After an intense headache, I passed out again. A little girl named Rose screamed hysterically when she saw me faint.
It seems Rose then carried me back to what I believe is Mikan's house.
She was strong enough to carry me all by herself. Even though she's just a little girl, she's surprisingly strong. It seems I've unconsciously become a burden to someone again? Even though I've only just inhabited this body.
"He'll be fine soon... that head wound is a bit deep, but it will heal in a few days," said a blonde-haired woman.
According to Rose, after she brought me home, someone became very panicked and worried.
The blonde-haired woman quickly gave me medical treatment.
She applied some medicine to the wound and wrapped my head with a bandage.
"..."
Shortly after the treatment was finished, I started to regain consciousness.
It felt as though all the information and memories from the body's owner began to merge with me. I could even recall the owner's past.
The blonde-haired woman then sat down beside the bed.
She looked so worried about me and began to gently hold my head.
Then, she started to ask about my condition.
Was I okay? Was anything hurting? Did I still remember her?
All the questions were filled with worry and anxiety.
"I'm fine... I still don't understand anything yet..." I said casually to the blonde-haired woman.
"No, you're not okay... Mom was really worried that something bad might happen to you," the woman said with concern.
She seemed so scared that something bad might happen to me.
Seeing a child with a serious head injury, that level of worry is completely normal.
The blonde-haired woman was extremely worried about me. She was truly afraid that something terrible had happened to me.
"Hmm... I'm okay, Mom," I replied to the woman.
The worried blonde-haired woman was Mikan's mother, or rather, I should say, she's my mom now.
As a mother, it's natural for her to worry about her child.
"Mikan must have a serious injury... You didn't remember my name before, you even forgot your own," said a red-haired girl who was also worried.
Previously, my not remembering my own name had made the red-haired girl very concerned. She was worried that the blow from the rock had caused a head injury and amnesia.
What she said wasn't wrong, because I still hadn't been able to process any information from the body's owner.
But now, the original owner of this body and I have become one. All of his past memories are now my memories.
"Mom, Rose, you don't need to worry because I'm okay now... I'm sorry, but I'd like to rest for a bit... My head still hurts a little."
With confidence, I told Mom and Rose that I was fine. I also told them I wanted to rest because my head still felt a bit painful.
"O-okay, if you want to rest... But please don't push yourself... I don't want anything bad to happen to my son again."
Believing what I said, Mom seemed to calm down. Her concern was understandable, as I was her child and she was truly scared that something would happen to me.
"Cup..." Kiss.
Once she was completely reassured, Mom kissed my forehead, which was wrapped in a bandage.
The kiss was so gentle and full of love.
In my previous life, the last time I received this kind of affection was when my parents were still alive, back when I was 6 years old.
Before that accident, before I became an orphan, I felt the warmth of having parents.
This time, I felt the same warmth that reminded me of my own mother, who had passed away. A warm feeling I will never forget.
But even though this is affection, it's meant for the real Mikan.
I am a substitute soul who entered his body. I've received all his memories and become one with him.
Even though I am only a replacement, this feeling is so sincere and full of love. I truly miss this feeling. The feeling of still having a mother.
"Sleep well, my little angel... I hope you get better soon... Rose, let's go outside."
After the warm kiss, Mom told me to rest well. She also called me her "Little Angel" and wished for my recovery.
She also asked Rose to leave and let me rest.
"Okay, Auntie," Rose replied obediently.
Rose listened to Mom and then left the room.
They left together, allowing me to rest.
After they were gone, one thing made me quite curious. It was Mikan/Michael's past.
And this past is truly quite painful.
'Before, Mikan or Michael didn't receive this kind of treatment? I'm sure that in a certain memory, Mom really hated me and always hit me? But suddenly she changed, and we moved to this place one year ago?'
Before we moved here a year ago, I remember that Mom really used to hate me.
She kept physically abusing me or Michael for reasons that weren't very clear
But then there was a time when she suddenly changed drastically. She suddenly became a loving mother. And then we moved to this village a year ago.
I can't understand at all what happened to the real Mikan before. But I'm grateful that Mom changed so drastically. I can't even imagine what would have happened to the real Mikan if his mother had kept hitting him!
But besides that past, there's something else that makes me even sadder.
Aside from our names both being "Michael," another similarity I found from these memories is that we were both bullied by the people around us.
Thinking back, it's a bit annoying.
In the past, I also couldn't fight back against the bullying that happened to me. In the end, I took a brave step that only made things more difficult for me in the future.
Even though I was the victim, I was expelled from school and had to drop out of high school.
Even though I only fought back against the bullies physically, it was considered a violation of school ethics.
But for the real Mikan, he had a different reason than I did.
It could be called discrimination. Because his hair color was different from the people here.
My hair color is black, a color that is truly strange to the people in this place.
Here, the color black is synonymous with misfortune, where people with it are branded as descendants of darkness.
Well, that's not a strange thing to say. Because in any world, discrimination will always exist.
And differences will always be an issue.
— To Be Continued—