Worth

Yoichi's phone ringtone rang in his ear from the nightstand beside his bed. However, it wasn't any of his alarms.

He grabbed it and read Manami's name on the screen before tapping the green button.

"Manami? Are you okay? Did something happen?" he asked with a raspy voice.

"Morning! Guess I woke you up," she chuckled. "Nothing happened, just wondering why you haven't said anything in four days. Is Verónica okay?"

"Oh. She's been acting normally. Maybe a bit quieter than usual, but it makes sense she doesn't want to talk much without the glasses, especially with my parents. It's hard to tell with her, though."

"True. She doesn't seem like the kind of person to keep their pain to themselves like a certain someone I know, but I still worry. How about you?"

Even though he got the indirect attack, he didn't want to unburden himself on someone who had been through so much recently.

"I'm fine. Stream here, homework there. The usual."

"Yoichi, you don't want to make me angry. Seriously, how are you?"

Instead of answering, he sat up on the edge of the bed and stared down at the carpet.

"Worried about Verónica, too. Disappointed we can't go out. Stressed about finding where I can study. All the online programs I've found only offer certificates, and sign-ups close this week."

Manami hummed. "My parents offered to help you, right? I'll ask if they have something."

He took a moment to reply, "Thanks. Did you ask how I was for a reason?"

"Aside from politeness, I figured something was bothering you when you didn't send me the pictures of your wardrobe that you promised to send. That or you didn't care."

"Sorry, I forgot after what happened. I'll send them—"

"Yoichi," his mother shouted outside his bedroom. "Enko is here, and breakfast is ready. Call Verónica, will you?"

"Coming," he shouted back away from his phone. "I have to go. I'll send the pictures by noon."

"I won't stop bothering you if you don't. And I don't wanna meddle too much, but you should talk with Verónica without filters. Talk to you later."

And like that, she ended the call.

He stared at the sunset on his phone's favorite game's wallpaper. Thoughtful, he left his phone on the bed and headed out of the room.

He knocked on Verónica's room door.

"Verónica."

After a few seconds, she answered in Japanese, "Yes?"

She had been getting used to doing so whenever she could.

"Aunt Enko is here."

Followed by steps on the tatami mat, Verónica opened the door. She rubbed her eyes behind the translating glasses he lent her with one hand and fixed what she could of her long, messy hair with the other.

They walked to the dining room together.

Sitting at the table, Enko finished slurping from her cup of coffee before greeting them.

"Good morning." She grabbed another pair of glasses from the table and handed them to him. "Here's another pair for you."

Knowing that the translating glasses were expensive and hard to find, he doubted they were new. He then noticed the glasses she wore had the frame style of the glasses she used to wear in the past.

Before he could ask about it, Verónica asked in Japanese.

"Are they yours?"

As simple as the question was, she formulated it perfectly and fit the informal context. She was only a little slow on the delivery.

"Correct," Enko answered with the slightest of smirks. "The new pair I ordered will be delivered in three weeks. You can use mine in the meantime."

"S-Should… break…?"

Struggling to formulate the question in Japanese, she looked at Yoichi and switched to English.

"Should I pay for the glasses I broke?"

He supposed she wanted him to relay the question to Enko. She was much better at English than him, so she definitely understood her. He merely looked at her.

"Based on the testimonies I was given, it was an accident. Even if it wasn't, no term in the agreement you and your guardians signed mentioned anything regarding the loan of items, meaning you're not legally bound to reimburse any damages."

Verónica stared at her with widened eyes, while Yoichi sighed and his parents laughed.

"You don't owe anyone anything," Yoichi's mother said. "And those glasses are unbelievably expensive. It'd take months of minimum wage to cover the cost. Still, if you really feel like it, you can pay for some of it whenever you're able to."

Yoichi preferred she didn't pay anything, yet he understood it would relieve some of her guilt.

Verónica nodded.

"With that out of the way," Enko said, "let's have breakfast."

"Didn't you have something to tell us?" asked Yoichi.

"Studies have demonstrated that a full stomach improves the processing of information, especially when it's complicated."

He raised an eyebrow at her. It wasn't rare for him not to understand her intentions. Funny, since Enko always wanted to be understood as quickly as possible.

He and Verónica sat down to enjoy breakfast.

Once finished, the three of them headed to the living room, while Yoichi's parents stayed to clean up.

He and Verónica sat together on the sofa and stared at Enko sitting in the loveseat. However, she looked away from them toward the floor. He had never seen her do that.

"Although it's only been four days since we began researching the CTCT cells in your skin, fourteen out of the fifteen hypotheses we had have been proven correct. Curiously, one of them is identical to the one I formulated three decades ago while working with the first CTCT couple."

Yoichi already had questions.

"By 'we' you mean you're working with more people?"

"Correct. My objective is to find the cure as quickly and safely as possible; working with a team is more efficient for that."

"And what was the hypothesis?"

"That the brain plays a major role in the body-swapping despite how fantastic the disease is."

She looked away for a second.

"I'll save you the scientific jargon. It's been years since we've identified the parts of the brain that are stimulated during the body-swapping. However, even if we had extracted samples, we didn't have anything to compare them against. That changes with your mutated CTCT cells in play."

His heart skipped a beat.

Judging by Verónica's lowering eyes, she connected the dots too.

He asked, "You want to… extract samples of… our brains?"

"Based on the progress our research is leading toward, that'd be the logical step. It's too soon to be certain, but I supposed it was better to give you as much time as possible to reach a conclusion."

His brain didn't even know where to start thinking.

"Is it dangerous?" Verónica asked in English.

Enko answered, "Any surgery is dangerous. But yes, brain surgery is one of the most delicate if not the most dangerous, especially for removal of tissue. Luckily, it can be done in a region known to be useless. However, despite the vast knowledge there is about brains, we can't be certain there won't be side effects."

Yoichi looked at Verónica, who lowered her eyes again.

He stared at the wooden floor.

What was he supposed to think? A surgery that invasive for the chance to help millions? It was worth it for the general good, but was it worth it for them?

Only then did he realize something.

"Aunt Enko, are you certain it'll give us the cure?"

"Not yet, that's why we'll wait until we are as confident as we can be."

"And you think it's worth the risk?"

Again, she looked away from him.

She took seconds to answer, "I know it's unfair for me to put the weight of such a decision on your young shoulders, but it's my duty to find the best course of action and give you the options. From my perspective, it's not worth risking losing you."

They exchanged glances before looking down.

A hand rested on his shoulder. He turned to see his father behind him with a soft smile. His mother did the same behind Verónica.

The silence prolonged for a minute until Enko stood up.

"Take your time to discuss and think about it carefully." She bowed. "Have a nice day."

Yoichi's mother replied, "Let us see you to the door."

Enko walked away, accompanied by Yoichi's parents.

Unable to organize his thoughts, he put Enko's translating glasses on and looked at Verónica.

"What are you thinking?"

He didn't intend to put her on the spot; perhaps her perspective would give him a deeper insight into his own.

"I don't want to become impaired or die," she answered, "but then I'd always depend on you to go out. And that still doesn't guarantee it'll be safe."

"So, you're leaning toward agreeing?"

She nodded. "But I don't know…"

"Hey, that's okay. I'm even more unsure than you. Actually, I'm leaning more toward refusing," he laughed nervously.

"Why?"

"For the same reasons, basically. We can have normal lives like this, at least to a certain degree. I'm fine with that, but if there's a chance to help people who are struggling like we are or more, I should take it. It'll help the entire world in the long run. Even then, it doesn't feel like it's worth the risk. Not for me."

They looked at each other for a moment more. They then lowered their eyes to keep diving into their own minds.

Yoichi's parents returned.

"What do you think?" he asked them.

His father answered, "Both choices have their pros and cons; there isn't a clear answer. It's definitely far from ideal, but it really is up to you two."

"No matter what you choose, we'll support you," his mother smiled.

After a moment, he stood up with a smile.

"Thanks. Can you make some space? I'll go to my room. Oh, did you want to do something else, Verónica?"

She stood up. "I'll go to my room too."

Together, they walked to the hallway and split in front of Yoichi's bedroom door. He stepped inside and closed the door behind him. He sat at his desk, but instead of turning his PC on, he removed Enko's glasses, rested his elbows on the mouse pad, and brushed his face.

He merely breathed until a notification made his phone ring on his bed. He stood up to grab it and took advantage of it to press the power button on his PC case.

Back in his chair, he read Shin'ichi's message.

"What's up? Been a few days since you've messaged us."

He typed back, "Sorry, been a bit stressed with life stuff. You know the deal. Now Verónica and I have to make an impossible decision."

He tapped the send button before he could reflect on whether he should bother him with his problems or not.

Still not reaching a conclusion, Shin'ichi replied.

"What's that?"

He sighed. "There's a big chance they can find the cure, but they need to remove a bit of our brains."

"Damn, no wonder you don't know what to do. Guess you'll take time to decide."

"Yep."

"Then what I was going to propose will be perfect to help you think with clarity."