Idol Body Swap

Written for BrainGuy, by VoraciousOpal

“Wo-o-o-ow, this is where you live?”

Aika stood at the foot of the steps leading to Rin’s front door. The home was a lot smaller than
she was expecting (she had imagined a palace). It was compact, cubic, modern, and cute.

“Don’t forget, it’s your home, too. For the next week, you’re going to see life through my eyes.
C’mon!
I’ve got some really cool stuff to show you up in the studio!”

Rin hooked her arm around Aika’s and guided her up the steps to the door.

“W-w-wait. You have a full studio in there?”

“Of course! It’d be a huge waste of time to go out to a studio every time we wanted to record
a new song. Time better spent enjoying the in-house spa!”

Miku followed behind Rin and Aika.

“You better be careful opening the door, Rin; her head might explode when she sees inside.”

Rin forcefully pushed the door open, ignoring Miku’s teasing; it swung wide revealing a
spotless entry hall, its walls adorned with album sales awards, and pictures with celebrities
and fans alike. Aika, Rin, and Miku removed their shoes, and Miku started to walk to the dining
room.

“Let’s get something to eat; we have a lot to talk about.”

Rin groaned. “Do we need to make something? That was a long ride to get here; I don’t want
to make dinner. What do you like to order in, Aika?”

“Oh, um…” she stumbled, trying to think of something that would be up to Rin’s standards.
“How about… Pizza?”

Rin shot Miku a mocking look. “I don’t know; how do you feel about PIZZA, Miku?”

“Honestly, Rin! That ad was years ago. You don’t need to bring it up EVERY TIME we order
pizza.”
Aika stammered, realizing her mistake. “Oh, no- I wasn’t- I didn’t think of- that’s not what I
meant!”

Rin laughed. “It’s okay! We have fun here, lighten up!” She smiled at Aika.

Aika calmed herself and returned a nervous smile. “Then… yes! Let’s get pizza.”

Miku took out her phone. “Pizza it is.”

A triple stack of Pizza boxes sat on the end of the dining room table. Each girl had a pizza slice
on a plate in front of her: a plain cheese slice for Miku, her second for the night; a half-eaten
pepperoni slice for Rin, with the crust from her first slice still adorning the plate; and a sausage
and peppers slice for Aika, with only a few nervous bites taken out of it.

Aika was excited to be sitting at the dinner table in the home of her idol, but she was nervous
and found it impossible to relax in her seat. She ate in small bites to best avoid getting
something on her face or clothes. Miku watched this behavior from across the table with a
sideways glance, studying Aika’s mannerisms. She gave Rin a subtle nod.

Rin, finishing her second slice and discarding the crust on her plate, turned to Aika.

“We need to discuss the plans for this week; there’s a lot to be done to get you ready for the
concert on Sunday.”

Aika nearly choked on her Pizza, and coughed a partially-chewed lump out onto the table. She
stared at it for a second, absolutely mortified. Miku stifled a laugh. Aika grabbed her napkin
and wiped the pizza up and balled up the napkin in one fluid motion, leaving it on her plate.
She cleared her throat, and turned to Rin, whose face was straining to contain her giggling.

“What- ah- what are you talking about, what concert on Sunday?”

“That’s the big surprise the contest mentioned.” Miku answered for Rin, who was still working
on not breaking out into open laughter. “You’re going to be on stage with her for a concert
this Sunday. A lot of this week is going to be spent preparing you for that.”

Aika, unable to restrain her excitement any longer, jumped up from her chair and grabbed Rin
by the shoulders, shaking her.

“ARE YOU SERIOUS!? You mean I’m going to get to go UP ON STAGE and perform alongside
you for a song?”

“No-o-o-o-ot ju-u-u-st the-e-e-e o-o-o-one STOP SHAKING ME!”

Aika released her grip. “Oh, heh… sorry.”

“Like I was saying: not just the one song. You’re going to be doing the whole concert with me.”

“But I’m not ready to do something like that- HOW can I possibly get ready for something like
that in a single week.”

“Well, that’s kind of something we need to talk about. With your permission, we’d like to get
started tonight.”

“What do you mean ‘with my permission’?”

There was a knock at the door. Miku got up from her chair and moved to answer it. Aika
turned to Rin.

“What’s going on?”

Miku opened the door and was greeted by her manager, Makoto.

“Hello, Miku!”

Rin called out from the dining room table.

“Get in here, Makoto; there’s someone you need to meet!”

Makoto followed Rin’s voice.

“Good evening, Rin.” He turned to Aika. “You must be the contest winner! This is going to be
an amazing week, Miss Aika. Have they already explained the plan to you?”

“I’m going to be on stage with Rin on Sunday, apparently. But- I have no idea how I’m going to
be ready for that after only a week.”

“Oh, sorry. I must have interrupted the explanation. Rin?”

Rin got up from her chair. “Right! So… there’s no way I could get your body ready to perform
in only a week. It would take months to get you ready for all that dancing, not to mention
singing lessons, so… with your permission we would like to try something a little… radical.
We’ve arranged for a doctor to swap Miku’s brain with mine, and we’d like to put your brain in
my head. For the rest of this week, you’re literally going to be seeing things through my eyes,
including the concert. You’ll have access to all my body’s abilities, and we can just spend the
week working on learning the set for Sunday.”

Aika stared at Rin, mouth agape. Rin gave her a joking nudge.
“Uh-oh, looks like she might have lost her mind already.”
“No, I just- need a second to process this. You want to crack open your skull- “She pointed at
Rin’s head.

“Well, not crack open. The doctor’s going to use a saw.”

“Right… yes, that was the question on my mind. SHHHHH. You want to crack open your head.”
She pointed at Rin. “Scoop out your brain and put it into her body.” She pointed at Miku. “And
then crack open my head, scoop out my brain, and just… cram it into your skull.”

Rin grinned. “Seems like you have the fundamental concept down.”

“Right, so I just have one question.”

“Shoot.”

“What’s are you going to do with Miku’s brain? A brain can’t just sit around for a week. It’d get
like… soft.”

Miku spoke up. “That’s the other part of the deal. For the next week, they would put my brain
in your body. I’d just kind of be… around, doing stuff.”

“I don’t get it, what’s in it for you? I’m a nobody.”

“Yeah, that’s the point. I really need a vacation, but no matter where I go, I’m always Miku.
People know me everywhere. I just want to take a break and be invisible for a few days.”

Aika’s mind raced with possibilities and fears. What if something went wrong, and her brain
got messed up? What if they couldn’t swap back for some reason? What if swapping wasn’t
possible, and all she had to look forward to was a short, pitiful existence as a conscious blob.

“I don’t know about this, guys. I need some time to think. When were you planning on doing
this?”

Makoto spoke up. “Er, actually… the doctors are out front.”

“You want to do this RIGHT NOW?”

Rin clasped her hands around Aika’s. “If you’re okay with it, we figured giving you as much
time to adapt as possible was best.” Aika looked down at the floor, uneasy. “They assured us
the procedure is completely safe as long as the swap is completed quickly. And it’s totally
reversible. We do this, and then we get to go have a whole bunch of fun.”
Aika closed her eyes, and decided to go with her gut feeling. “Okay. Let’s do something
amazing.”

Rin gave her a bear hug. “That’s the spirit! Get them in here!”

Makoto nodded and walked out the front door.

Miku moved close to Aika and gave her a gentle hug, whispering in her ear: “Thank you so
much. I’ll take good care of your body, I swear.”

Aika nodded.

Makoto returned, flanked by two doctors. “Everyone ready to go?”

“Yep!” Miku, Rin, and Aika responded in unison.

The dining room had been transformed into an impromptu operating suite. The table was
gone, and there were now two elaborate chairs in the center of the room. They were made to
change their shape to conform to the body of the patient seated in it, and the headrests
featured a U-shaped piece of plastic made to firmly hold their head and neck in place. Miku,
Rin, and Aika had stripped down to their underwear and replaced their clothing with hospital
gowns. Their hair had been done up to give the saw clean access to their scalp. The doctors
were now dressed in full surgical garb. The curtains were drawn.
The first doctor looked to the girls.

“Alright, we’re ready to go. Aika, I’m Dr. Asami. Rin and Miku have been talking with me for
the last few weeks, but I just want to reassure you that this is a totally safe procedure. I’m
going to start by removing the top portion of each of your skulls, which will give us quick and
easy access to everyone’s brains when we reach the swap step. Once we’re ready for the
swap, I’m going to lift the brain out of your skull, and my partner, Dr. Satoshi will sever the
brain stem. Then we’re going to take one of these –“

Dr. Asami held up a small cylinder with a gap running around the middle.

“-and we’re going to affix one half of it to the portion of brainstem still attached to the brain,
and the other half to the part of the stem still in your body. This will allow us to reconnect
brain and body, and help to keep the brain and body alive while they are separated. You’ll
have this for the rest of your life, but that shouldn’t create any problems. Do you have any
questions?”

Aika let out a sigh. “Honestly, plenty… but I’m just along for the ride at this point. Let’s see
where this takes us.”

“Okay, would anyone like to go first?”

Miku raised a hand. “I’ll lead the way.” She walked over to a chair and sat in it. It shifted to
cradle her perfectly, and leaned her head back. “This is an awesome chair. We should get one
of these.”

“Alright, Miku. Hold still.” Dr. Asami readied her saw and brought it carefully to Miku’s scalp.
Aika expected blood and screaming, but the saw cut cleanly, and Miku didn’t react to it. Dr.
Asami worked the saw all the way around Miku’s head until there was a crunching noise. She
set the saw aside, grabbed the top of Miku’s head with both hands, and pulled firmly. With a
pop, Miku’s cranium came away in Dr. Asami’s hands, leaving her brain nestled in the
remaining portion of her skull. Newly exposed to the air, Rin and Aika watched it pulse with
life.

Aika’s apprehension about the procedure gave way to a sudden, inexplicable curiosity, and
she stared at Miku’s brain intensely. She’d never really thought about the brain as a specific,
physical thing that could be touched, much less removed, yet there was Miku’s, robbed of its
shell, the delicate meat of her mind laid bare. Aika wondered if she might have the chance to
touch –

“Who’s going next?” Dr. Asami looked to Aika and Rin, and Aika stumbled over a response. Rin
smirked and gave Aika a light shove toward the chair.

“Get on up there, silly!”

Aika tried to walk calmly to Dr. Asami, but Miku’s brain caught her eye again as the chair
gently lifted her back into a sitting position.

Dr. Asami warned Miku: “Be careful when you stand up; if you move your head around too
suddenly, your brain could flip right out.” She assisted Miku in standing up, then held a hand
out to Aika, but Aika was completely transfixed by Miku’s brain.

Miku took notice of Aika’s stare. “What’s up? Are you scared? It really doesn’t hurt at all.”

“N-no, it’s fine. It’s just weird.”

“That’s a word for it.” Miku reached up and gave her own brain a curious poke, which caused
her to giggle involuntarily.

Dr. Asami protested “be careful, Miku! Poking it recklessly is just asking for brain damage.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Miku quickly retracted her finger from her brain, gaining control of her laughter
as she pulled it from one of its wrinkles.
“Take a seat Aika. Are you sure you’re ready for this? You look tense.” Dr. Asami guided Aika
into the seat.

Aika let out a sigh. “Yeah, today’s just been a lot to take in. I’m excited, let’s do this.”

From across the room, Rin teased Aika: “Hopefully, there’s a lot to take out, too.” She laughed
maybe a little too hard at her own joke; Aika wasn’t sure she understood it.

The chair leaned Aika back, and she felt the headrest comfortably cradle her skull. Dr. Asami
readied her saw and held it against Aika’s forehead. As it slid back and forth, Aika felt a slight
warmth trace a ring around her head. She wouldn’t have believed such an operation could
really be painless just by watching it, but the blade cut so cleanly, like it was passing through
butter. Dr. Asami pulled the saw away from Aika’s head and set it on the table next to her. It
was clean, not even so much as a hair on it. Dr. Asami put pressure on both sides of Aika’s
head, and with a slight tug, the top of Aika’s skull came away in her hands. She set it delicately
next to Miku’s skullcap for later.

Aika’s head felt lighter, and she was overcome by a sudden feeling of vulnerability. As the
chair tilted her back into a sitting position, she caught eyes with Rin.

“Wow. Look at all that empty space in there, Miku! Seems a little small for the container, you
sure you can trust that little thing with your body for a week?”

“Wh-why? What wrong with my brain?” Aika stammered.

Miku shot Rin a dirty look. “There’s nothing wrong with it. Rin’s just being an idiot. Leave her
alone, she’s clearly already nervous about this.”

“Oh please, it was a joke. Aika obviously doesn’t have an abnormally small brain, lighten
up.”Rin pouted as she started her walk towards the chair.

Aika turned to Dr. Asami. “Do you have a mirror?”

“Sure, but your brain really does look very normal.” Dr. Asami took a mirror out of a drawer in
her supply table, and held it out to Aika.

“No, that’s not- I just want to see it for myself.” Aika took the mirror and angled it to get a
good look at her own brain. It sat, nestled comfortably in the bottom of her skull. The surface
of the brain was moist, and she marveled at the maze of wrinkles that covered it. She felt her
heart beat, and watched the organ dance delicately in time with the rhythm. She was
intrigued, but also very strange; if the brain was where she was, why did it feel like she was
looking at something completely foreign.

“C’mon Aika! It’s my turn!” Rin’s plea brought Aika back to the moment.
“Yeah, of course.” Aika rose from the chair carefully, moving as though she were balancing
something on top her her head. Rin took the spot she left behind eagerly; the chair leaned her
body backwards and gripped her skull.

“Just a little off the top, doc. I don’t wanna go bald, I just wanna try something new.” Dr.
Asami rolled her eyes at the joke and picked up the saw from the supply table.

Aika walked towards Miku, still using the mirror to examine her brain. She reached up
inquisitively and, picking a random wrinkle, gently ran a finger along its length. The sensation
made her feel slightly light-headed; things she didn’t understand were pushed out of her
thoughts, and whatever was left over made complete sense. In that impaired state, pushing a
finger in deeper didn’t seem like such a bad idea. She slipped it into the space, which easily
accepted it, and a groan escaped her lips as she started to lose her balance. Luckily, Miku
caught Aika before she fell and pulled her finger out of her brain. The world came back into
focus for Aika.

“The doctor told us not to do that, be careful.”

Aika took a sudden breath. “Thank you, Miku.”

“No problem. I needed practice taking care of your body anyway.”

Aika took the mirror and examined the spot she had pushed her finger into. It didn’t appear to
show any sign of her probing.

“How do I look?” Aika turned to see Rin standing proudly with her hands on her hips, showing
off her exposed brain in superhero fashion.

“Mmmm, I don’t know. It looks a little smooth for a human brain.” Miku teased Rin and
reached a finger towards her brain. “I think there should be a wrinkle right about… here!” She
jabbed her finger into a fold in Rin’s frontal lobe; Rin’s eyes unfocused and she groaned.

Dr. Asami gave Miku a disapproving look. “I told you to be careful!”

“Yes, ma’am.” Miku pulled her finger out of Rin’s brain, and Rin regained her senses.

“You won’t do that again!” Rin exclaimed.

Miku responded with a faint smile. “…unless I feel like it.”

Rin growled and threatened Miku with a finger; Dr. Asami interrupted the fight.
“We really need to get a move on, girls. It’s not safe for you to be walking around with
exposed brains. We’re going to start the extraction now. Rin and Miku will go first: we’ll start
by removing Miku’s brain, attaching the brain swap plugs to her brain stem and spinal cord,
and setting Miku’s brain aside; then we’ll do the same for Rin, except her brain will
immediately be placed in Miku’s body. After we close up Miku’s skull, Rin will get up from the
chair and Aika will take her place; we’ll remove Aika’s brain, attach the plugs, and put her
brain into Rin’s body. Then we’ll finish up with placing Miku’s brain into Aika’s body.”

Aika thought through Dr. Asami’s explanation. “So, wait… Miku’s brain is just gonna sit outside
a body for a few minutes? Won’t that be really uncomfortable for her?”

“The longest we’ve kept a brain disembodied is about a day; the subject’s primary complaint
was boredom, and they didn’t demonstrate any ill effects after getting used to their body
again. If all goes to plan, Miku should be back in a body within 15 minutes.”

“I’m ready if you two are.” Miku gave a reassuring look to Aika.

Aika smiled back. “I’m ready too.”

Rin mocked Miku and Aika. “Aw, girls. You’re gonna make me cry.” Then she enthusiastically
hopped into one of the chairs.

Miku rolled her eyes and calmly sat down next to Rin. Their chairs leaned back; Dr. Satoshi
pulled apart the plug for Miku’s brain and set the two pieces next to each other, and readied
his scalpel. He nodded at Dr. Asami.

Dr. Asami placed her hands gently on either side of Miku’s brain. The pressure caused Miku to
fidget in the chair, but the headrest held her skull in place. Dr. Asami eased her fingers bit-by-
bit into the space between Miku’s brain and skull, working her way in and under the brain
until she could lift it from below. She pulled, slowly tugging the brain out from the skull and
exposing the brain stem that tethered it to her body. Dr. Satoshi reached in with his scalpel.

Miku spoke up: “The things I’ll do for a vacation-“

Dr. Satoshi’s scalpel cut cleanly through the brain stem. Miku fell silent; her brain pulsed
quickly in Dr. Asami’s hands, giving it a distressed appearance. Aika looked on with concern;
the idol’s body was made lifeless in an instant, and any sign of the intellect that had driven it
was reduced to a helpless blob. Dr. Asami reached for one half of the brain swap plug and
guided Miku’s brain stem into the cylinder; after a point, the plug seemed to create a tight
bond with the stem on its own, and a light on its side turned on. Dr. Satoshi took the other half
of the plug and reached inside Miku’s empty skull. After he attached it to the top of Miku’s
spinal cord, her body started breathing normally. Miku’s eyes were open, but they stared
blankly at the ceiling, blinking every few seconds. Dr. Asami gently laid Miku’s brain in a tray
on the supply table and reached for Rin’s brain.
“Boy, talk about your out of body experiences. Ha ha huuuu…” Rin’s laughter was interrupted
by Dr. Asami pressing a thumb into her frontal lobe while she dug her other fingers under Rin’s
brain. It seemed to Aika that she was being noticeably less careful with Rin, almost like she
was annoyed by her constant teasing throughout the night. She pulled on the brain, and Dr.
Satoshi quickly sliced through the exposed brain stem; Rin’s stupefied mumbling ceased.

Dr. Asami took another brain swap plug and attached half to Rin’s brain stem, while Dr.
Satoshi placed the other half inside her skull. Aika looked at the two girls she had been talking
to and eating with only an hour before. Without their brains, the bodies held the same
posture. Their eyes stared blankly at the ceiling above them.

Dr. Asami called Aika over, “This is a pretty neat step, if you want to watch it.” Aika considered
the offer; she felt weird about the idea of observing something so delicate happen to the body
of someone she admired. After a few seconds, she walked over to the chair that held Miku’s
body and stared over Dr. Asami’s shoulder into the empty space in the idol’s head. Dr. Asami
looked up at Aika, who nodded in reply. Then she turned Rin’s brain over, holding it upside-
down in her left hand, and grabbed the swap plug in her right. Aika watched with intense
interest as Dr. Asami moved the brain and plug closer to Miku’s skull, and when the plug on
Rin’s brainstem got close enough to its partner, it jumped into place with a mechanical click.
The sounds of the brain swap plug solidifying the connection between Miku’s body and Rin’s
brain were muffled as Dr. Asami gently pressed the brain into its new skull, eventually fitting it
perfectly into the place from which Miku’s delicate brain had been abruptly cut.

After a few seconds, Rin’s new body twitched. Her new eyes blinked out of sync and looked in
different directions. Her mouth babbled, as if something was trying to get used to it. Her limbs
moved in slow random jerks. Within a minute, this uncoordinated activity slowed, and Rin
came to rest as the brain swap plug completed the process of synchronizing her brain with her
new body. She looked around the room inquisitively, eventually locking her gaze on Dr. Asami
and Aika.

Dr. Asami shone a flashlight into Rin’s Cyan eyes, checking her reflexes. “How are you
feeling?”

Rin winced and shut her eyes. “Hey, watch where you’re pointing that thing, doc!” The voice
was Miku’s, but the complaint was Rin’s.

“The swap was successful, it seems.” Dr. Asami placed her flashlight on the supply table.

“I don’t know about that, Dr. Asami. I… I can’t feel my legs!” Rin looked up at Dr. Asami
pleadingly. Dr. Asami moved to inspect Rin’s new legs and picked one up.

“Are you sure? The synchronization looked like it happened normally.”

“I’m completely sure! I’m trying as hard as I can to move them, and I can’t get anything to
happen.”

At this point, Aika noticed that Rin was looking at the legs on her old body and smiling. “Um…
Dr. Asami?”

“What is it, Aika-“, then she noticed, too. Rin started laughing.

“It’s true, doc! I can’t get anything out of them!”

Dr. Asami let go of Rin’s new leg, which Rin gently lowered onto the chair. She rolled her eyes
and moved back to inspect Rin’s brain. “You must think you’re pretty funny, Rin.”

“Eh, I get by. Helps at my shows.”

“Oh, I bet it does.” Dr. Asami looked around the surface of Rin’s brain for something, then shot
Aika a glance and a smirk.

“What are you doing-“ Rin was cut off as she broke out in fits of uncontrollable laughter. Dr.
Asami gently pressed her index finger into a fold of Rin’s brain. After a few seconds, Rin
managed to force out some words. “Stop! Stop! I’m gonna pee!” Dr. Asami retracted her
finger from the fold, and Rin calmed down almost immediately, still winded from the
experience.

“Seems like you’re fine, Rin. Let’s get your head closed up.” Dr. Asami picked up the top of
RIn’s new skull, its long blue pigtails trailing on the floor.

“Good; I wasn’t kidding, I think Miku needed to go to the bathroom before we started cutting
heads open.”

Dr. Asami placed the top of Rin’s skull in the gap in her head and pushed. The new brain fit in
the space neatly, and the skull closed without issue. Dr. Satoshi reached over to Rin’s head
with what looked like a large laser pointer and traced the path of the saw. It mended the crack
in bone and flesh neatly, sealing Rin’s brain into its new body.

“Get up and take a few steps. See how it feels.”

Rin slid out of the chair and ran for the bathroom. “Be right back!”

“Be careful! Ugh, never mind.” Dr. Asami rolled her eyes. “Alright, are you ready Aika?”

“I… I think I am.” She sat down in the chair Rin had just abandoned, and it tilted her body back.
Once again she was restrained and utterly vulnerable.
Dr. Asami grabbed Aika’s had and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “Everything’s going to be okay.
You saw Rin; in a few minutes you’ll be walking around just fine.”

“Thank you, Dr. Asami.”

They smiled at each other for a moment, then Dr. Asami moved around to Aika’s exposed
brain. “This is going to feel weird.” As she worked her hands around Aika’s brain, Aika felt
strange sensations course through her body. Her arms and legs twitched. She struggled to take
a full breath. She tried to tell Dr. Asami about the feelings, but she couldn’t get her mouth to
form words. As her brain flopped out of her skull into Dr. Asami’s hands, it took all her effort
to look up at Dr. Satoshi moving into the space with his scalpel.

In an instant, everything went black. Aika couldn’t feel anything. She couldn’t move. The
doctor’s hands cradling her brain stimulated her cortex and made Aika feel like she was trying
to think through static. Cut off from oxygen, her brain was fighting a losing battle to
understand what was happening to it. Aika was consumed by panic.

Then, suddenly, she could feel… something. Her brain started receiving oxygen, though Aika
couldn’t feel herself breathing. She was getting sensory information from something, but it
wasn’t a familiar sensation. Finally able to calm down, Aika assumed that Dr. Asami had just
attached the brain swap plug to her brain stem. She waited helplessly, unable to see or hear
anything. Unable to ask if anything was wrong.

It was weird. She expected to feel like an isolated brain during this middle step, but she didn’t
feel like much of anything. She was thought trapped in a void. If something did go wrong she
probably wouldn’t feel her brain being damaged. In an instant, she would transition painlessly
from something to nothing.

Her thoughts became hard to process again, and then she felt a jolt. Like someone shocked
her right arm, then her left leg. Her vision was blurry and dark, and her hearing was muffled.
Instinctively, she took a breath, and to her surprise she felt lungs fill with air. At first she felt
her limbs move involuntarily, but she tried grasping the arm of the chair, and felt a hand grip
something. Her vision rapidly improved, and she heard a voice saying a word repeatedly. She
focused on the shape hovering in her vision, and it came into focus. Aika could make out Dr.
Asami looking into her eyes and calling her name. She tried responding, but couldn’t quite use
this new mouth yet. It was the feeling of handling a friend’s phone: familiar, yet detached.

“There you are. How are you feeling?” Dr. Asami shone an unpleasant light into Aika’s eyes.
She squinted automatically.

“AAAaaaaaa… Uhhhh… Iiiiii’m” Aika fought through the awkwardness of the unfamiliar feeling
of her mouth; she could feel her control rapidly improving. “I’m… I’m feeling good.” The voice
was unfamiliar.
Aika felt herself say the words, she felt the voice come from her own body, but having
someone else’s voice sound out her thoughts was truly bizarre.

“Any pains? Numbness?”

Aika flexed her finger and toes. She could feel the air of the room on her skin. She could feel
her body, and move it, but it was alien.

“No, I think I’m good. This is so weird.”

“Great! Let’s get your brain sealed in and then you can try walking around.” Dr. Asami pressed
the top of Aika’s head into place, holding it in place for Dr. Satoshi. Aika’s scalp prickled as it
was reconnected to her head. With her brain sealed into its new home, the chair sat Aika
upright. She looked around the room. Through new eyes, it seemed clearer than it had before.
She guessed she might need to get an eye exam when she was back in her own body.

Aika glanced over at the body lying next to her. The body she had seen in the mirror every day
of her life up to today. Its skull was open and empty. Its brown eyes stared blankly into space.
It lay in place, motionless save for the breathing that was automated by the plug now fused to
the top of its spine. She felt concern for it, but not the sort of concern she might feel when
injured or sick; it was more like the feeling of wanting to protect some other possession of
hers. She held up her new left hand and examined it. She could control it with the same ease
she would control her own body, but the white, slender fingers felt simultaneously like a part
of her and apart from her.

“Go take a few steps around the room.” Dr. Asami urged Aika to stand.

“Oh, sorry. This is just…”

“It’s surreal, right? You expected to feel more at home in the new body, but it’s not quite
right. Dr. Satoshi and I have swapped a few times, too. It’ll get better over the next few days,
but there was always some lingering discomfort with the situation, until I got back into my
own body.”

Aika stood up from the chair and tested her new legs. She walked around the room without
stumbling or losing balance.

“Any problems?”

“No… I was expecting it to feel a little awkward.”

“Yeah, that’s one of the newer revisions to the plug design. Each half has a computer that tries
to sort of… translate the impulses passing between the brain and body. It took me about a day
to learn to use
Dr. Satoshi’s legs with the original design.”

Rin re-entered the dining room, she looked at Aika and grimaced. “Ugh, is that what I look
like? I might just have to keep Miku’s body when her ‘vacation’ is over. Who knows? Maybe
she’ll like being you so much that she won’t want to swap back after a week.” Rin paused,
then laughed at Aika’s concerned expression. “I’m just messing with you, you’ll get your body
back at the end of this.” She walked over to Aika’s old body. “Though… maybe she and I could
try swapping bodies occasionally, if this works well. Get her in there, doc. We’ve got stuff to
do.”

Dr. Asami ignored Rin’s rude tone and picked up Miku’s brain from the supply table, where it
had been waiting patiently for the last 15 minutes. Aika wondered what it was like to be
disconnected for such a long time. She had been re-seated in Rin’s body almost immediately
after her brain had been fitted with a plug; Miku had been waiting in that dark place while
both Rin and Aika got used to their new bodies.

Dr. Asami connected Miku’s brain to Aika’s old body. It went through the same series of
involuntary actions that Aika had watched Miku’s body go through when Rin’s brain was
connected to it. After about a minute, Miku’s new eyes settled on Dr. Asami’s face and
blinked. A voice familiar to Aika spoke as Miku worked to get her new mouth under control.
Eventually, it formed a question.

“How did it go? Are Aika and Rin okay?”

To Aika, it was like listening to a recording of herself; unlike Rin and Miku, she was not used to
it.

Dr. Asami shined her light into Miku’s eyes. “Rin and Aika are fine. They’re over there. Let’s get
your head closed up.”

“Thank you, doctor.”

Dr. Asami and Dr. Satoshi worked quickly to close up Miku’s new skull. The chair tilted her new
body up into a sitting position, and Aika studied Miku’s new face, her own face uncannily
looking back at her. It smiled at her gently. It spoke.

“Alright. Let’s go have some fun!”