Ataxia [OMORI]

[Helicobacter]

Sunny was crestfallen. He didn't let it show at first. He couldn't yet. "W-What do you mean, Basil? I-It's me, Sunny." He shakily answered Basil's question.

Unfortunately, Basil didn't understand at all. "I'm sorry, I don't know who you are... er... are we in a hospital?" asked the blonde amnesiac, "I'm sorry, er... Sunny... but... are you sure you aren't thinking of a different Basil?"

Sunny's face twisted to horror. His friend didn't remember a thing. "No. You're the Basil I know... you... you really don't remember?" He was still in disbelief.

Basil looked at Sunny with pity, "I'm sorry, I just don't know who you are..." Sunny couldn't help it. He started crying again. Basil stood to try and comfort him, "Hey, Sunny, it's oka-" immediately, Basil fell to the floor after taking a step.

"Ow... why does my head feel so heavy..." Basil asked himself as he pushed against the floor to try and stand up again.

"B-Basil!" Sunny said in a panic as he picked up his friend from the ground, letting him lean on his shoulder for support.

At that moment, a doctor entered the room. "Oh, no, no, back in bed, Basil," the woman requested, helping Sunny place him back on the bed.

"I-It's okay, my legs are just asleep, I can walk on my own." Basil insisted. The doctor shook her head.

"No, Basil, you have ataxia. You won't be able to walk well for a while. Considering your age, probably five or six months." The doctor revealed.

Sunny was a lot more broken up about this than Basil, "Six months!? He has amnesia, too! How long will that last!?" Sunny shouted with urgency.

"Please calm down. You're the patient from down the hall, aren't you? You just woke up, too. You should be concerned about straining yourself." The doctor said, trying to calm Sunny down and failing.

This was ludicrous. He couldn't just leave Basil alone. "Do you have a parent or guardian we can call, Basil?" The doctor asked the blonde.

"Um... I have my grandma! We could try calling her!" Basil looked concerned, "Oh, I hope she isn't too worried about me."

The doctor seemed to know who this grandma is... or was, moreover. She awkwardly grimaced, then spoke, "What's the last thing you remember, Basil?"

Basil was silent for a few moments. Then he put his hand to his chin, still silent. "I don't... I don't remember much of anything... the most recent thing I can think of... it's been at least a year or two since I moved to Faraway."

"It's been ten years since you moved here! Y-You have to do something to help him! Is there a medication or a procedure to help him!?" Sunny urged the doctor.

"There is no effective treatment for concussions, amnesia, or head trauma induced ataxia. Beyond pain killers and perhaps a walker, there's not much that we can offer Basil," the doctor said with a frown. She didn't seem to be very pleased with how little help she could offer.

After a pause, Basil announced, "I don't have any money for a walker, doctor... um..."

"Greene. Anyway, I didn't expect you to. Do you think there's anyone besides your grandma we could call?" Doctor Greene asked Basil, not wanting to reveal his grandmother's fate.

Sunny was still stunned. There was nothing that could be done. "How long until he can walk, do you think?" He asked as Basil tried to think of who could be a help for him.

Doctor Greene looked up and away as she thought to herself. "Well, at least two weeks, and at most about forty-five days," she guessed as she moved to a nearby table with a pad of paper left on it. "Alright, Basil, do you have anybody in mind?"

"Um... well, my parents are dead, so no, just my grandma!" Basil said with an awkward smile. The doctor grimaced again and moved back to Sunny.

She whispered to him, "Look, ataxia heals slower if the sufferer goes through mental stress. Just uh... don't tell him anything about his grandma," she then turned to Basil with a polite smile, "I'm going to go see if your grandma is available to take you home, alright? I'll be back."

"Okay!" Basil said with a smile.

Sunny sighed. His big, innocent, and clueless smile was as cute as it was when he did have his memories. He'd have preferred if Basil wasn't so... memory-less at the moment.

Then again, maybe it would be better for Basil if he didn't know. Didn't know what Sunny did. Didn't know what he did. Maybe the others wouldn't be mad at him if he didn't remember.

Yes, Sunny thought, maybe if he didn't know, the others would only be mad at Sunny, then they would leave Basil out of any trouble he'd get in for his sins.

"Hey, Sunny! Do you like gardening?" Basil asked, feet swinging over the side of his bed.

Sunny wasn't sure how to answer. "Er... yeah... you should probably be careful. I don't want you to hurt yourself falling off the bed."

"I won't fall!" Basil assured. Sunny wasn't so convinced, but he didn't want to be a nag. "Sunny, I think you're nice. We should be friends!" Basil said with a smile.

He had no idea. "Thanks." Sunny said simply. He wasn't nice. He was horrible. He didn't deserve any praise. "Your grandma is away right now. Before you went to the hospital, she won tickets to a cruise. You insisted she go with... er... her caretaker," Sunny thought of that one on the spot. Basil seemed to buy it. A great explanation for the inevitable excuse that the doctor would need for his grandmother not being available.

The devil, spoken of, appeared. "Basil, your grandma isn't available to pick you up."

"Oh, don't worry! Sunny told me what's going on! She's just away for a bit!" Basil said with a smile. He completely bought it. Basil seemed really gullible right now for some reason. Probably something to do with the ataxia...

"Ah, er... yes. Well, we need to discharge you today. The hospital is in high demand right now. Can you think of anyone else?" Doctor Greene asked hopefully.

"No..." Basil sadly responded.

Sunny decided to speak up, "He can stay with me." Suddenly feeling awkward, he quickly added, "If he wants to, that is."

"Oh, yay, that'd be like a sleepover! That'd be so fun! I'd love to stay over at your house!" Basil excitedly agreed, throwing his hands in the air.

Thank god Sunny was there because, right now, Basil was practically begging people to take advantage of his innocence. If they kicked him out to the street... Sunny shuddered, thinking of what kind of people Basil could've run into.

"Alright, well then, I suppose I should call your mother to inform her of your condition, Sunny? Eye not hurting or anything?" Doctor Greene inquired. Sunny had almost forgotten about his eye. Sunny shook his head to confirm his eye didn't hurt and touched the bandage over his eye.

It felt weird. Not painful, but just weird. Sunny sighed and looked back at Basil. "I didn't wanna ask because I thought it'd be rude, but what happened to your eye?" Basil cluelessly asked, pointing at Sunny's eye bandages.

"It's a long story. I'll tell you later." Sunny said. He really didn't want to tell that story to Basil at all. Basil was excited to talk, so he quickly changed topics. The two began chattering about gardening until Sunny's mother came to the hospital. Mostly Basil doing the chattering.