Chapter 3

I opened by eyes in a white room, the lights shining eerily in my eyes.

"He's awake." I heard murmurs and whispers in my ear as I awoke from my 'slumber'. Turning my head to see who it was, I saw a woman with a little boy, their gazes filled with for reasons unknown to me. Next to them stood a doctor, his face left nothing but surprise, shock even, his notepad almost dropping from his grasp.

"What happened-" I muttered, slowly raising from the bed, my hands gripping the white silk sheets ever so slightly.

"You saved my son," the woman said, tears welled up in her eyes as she spoke.

"You're quite the hero kid, though what I'm trying to figure out is." The doctor paused, looking at the notes he had in his hand.

"How'd you recover from shattered bones so quickly, you're supposed to be bedridden for months but you seem fine to walk and only a week had passed."

Damn it, couldn't that goddess had picked a coma patient or something?!

"O-oh how strange-" I tried to play it off, refusing to make eye contact with any of them.

"Anyway, miracles aside, you'll be free to leave tomorrow once we've checked over everything." The doctor informed.

"Your parents will be here shortly so we'll give you your privacy." the doctor looked at the woman and she nods, taking her child out the room with them.

"Parents huh..." I murmured, my eyes panning down to my slender arms, wrapped in bandages.

"that reminds me,"

"I wonder how my wife and the kids are doing."

"Morning class." A middle aged man with short brown hair spoke as he entered the classroom. His long slender fingers wrapped around the textbooks necessary for today's class. He always wore black glasses though no one ever saw his eyes, though the bags under them were so big you'd see them peeking from below. Placing the books on the desk he turned to us. A sigh escaping his lips as he relayed the news.

"So as pertaining to Tanaka's recent absence we've been informed that he'd been hospitalized."

A soft silence fell on the class, occasional murmurs and whispers caught the ear of the teacher. Among the group a boy with white hair and green eyes raised his hand.

"Mr._________" He called out. Catching the attention of Mr. ______

"Yes, Izumi?"

Izumi stood up, his hand gripped against the edge of his desk.

"Which hospital is it?"

"Huh?" Mr._____ looked surprised and the boy's question.

"Where're they keeping him. I'd like to visit." a soft smile soon emerging through that confused expression, lips parting to answer his query.

"Hey, Izumi!" Someone called out to the young lad as the bell rung, and everyone left their classes to go home. Izumi looked behind him, his gaze landing on Masao and Konami as they slowly approached him.

"We're coming with you." Konami announced, her hands on her hips as she did.

"Why are you interested all of a sudden. "Izumi murmured, a hint of caution in his voice.

"hey! We're Tanaka's friends too you know!"

The boy turned to Masao then back to her.

"Shinji I get but-" There's silence for a mere moment before speaking again, choosing his words carefully.

"Do you two even talk?"

"What are you saying?! of course we talk!"

"Watching from a distance is not talking!"

Masao watched as the two of them bickered, waiting for them to inevitably tire as they always do.

_________

"Hey man, we're here to visit-" Izumi announced, interrupted by a man who walked straight past him, his eyes almost blocked out by his glasses, a tall man who seemed to be a white collar worker.

"Hey, was that your dad?" He pondered, looking into the room to see me, staring at my hands, my fists clenched the sheets under them.

"Kota?"

"Six months..." I murmured, not noticing them standing there.

"Kota!"

I looked up at him, still getting used to my new name.

"You ok, man?" He asked, walking in, my eyes landing on two other girls who followed. A girl with brown hair and eyes, a beauty mark near her lip, and Masao.

"Masao!" I smiled when I saw her, her name just coming out, the other two looking confused at the sudden outburst.

Masao looking at me with nothing but disgust.

Oh right... I can't call her by her first name in this new body-

"Since when were you two that close?"

"We're not," Masao murmured, looking behind her and turning to leave, her hand resting on the door before she turned back to us.

"I'll be outside if you need me."

Damn, did I screw up that badly? I looked to the bed again, my eyes narrowed in mental fatigue.

"Did- Did I make her hate me already?" I murmured, both Izumi and Konami looked at each other, their eyebrows furrowed in confusion to what's going on.

"Hey man cheer up, you'll be released tomorrow wont you?" Izumi grinned, trying to lighten the mood between everyone.

"Wait.. who are you again?" I pondered, even more confused.

"Huh?! You mean to tell me you don't remember me?!" He stood right in front of me, giving me a good look at his slender face as he pointed to himself.

"Me! Your buddy ol pal from nursery? Shota Izumi?! We play basketball together! We won internationals! Remember?!"

I look up to the white ceil as I tried to recall, my head a haze.

"No I can't say i do." I murmured.

His shoulder's slumped to the floor with a look of defeat on his face from my claim.

"What about me?" She pointed to herself a look of hesitancy in her eyes as she waited for my response.

"Oh I remember you." I said in awe, a look of surprise flashing across her face at my response. I remember her coming to our house all the time with Masao, I'm glad to see them so close, so glad I couldn't hide the smile that crept up on my face.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

"You're Konmichi right?"

All the happiness in her eyes drained, her shoulders too slumped to the floor.

"It's Konami but close enough, I guess." She muttered, sounding dead inside.

"Konami- you realize what this means right?" Izumi muttered.

"I'm too busy being bummed out to think right now-"

I stared on at the two of them, mumbling to themselves. Great, I just had to open my big mouth, why couldn't I just bluff my way out of this?!

"It's all to clear." He continued, a glint in his eye.

"Our Kota, clearly has amnesia."

"Amnesia?" Konami murmured, her head soon raised with the same glint in her eye.

"Yeah it all makes sense now."

All of a sudden Izumi's eyes flashed with determination, coming out of his slump with a burst of flames behind him.

"Alright! Time to get Kota his memory back!"

He then pointed towards me, his fiery passion still looming around him.

"Meet us at the park at 8 o clock sharp, don't be late!"

I took a moment, before responding.

"R-right, wouldn't miss it for the world Izumi"

"Come on! at least call me Shota!"

Day one of this new body, and somehow, I got already got myself wrapped up in a mess I don't know how to handle.

"Hey! Kota!" I heard Izumi call out to me, Konami right by his side, sitting in the grass of the park, waiting for my arrival.

Apparently, My name is Tanaka Kota, Sixteen years old, and I have a knack for basketball, hopefully the muscle memory doesn't fail me-

"Alright you remember how to play right?" Izumi pondered as we stood on the court, bouncing the ball against the concrete floor.

"I don't think his amnesia is that bad-" Konami murmured.

"Anyway!" Izumi spoke over her, pointing the hoop that resided on the other side, my eyes panning over to it. "See that thing over there? You gotta take the ball-" He bounces it over to me, the sudden movement causing me to stumble a bit but I soon caught myself before I fell.

"And shoot it in there. Got it?"

Hesitantly I nodded, my eyes stuck on the hoop for a while, not sure what to do.

"anytime now buddy."

muscle memory, don't fail me now-

I stopped for a moment, closing my eyes and letting out a soft exhale, my fingers brushing against the rough texture of the ball, my feet digging into the court below, the sound of people cheering and walking by me flooded my ears before I shot of, dribbling the ball as if I've been doing it my whole life, dodging opponents that weren't there before stopping at the hoop, digging my feet into the ground and shot off, with a flick of a wrist the ball slipped from my grasps, falling into the hoop, with a clean swish.

"That's the Kota I know." Izumi grinned as I landed, I looked at my hands in shock, my mouth slightly agape by this new found...dare i say, power of mine.

I'd surely tore something in my old body that's for sure.

"I- did that." My surprised look turned into a smile, turning to the two that had been watching me this whole time, pointing to the hoop with a stupid grin on my face.

"I did that! Woah- i- HA!" I shot my arms in the air, speechless from excitement, both Izumi and Konami couldn't help but smile as well.

"Let's go for a few more rounds like old times, maybe that'll jog something." Izumi suggested, walking out to me, his hands out asking for the ball.

I nodded, passing it to him with a soft smile.

We both started to play, Konami watching us intently as we did, sitting far off on the court, a sheet neatly spread under her. Though it was fun, it had to come to an end eventually, the sun going down and both of us drained. The sweet that trickled off of my head illuminated ever so slightly by the golden hour that was forming above.

"Damn i'm beat!" Izumi announced, sitting near Konami.

"Hey! Don't get too close you're all sweaty! Gross!" She squealed, scooting over a bit, soon stopping when I took the other side of the sheet she so carefully placed there.

"Ew! ew ew ew!" She squirmed away from us, as we look at her with faces of confusion.

"What's wrong with you?" Izumi pondered.

Konami brushed out her dress, her eyebrows furrowed in annoyance at the two of us.

"I'd rather not smell like a wet dog!"

"You're overreacting, we don't stink that bad, right Kota?" I looked over to Izumi, giving him a sniff before pulling back instinctively, covering my nose. It felt like it was about to fall off!

"Really!? That bad?"

"Try me." I suggested and he did the same thing, he visibly wanted to barf and I don't blame him.

"Yeah we are not getting on the bus today." I muttered.

"Not like they'd let us-" Izumi pointed out.

Konami frowned at us in disappointment, something catching her ears off in the distance, beckoning her gaze.

"hm?" She hummed, her eyes landing on an ice-cream truck.

"Hey you two want Ice-cream?" She suggested.

"Yeah!" We both cheered, seemly forget what we were upset about earlier.

"This is so good!" Izumi exclaimed, licking his strawberry ice-cream was we walked around the park, his basketball between one of his arms.

"Strawberry is my fav! Thanks Konami!"

Konami sighed, looking at him with a bit of annoyance in her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah but you two owe me after this."

I nod, giving her a warm smile, my lips having the slightest remnants of chocolate on them.

"Yeah of course, thanks Konami."

Konami shivered slightly, her face turning bright red. She folded her arms and puffed her chest out, her head held up high as if she's trying to deny something.

"Y-yeah! It's fine don't worry about it."

"Wait does that mean we don't have to pay you back after all?" Izumi pondered, a hint of hope in his voice.

"Don't push it-"

I laughed lightly at their banter, something catching my eyes as we walked, causing me to stop suddenly.

"Hey Kota? What's wrong." Izumi thought, stopping to see what's wrong, his eyes too landing on it.

"Is that-" He murmured, seeing a girl walking by herself, a bag in her hand licking on a popsicle from a stand near by.

"Masao?"