The weight on her back helped. Its presence was like a constant reminder to breathe, almost as though it were Jessica forcing Nuriko's chest down, then back up. Down, then back up. Even though sitting in her body still didn't feel anything like the comfort Nuriko had growing up, at least she no longer felt like she was treading water. With a slight tremor in her arms, Nuriko rested her forehead against her knees. When she was curled up, the differences were less obvious.

Maybe someday, she'd be proud of them, like she had been in the first minute or two of switching bodies.

"That's it," she whispered, looking up and resting her cheek against her arms, allowing herself to face Jessica fully. "Logically, I know I'm still me. It's the same soul that's in here. It's not like all of my past experiences just vanished or anything; I carry them with me, even with my shoulders being a little narrower. But. It's the little things I didn't expect. Who knew that breathing would feel differently? Doesn't everyone breathe? Doesn't everyone sleep? Aren't those supposed to be things you do without even thinking about it? Maybe that's why it's worse, I — I can't stop thinking about it. How everything's off. And I don't know if it'll ever stop feeling that way. I don't know if I was just playing dress-up before, I, I feel like I'm so fake."

Sniffling once, Nuriko tried to swallow down the lump in her throat, passing her fingers across her face again to wipe away the dampness.

"You explained it perfectly. How?"