The following list can be interpreted as Original character - Body that character is inhabiting
Kuroko – Murasakibara
Kise – Akashi
Midorima – Kuroko
Aomine – Midorima
Murasakibara – Aomine
Akashi – Kise
...
CHAPTER ELEVEN
As soon as the first beep of the alarm sounded, Kuroko was up like a shot.
He thought he was the first to awaken, but then he saw that Kise – or rather, whoever was inside of him– had beaten him to it.
Speaking of which, his own body felt remotely different. And the ground was a lot farther down than usual.
"You are awake?"
'Kise' was watching Kuroko from the corner where he sat, but his eyes lacked their usual friendly warmth.
"Good morning… " said Kuroko uncertainly, wondering if it was Midorima.
"I see. So you are Tetsuya," said 'Kise'.
"Akashi-kun?"
"Yes. It is me."
Nonplussed, Kuroko examined his new limbs. They were extraordinarily long, and so were his legs. He brought a lock of his hair into view.
Akashi's arms were folded, his face sombre. "So we have switched again. Was this the work of the omamori after all…?"
"Akashi-kun, am I in Murasakibara-kun?"
"Since you just saw your hair colour, it should be obvious, shouldn't it?" said Akashi brusquely. Then he raised his head, frowning. "What are you doing?"
Kuroko was attempting to get to his feet.
"Standing," he said. "Ah, it's high. I feel dizzy… "
"Don't feel dizzy when you're barely two metres above the ground, idiot," groaned 'Midorima', sitting up with a cranky expression.
Kuroko blinked. "Midorima-kun, you've been awake all this time?"
"Long enough to know what happened. Damn it! Why did I have to end up in Midorima's body … "
"Aomine-kun? How did you know that you're in Midorima-kun's body?"
"How else? He's friggin' shortsighted!"
He had raised his voice a little too loudly; 'Akashi', who had been snoozing, jerked awake.
"Huh? What's going on?" he exclaimed, looking around the room blearily. "Did we oversleep?"
"No. It's still pretty early," assured Kuroko.
Suddenly, 'Akashi' leapt to his feet with a sharp cry.
"AH! That's right! Did we swap back? Did we?"
"Ryouta, stop running your hands all over my body," scowled Akashi.
"Akashi-cchi? You're in my body now?"
"Yes. It seems the omamori were the cause after all, Kise-kun," said Kuroko.
"Which means the ones in Tetsu's body and mine are the Megane and the pig," said Aomine, scowling at the sleeping Miracles. "I don't know who would be worse having in my body."
"I heard that."
'Kuroko' had just opened one eye and was glaring at Aomine. "Your character is recognisable by your words alone nanodayo," he said gruffly.
Aomine scowled.
"AH? Don't forget who's in your precious body now! You won't catch me taping my fingers!"
Suddenly, Kise burst out laughing.
"Midorima-cchi, your bed hair is ridiculous!"
Midorima gaped at his teammate blankly.
"Bed hair?" he asked, feeling around his head. "What are you talking about?"
Aomine snorted too. "Pfft! Now that you mentioned it, it's really outrageous!"
"Sorry, Kuroko-cchi!" chortled Kise, when Kuroko gave them an exasperated look. "We're tickled because it's Midorima, not because it's you!"
"Enough," said Akashi sharply. "Someone wake Atsushi. This event has thrown a wrench in our plans. Right now, we need to make sure that we – "
At the moment, there was the sound of something being unlocked, and then the door flew open.
Momoi's silhouette filled the doorrway.
"Rise and shine, everyone!" she exclaimed spiritedly. "Oh! Tetsu-kun! It's you, isn't it? Only you would have such unruly hair in the morning! Looks like everything worked out after all!"
And she flew at Midorima, who flinched.
Aomine stood up, yawning widely. "The only thing that's worked out is total disaster, Satsuki."
"Eh? Dai-chan? Eeehhh?!"
"The one in your arms is Midorima-cchi," Kise told her.
"Midorin?! Then - then where is Tetsu-kun?"
"The one who's dead to the world," said Aomine, gesturing to Murasakibara.
"Good thinking, Aomine-cchi!" laughed Kise, as Momoi jumped Murasakibara with a delighted cry and startled him awake.
"Sa-cchin! You scared me!"
Momoi blinked blankly. "Eh? Sa-cchin…?"
The basketball manager rounded on Aomine furiously. "Dai-chan, you meanie! This is Murasakibara-kun, not Tetsu-kun!"
Aomine shrugged indifferently. "Someone had to wake him."
"I was having such a nice dream, too," sighed Murasakibara. "An all-you-can-eat buffet totally free of charge… "
"Momoi-san, please stop springing on others like that," requested Kuroko. "It's not good for their hearts."
"Tetsu-kun!" Momoi glomped Kuroko delightedly. "Found you! So you're in Mukkun's body now!"
"What? We've changed again? What a pain," groaned Murasakibara, making a face.
"Murasakibara, don't pull that mug with my face."
"It's your default expression nanodayo."
Kuroko and Kise restrained Aomine before he could let fly at Midorima.
Midorima, however, was distracted after checking his horoscope for the day.
"This is… this is not good nanodayo! No, it's catastrophic! I must seek an immediate remedy!"
"Hey," said Akashi in a dangerous tone; his gaze on them was like ice. "Are you not going to listen to me? Or do I have to resort to drastic measures?"
A nervous silence filled the air.
Reading the atmosphere, Satsuki smiled widely.
"Well, I'm off for a quick breakfast! See you at practice!"
And she skipped out without a moment's notice.
"Since dawn, I have been mulling over our problem," said Akashi, folding his arms. "And I have arrived at two conclusions: that the omamori are indeed the source of our exchanges, and that they do not function the way we think they do. Now, our short-term solution will be this..."
...
"Hungry…" whined Murasakibara, trudging after Kise in the bustling school hallway. First period was about to begin. "Aka-chin is cruel... why did we have to skip breakfast to hear the same stuff he told us in training camp?"
"Murasakibara-cchi, why are you following me?" asked Kise curiously.
Murasakibara stared at him blankly.
"Eh…? Aren't we in the same class?"
"Yeah, but I'm Akashi-cchi now, you know? You're supposed to be with Aomine-cchi!"
"Why?"
"You're in Aomine-cchi's body now! Midorima-cchi and Aomine-cchi are classmates!"
"What? I don't understand… "
"There you are!"
Aomine was striding up to Murasakibara impatiently.
"Oh, Aomine-cchi! Good timing! Murasakibara-cchi got a little mixed up about our identities…"
"Seriously – you're such a handful," said Aomine, scowling at Murasakibara. "If you weren't in my body, I would have dragged you all the way to class. Come on!"
Murasakibara seemed unperturbed. "Who are you?"
"Idiot! I'm Aomine!"
"Good luck!" beamed Kise, waving the pair off.
...
"Akashi-sama! Good morning!"
The girls who were already in class called out to Kise warmly.
Kise was taken aback – he was used to being the centre of female attention, but not when he was in the Captain's body. Could this be the result of Kuroko's behaviour from yesterday?
"A good morning to you, too," he replied affably, trying to copy his Captain's formal style of speech.
The girls went into fits of happiness.
Feeling a little nervous, Kise took his seat. After yesterday's experience, the Miracles had made it a point to find out each other's timetables and seating arrangements beforehand.
Presently, Kise caught snatches of the girls' whispered exchanges.
"Hey, don't you think Akashi-sama looks really dashing today?"
"He did something to his hair, didn't he?"
After glimpsing his reflection earlier that morning, Kise's modelling instincts had kicked in.
Maybe I shouldn't have done it, he thought.
…..
"Kuroko-kun, I didn't know you wore glasses," said the girl sitting next to Midorima.
What is it with everyone and glasses? wondered Midorima exasperatedly. Half the world's population was myopic. It wasn't a big deal.
"Hey, Kuroko! What's that?" A chubby guy seated to his right pointed at the object on Midorima's desk.
"It's a musical box nanodayo," said Midorima. He had borrowed it from the Drama Club.
"Ooh! It's so pretty!" exclaimed the girl with fascination.
"Appearances are not important. What matters is its efficacy in warding off bad luck nanodayo."
They laughed at his statement.
"Kuroko-kun, you're so funny!"
Midorima was stunned. Funny? What about this is funny?
"Why are you laughing? I'm being serious nanodayo," he said frowningly.
They laughed even harder. "Even the way he speaks is funny! Kuroko-kun, you ought to be a comedian!"
Midorima was annoyed. Was he supposed to endure these two idiots for the rest of the day?
"Kuroko, this isn't music class. Please put the box away," ordered his teacher.
Sniggers from the class. Red-faced, Midorima did as he was told.
It seemed that Oha Asa hadn't been lying – Cancers were in for a horrible day today.
...
Kuroko was taken aback when his teacher dropped the bomb.
"A pop quiz?" he repeated blankly. "But I haven't revised this month's topic."
"Why are you so worried? Japanese literature is your best subject," Akashi told him calmly. "If anything, Atsushi should count himself fortunate that you are the one taking the test for him."
Even having said that, the Captain was the first one to submit his paper.
"Wonderful, Kise! Full marks!" exclaimed his teacher at the end of class. "It seems you've finally decided to put some serious effort in your studies!"
"Needless to say," said Akashi calmly. "I have never lost at anything. And I certainly don't plan to."
"Hey, Kise? Are you feeling alright?" asked Hiraoka. "You've been acting odd since yesterday."
"I'm fine," said Akashi, without sparing a glance for his neighbour.
"Akashi-kun, maybe you should try to be more friendly," suggested Kuroko.
"What are you talking about?"
"MURASAKIBARA-CCHIIII!"
An enthusiastic voice broke the silence; Kise was waving to them from the corridor.
"Murasakibara-cchi! Kise-cchi! Let's have lunch togetherrrr!"
"Akashi, I've had enough humiliation to last me the day nanodayo," came Midorima's irritable voice.
"It's lunchtime already?" said Kuroko in surprise. "That was fast. I'm not even hungry yet."
His statement created a huge stir.
"Did you hear that? Murasakibara-kun said he wasn't hungry!"
"This has to be a first!"
"I think it is time we left," said Akashi, with a glance at the shocked students. "Let's go, Atsushi."
...
Practice was as bad as it had been the first day.
The Miracles had half the court to themselves. Akashi had arranged for them to play against each other, which meant that they were once more split up into two teams. Team A comprised Kuroko, Kise and Midorima; the rest were in Team B. The only difference was that Nijimura would be taking Akashi's place.
"Akashi-kun, why aren't you playing?" asked Momoi in surprise.
"I wish to observe," said Akashi, folding his arms impassively.
Nijimura was asking Kise the same question.
"What's wrong with Kise? Why isn't he joining practice?" asked the third year.
"Uh… he's not feeling well at the moment," bluffed Kise.
With Nijimura around, the Miracles had to avoid using their real names. It was a real pain, especially since they hadn't had time to get acquainted with their new identities.
"Man, I'm still not used to looking up at you, Murasakibara," said Aomine, craning his neck with difficulty.
Kuroko nodded. "Neither am I used to looking down on you, Midorima-kun."
"You don't have to rub it in."
"Midorima-cchi, you forgot to remove your tape," reminded Kise.
"Crap, you're right!"
Aomine had been strongly opposed to taping up his fingers, but Akashi gave him no options, saying he didn't want a single factor to compromise Midorima's performance. Aomine had vented his frustration by taping up his fingers so tightly, he was now having trouble unravelling them.
"Midorima-kun, are you OK?" asked Kuroko, watching his teammate struggling.
Furious, Aomine ripped out the strips with his teeth.
"Damn it! It's all sticky now," he groaned. "How the heck does mummifying his fingers help him to play better? And what's that noise?"
They all turned to look. Midorima's music box was sitting on the bench next to Momoi. Its lid was open, and a stream of soothing notes was pouring out of it.
"Who the hell left a music box playing in the middle of practice?"
"Midorima-cchi, you don't have to shout," protested Kise.
"Midorima-kun says it might help to nullify his bad luck," explained Kuroko. "He left Momoi-san in charge of winding it up."
His statement made Kise double up with ever. "This is definitely the weirdest b-ball practice I've ever seen!"
Nijimura was goggling at Kise.
"Akashi… is laughing?" he said in disbelief. "Kuroko, are you seeing this?"
Standing beside his senpai, Midorima had no idea what to say.
Aomine nudged Kise in the ribs. Catching sight of Nijimura, Kise coughed into his hand and tried to assume a solemn expression.
Midorima shook his head.
That moron.
Now Nijimura was staring at Midorima instead.
"By the way, Kuroko… since when did you wear glasses?" he asked puzzledly.
Midorima had had enough of these questions.
"None of your business nanodayo!" he said, stomping away angrily.
Nijimura was more bewildered than ever. "Huh? What's his problem?"
Scowling, Aomine jogged up to the Vice Captain.
"Midorima, keep it together," he chided. "You're making Nijimura suspicious."
"Nijimura, I missed breakfast today, so excuse me if I seem to be a little weak," Murasakibara was now telling Nijimura.
Aomine whirled around in disbelief. "What?"
"Murasakibara-cchi!" hissed Kise. "Aomine-cchi's ego doesn't permit him to say things like, 'I seem to be a little weak."
"Eh? But… "
Plastering a smile on his face, Kise turned to Nijimura and waved. "It's fine! Aomine-cchi is just spouting excuses again!"
Nijimura stared at Kise in disbelief. Since when was Akashi capable of pulling such a goofy grin? And when did he start calling Aomine 'Aomine-cchi'?
It was Monday all over again.