Chapter 2 – A Face that Others Could Never Forget.

Chapter 2 – A Face that Others Could Never Forget.

{Huh, I don't think a freaked-out Nurse is a good sign.} (Akagi)

A few seconds after the nurse's shouting a voice can be heard from the hallway just outside of the room.

"I'm coming, I'm coming, I am aware that the patient has awoken but I don't think shouting is necessary Kirika." (???) The owner of the voice soon after enters the room and it quickly becomes apparent that this individual is a doctor based on his clothing. "Now then what is so important about her condition that you felt the need...... to..... shout......." As he sets his eyes on Akagi, the doctor becomes visibly perplexed and is slightly taken aback, but quickly regains his composure. "Well, I suppose Ms. Rishia having a completely different hair and eye color is grounds for some concern and surprise. Please bring me her chart it should be in my office on my desk."

Akagi noticed that the doctor standing at the foot of her bed is not Japanese, rather, he looks American with his brown hair and grey eyes. His hair is slightly graying but he only looks to be in his mid forties. Appearances like his are something Akagi had seen in the many American tourists in Kyoto over the years.

{Am I in an American hospital? No that wouldn't make sense, that Nurse is clearly Japanese and there is no way they could fly me across the Pacific without the headset killing me. At least it seems like he speaks Japanese, I would rather not rely on my very poor English if I don't have to.} (Akagi)

"Ah, my apologies you're probably a little confused after waking up. My name is David Amherst and you are currently in Kyoto Central Hospital. You were moved here with your parent's permission not long after it was made public that Free World Online's Alpha testers could not leave the game. " he says with a frown. "The United Nations created a task force which brought together doctors who specialize in comatose patients. As well as those with experience treating patients in/with VR, like myself." His expression darkens. " As you no doubt know, we were unable to do anything to help you beyond simply keeping your physical bodies alive. There were a few attempts to remove the headgear from players but....." (Amherst)

{If I recall correctly, there were a few cases of players dying suddenly for no discernible reason. Makes sense, we always figured people on the outside removing it would kill us but we had no way to 100% confirm that; poor bastards.} (Akagi)

"Are you able to speak at all? I wouldn't be surprised you found it difficult with the significant muscle atrophy." (Amherst)

Akagi took in a deep breath "Yes.. I can... it's a little difficult but I should be able to speak." she said in a weak voice.

"Good, that makes things much easier, can you tell me if all of the players were able to log out, or are you the only one? (Amherst)

Akagi slowly explained to Dr. Amherst how the assault team had defeated the final World Boss and the system stated that it would log everyone out as promised.

At first, the Doctor's face was quite happy but it slowly turned to sadness.

"It's good to hear that all those people will no longer be trapped in that nightmare, but I can't help but feel regret for not being do anything." he said almost on the verge of crying "Almost two thousand people dead and there was nothing we could do but just sit and watch from the sidelines. All the advancements in technology, both hardware and software and we couldn't even figure out HOW the damn headgear was killing people. Every day I wondered how many more of you would die and if there would be anyone left to save." At this point, Dr. Amherst was crying. "My apologies, I seem to have let my emotions get the better of me. I'm glad this ordeal is over and I suppose we will have to deal with the aftermath."

{This doesn't make any sense, we never detected any interaction between the body and the headgear. Hell, we don't even understand how the headgear killed people as everyone who died simply "shut down" as we termed it. Their bodies just stopped functioning and they died. But now you're telling me this headgear.... NO this game can change people's bodies to look like their Avatar???? How the fuck am I supposed to even begin to understand this? God, Ishihara is gonna go nuts over this."} (Amherst)

Akagi was equally in the dark about the transformation. She thought that it might have something to do with the Reward she was promised by the system but decided to keep quiet about that as she had nothing but speculation to go off of.

"We will need to run extensive tests once you are well enough to move. I am not trying to put a damper on your happiness but I believe it would be best to move cautiously in case there are side effects from this change." (Amherst)

Dr. Amherst then spent the next forty-five minutes going over a series of questions with Akagi. The questions mostly focused on her memory, and cognitive functions as well as on anything which might be helpful for the medical team.

"Well, it seems that everything is normal, although its quite unusual for someone to forget their name.” He looked at Akagi with some concern. “From what you've told me though I would be inclined to agree with your assessment. It would seem that you disassociated yourself from the real world to the point that you genuinely forgot it, rather than it being forgotten as a result of any mental damage. Of course, I will insist on an MRI of your brain to check for any issues." (Amherst)

{Rishia Tomogawa, so that was my original name. Hearing it, I understand why I chose to forget it. Honestly, it feels strange to be called that, almost... wrong I guess is the word for it? The name Akagi definitely suits me much better.} She smiled internally. {Strange, why do I get this feeling that a familiar presence is approaching this room? Actually, no it's not one but three. Am I going nuts, because this is the same feeling I got with my detect presence skill in FWO?} (Akagi)

Akagi chose to brush this off, for the moment, chalking it up to the side effects of being immersed in full dive for far longer than was healthy.

"All right, your family will likely be arriving soon so I will take my leave so that you may spend time with them when you arrive. I will inform the nurses that rules regarding visiting hours do not apply to you since I can imagine you have much to discuss with your family." He said with a smile.

"Don't push yourself too hard you need to focus on resting and recovering it will be a long road but you will pull through." (Amherst)

*BANG*

Just then the door to the room flew open and a young girl with a black ponytail and wearing a school uniform barged into the room. Akagi instantly knew who this was.

"ONEE-CHAN!!!!!!" (Kana)

Spoiler

Original Kana Artwork! (Later chapters use better ones.)

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