Chapter 2 - I'll Be You
Chapter rating: T
It took me some time to review and edit, trying to make clear exactly who was talking.
Hope I hadn't screw up...
"Watch where you're going!" the smaller boy complained but stopped when he saw who he had run into, "You..." he pointed a finger at the taller boy and exclaimed in disbelief, "Echizen?" For the next minute, the pair of boys just stood at the turn of the corridor looking at each other, before 'Ryoma', who was really Momoshiro in Ryoma's body, broke the silence, "How on Earth did this happened?" 'Momoshiro', who was really Ryoma stuck in Momoshiro's body, shook his heavily bandaged head. 'Ryoma' scratched on the bandages on his head and found that they were getting curious stares from the other patients and nurses in the corridor. He grabbed 'Momoshiro's' arm and turned back walking quickly to where he had came from.
'Momoshiro' was being pulled through a long corridor and into an individual ward with a bed, a small cabinet, a visitor couch and an attached bathroom. 'Ryoma' climbed onto the bed asking, "So, what do you think we should do now?" and 'Momoshiro' sank into the visitor couch beside the window. For quite a while, 'Momoshiro' just stared silently at 'Ryoma'. Starting to feel eerie to be stared at by 'himself', 'Ryoma' nodded his head towards 'Momoshiro', prompting for an answer. But 'Momoshiro' slowly shook his head.
A moment of silence passed before the shorter teen deciphered the body language, "Haven't you got a clue? I don't want to be stuck like this forever! It'll take ages before you can start to grow tall!" At this, the taller teen frowned and replied coldly, "What's wrong about being short?" he had been faithfully drinking the daily prescribed amount of milk, as instructed by Inui-senpai, so it shouldn't be long before he can grow tall!
Regretting a little for that comment, 'Ryoma' looked down onto his bed sheets and apologized. 'Momoshiro' mumbled an acceptance and looked out the window, watching the swaying trees and the floating leaves. He didn't want to be stuck in Momoshiro's body for forever too. This incident was too bizarre for his understanding, but he believed that there should be a way for them to switch back to their rightful bodies. But, just how should they do it? He doesn't know and didn't dare think what if there wasn't a way.
The tousled hair boy hollered in frustration and plopped backwards into the bed making loud huffs, blowing the long bangs out of his eyes, "The first thing I'll do after discharge is to get these trimmed to be as short as mine." The crew cut head turned sharply from the window and glared daggers at the other. The boy lying on the bed pulled a white pillow from underneath his head, hugged it and started laughing, "I'm just joking! Only joking!"
The laughter stopped suddenly when an idea struck, "Hey, why don't we say we are having amnesia?" he sat up asking. 'Momoshiro' was silent, seriously considering if amnesia was the best way out for them at the moment. He recalled his meeting earlier on with Momoshiro's mother and it seems to be the only excuse if they were to behave weirdly before each other's family.
"That should solve the problem for the time being. Anything that we do not know about each other or are unsure of, we just say we can't remember." 'Ryoma' was grinning happily that he had found the solution for now. The boy curling in the couch grouched at how his own face could ever be distorted in such a comical way and started anticipating how long their lie could last.
"We'll start by orientating each other on our own families." 'Ryoma' started planning for their masquerade. "Next would be school. I should have no problems coping with your classes. But..." he paused and turned towards 'himself' in the couch, "Can you cope with mine?" 'Momoshiro' threw him a 'don't under-estimate me' glance, "Of course I can."
"Alright, alright!" he refrained himself from calling him a brat and continued, "Third is... tennis club..." on hearing the point, 'Momoshiro' leaned back into the couch and snorted, "That would be easier than coping with your school work." Feeling of being insulted, 'Ryoma' retorted, "Of course it would be advantageous for you using MY body for your special moves! Just imagine how hard it would be for me to strike a Dunk Smash with YOURS!"
'Momoshiro' was angered at that, "It's not my fault that..." he stopped and those words repeated in his mind. It was neither of their faults that the misfortune befell on them. They were in the same boat and the last thing they should do was to fall out with each other. He sighed and changed his tone, "We'll have to take it when it comes. Just be extra careful when it comes to Inui-senpai... and Fuji-senpai. So what's next?" he was getting tired. The whole incident had crashed down on him, and Momoshiro, out of the blue and leaving them with tons of difficult problems. It was more than he can take within a day and he thought there couldn't possibly be more.
"Errm..." 'Ryoma' hesitantly began, "Have you visited the bathroom... yet?" 'Momoshiro' nodded, wondering why the other had asked such a weird question and blushing at the same time. The blush deepened, "Are you okay with that?" 'Momoshiro' frowned at the strangeness of the question, "Am I okay that I became you?" 'Ryoma' corrected loudly but was quiet again finding it difficult to explain his question, "I mean... like... have you gone to pee since you woke up?"
He had not. The shock of finding himself as Momoshiro and what came after had distracted him from that. Ryoma was about to shake his head when he understood the question. The horror he felt just by realizing that Momoshiro had to answer nature's call in his body and he too had to do the same, was unimaginable. It meant that to be able to do that he had to touch Momoshiro's... He glanced from his inpatient pants to 'himself' sitting on the bed. Ryoma felt his hands and feet turning cold at the thought of Momoshiro had already done that to him, to his... He felt his cheeks burning and turned away.
Ryoma's mind went into chaos. They had to face the fact that they had to live as each other until they find a way the switch back. But the biggest mystery remains. How do they switch back? They don't even know what caused the switch in the first place. Naturally, they would have to seek help. Seeking help from where and from whom? They don't even have a clue. He felt a strong urge to scream out his frustrations, or more appropriately, fear when a knock came on the door.
Echizen Rinko opened the door with her husband behind her...
Continue~~
