and closed the door.
“You’re starting your rehabilitation already? That’s great,” Yoichi smiled.
Okamoto turned around to see him. The smile she had when talking to the doctor was gone. Electrifying shivers went down his spine as she approached him. Verónica followed her beside the bed.
“Okamoto?” Yoichi worried.
She looked him in the eye. “Are you crazy?”
“Huh?”
“You got on my nerves on purpose to make me punch you. Are you a masochist?”
“Please don’t say that in front of her.”
Verónica said something in Spanish, which Yoichi couldn’t understand because he wasn’t wearing the translating glasses.
Okamoto replied, “A masochist is a person who—”
“Why are you telling her?!”
“She’ll look it up anyway. Better avoid her seeing something she shouldn’t.”
Yoichi sighed. Even though she was right, she caused the problem in the first place. Regardless, Yoichi returned to the topic at hand.
“I made you punch me because I knew you were suppressing your emotions. No one would be able to smile so casually after being paralyzed and seeing the person who did it. It also made me feel a bit less guilty. Besides, the punch has made us discover we can swap bodies. That gives you another chance to—”
Okamoto’s slap shut him up.
“Are you listening to yourself? Did you even listen to what I said yesterday? I told you it was fine. It could’ve been prevented, but that doesn’t mean it was your fault. Not everything is black and white. Stop looking for a culprit for everything, and stop assuming other people’s emotions.”
Yoichi stared up at her, caressing his reddening cheek.
“There, we’re even again,” she said.
“A slap can’t be compared to a nose-breaking punch.”
“Should I break my nose, then?”
“Don’t, especially not when I’m controlling your body.”
They both smiled.
Yoichi noticed Verónica’s furrowed eyebrows.
“Her expression changed.”
Okamoto looked at her. “She seems… disappointed? Grossed out? Why are you looking at us like that?”
Verónica answered in Spanish.
“We aren’t,” replied Okamoto.
Verónica said something else.
Okamoto replied, “We do.”
“What is she saying?” asked Yoichi.
“It’s nothing.” She walked to the loveseat in the room, followed by Verónica. “We already touched, so let’s wait until we fall asleep.”
She leaned against the backrest and closed her eyes, making Yoichi understand she wanted some peace. He wasn’t against the idea, so he did the same in bed.
If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
…
Yoichi’s eyes snapped open as he leaned forward. He caught his breath realizing he was sitting next to Verónica on the loveseat. Even though Okamoto’s eyes remained closed on the bed, her slightly dropped jaw and blonde, wavy hair captivated him.
“Yoichi?”
Verónica’s question snapped him out of the trance.
“Yes, it’s me. It worked.”
“We should head back to the reception and tell Mrs. Kawahara.”
“She’s waiting? Why didn’t she come with you?”
“Only two people are allowed to visit at the same time.”
“Oh. Let’s head back, then.”
He pushed himself up but fell back on the loveseat when his legs didn’t move. A shocking tingle electrified them as if they didn’t have enough blood flow. It lasted for a few seconds before they returned to normal.
“Should we tell Okamoto?” asked Verónica.
Yoichi stood up. “Let’s let her rest.”
Verónica stood up and they stepped out of the room. They headed back to the reception, where Enko sat and used her phone.
“Hey, Aunt Enko.”
She looked up at him. “You’re back. Do you feel anything out of the ordinary?”
“Not now, but my legs didn’t move when I first tried to stand up after swapping back to my body. They became normal after that.”
“Interesting. I wonder if Okamoto felt the same when she swapped into your body,” she muttered to herself. She then stood up. “Let’s head outside. There’s something I need to tell both of you.”
Verónica and Yoichi glanced at each other before following Enko through the reception and out of the hospital. They walked away from the main path so as not to obstruct it and stopped in front of two leafless trees.
“I’ve made progress on my research. In fact, a crucial part of it was because of Verónica’s questions about the CTCT cells.”
Verónica’s eyebrows raised. “But you told us about them two hours ago.”
“Describing their nature and functionality made me realize I’ve been neglecting the little knowledge we have about them. In addition to the peculiar findings I’ve made in your blood cells, I’m confident that comparing them is the next step to take.”
Yoichi replied, “That’s great news. What do we have to do?”
“I’ll schedule a surgery in a week and a half to remove a small section of your skin. The abdomen and the thighs usually contain the most fat, hence the most skin, but the procedure might leave a scar. So, I recommend the thighs. Which do you prefer?”
He sighed. “You never change. Could you at least start by telling us less intimidating details?”
“That’s what I did. The rest is that the incision would be so minuscule that it could be compared to a scratch. That also means the anesthesia would be local and not general, lowering risks overall. The procedure would take less than an hour, and it’d be good practice for the surgeons for future patients with mutated CTCT diseases.”
“See? You could’ve started with that.”
“Strange. I believed it would’ve made it worse.”
“Well, I’m up to it if you believe it’ll help.”
They smiled at each other. Then, they looked at Verónica. She glanced at both of them before lowering her head.
“I need time to think about it.”
Yoichi expected her to agree. He realized he had been assuming many of her emotions as well, or the lack of them. He had been building an image of her without knowing her at all.
“We won’t force you to do anything,” he said. “Take your time and tell us your answer when you’re ready.”
Enko added, “Precisely.”
Verónica nodded.
“We should head to the campus at once,” Enko said. “I lost half an hour of work and you of lecture.”
Yoichi replied, “About that…, I promised Mrs. Okamoto I’d stop going to the campus to prevent another accident from happening. It sucks, but it’s the safest and logical thing to do. It always was.”
Her eyebrows raised slightly. She then pushed her glasses up.
“I understand. In that case, allow me to drive you home.”
“Actually, I was thinking of walking around the city with Verónica a little. I know it goes against what I just said, but we… I’d like to do it at least once. If Verónica wants, of course.”
Verónica nodded.
“Very well,” Enko replied. “If you’re worried about your and other people’s safety, I suggest tying the ends of a rope to your waists. That way, you’ll never get away from each other.”
Yoichi deadpanned at the suggestion, while Verónica replied.
“Good idea.”
“Are you serious?”
“Why not?” Enko and Verónica said at the same time in different languages.
He sighed. “It might be safer, but people will look at us weird. And it’s not like we have a rope now.”
Noticing how promptly Enko opened her mouth to reply, he interrupted her.
“Even if you have a rope, please don’t admit it. It’ll be weird.”
Her mouth closed into a smirk. “Enjoy your day, you two. Contact me if you have any inquiries.”
She turned around and walked in the direction of the parking lot, leaving Yoichi wondering whether she really had a rope or not.
“Anyway. Let’s get going.”
They began walking in the opposite direction of the parking lot.
Even though the hospital was far from the center of the city, the buildings didn’t skimp on height. The same couldn’t be said about their width, though that didn’t matter whether they were close to the center of the city or not.
Famous franchises took no time to appear, along with several others Yoichi didn’t recognize. Although he had seen some of them through a car window, he never thought he would be able to step into them. There wasn’t anything stopping him anymore, but there was no reason to do so either.
The crowds grew bigger on the sidewalks and the traffic became slower on the street the more they walked.
“Where are we going?” asked Verónica. “My feet are starting to hurt.”
“Mine too, and we’ve walked for less than twenty minutes,” he laughed nervously. “I don’t know where we’re going; it’s the first time I’ve—”
A suited man suddenly bumped into Verónica. Yoichi placed his hand on her back even though the push wasn’t strong.
“Please watch where you’re going,” the man chastised before resuming his walk.
Yoichi scowled at him, yet decided not to cause a scene in front of Verónica.
“Sorry, some people are a bit rude. Are you okay?”
She nodded. “You stopped in time.”
“Yeah. It really is dangerous walking around this many people. I know! Using a rope might be a bit too much, but we could hold hands.” Realizing what he said, he stuttered, “B… But that would also be weird, wouldn’t it? Maybe you could hold my wrist.”
He didn’t know what was coming out of his mouth anymore, only that he was digging himself into a grave of awkwardness.
To his surprise, she complied. The grip around his wrist was faint, but he could feel it.
“What?” she asked.
He closed his mouth and smiled. “Nothing. I know you’ve just arrived in the country, but is there somewhere you want to go or something you want to do?”
“Dr. Herrera gave me money to buy new clothes, but it’d be better to save it for emergencies.”
The image of Verónica’s torn socks flashed in Yoichi’s head. However, he wasn’t going to assume what she or anyone wanted anymore.
“That’s smart,” he replied. “Seriously, if you want to do something or go somewhere, just say it.”
She stared up at him. She then looked forward and said.
“There’s something.”