Chapter 4 - The Shadow of the Old World
The next morning brought more than textbooks and quizzes. It brought Riki Yamahade.
Akio Hukitaske, now trapped in the body of his fourteen-year-old self thanks to the mysterious drug injected into him during his darkest hour, stepped onto the sun-washed courtyard of Nakamura High. It had been a week since his miraculous return to youth. A week of strange reconnections with a world he thought he'd lost forever. A week of rediscovering dreams long buried beneath the rubble of adulthood. He'd begun to adjust. To plan. To hope.
He was going to do it right this time. No more wasted years. No more corporate servitude. This life, this second chance, was for becoming the pharmacist he always wanted to be.
But fate had other ideas.
A heavy slap landed squarely on Akio's back. Hard. The kind of hit that might've sent a goofy person stumbling.
"Watch where you're going, four-eyes," came a voice as loud and blunt as a jackhammer.
Akio turned slowly. His spine straightened—not with fear, but with memory. He'd forgotten this part of school life. The loud ones. The aggressive ones. The ones who couldn't help but make their presence known.
Before him stood Riki Yamahade. Tall. Broad. Bleached-blond hair that defied the school hair dyeing code. A permanent smirk that curled like a snake. His uniform looked slept in, shoes untied, eyes sharp and confrontational.
Campus legend had already spread whispers about him. "Delinquent." "Suspended twice." "Fights after school." "Principal's rules of the school is named after him."
"You're the weird new kid with the 'I-know-everything' vibe, huh?" Riki asked, stepping uncomfortably close.
Akio didn't flinch. Not this time. Not like most new students might have.
"I could say the same about you," Akio said, calmly.
The students nearby slowed. Hikata, midway through devouring a rice ball, froze like a deer in headlights.
"You calling me weird?" Riki said, the grin dropping just slightly.
"I'm calling you loud. Because you're scared of being ignored."
A beat of silence fell across the courtyard like a dropped pin.
Riki stared.
Then... he laughed. Loud, unrestrained, belly-deep.
"Woww, you've got some stones for a twig like you," he chuckled. "Most kids around here just piss themselves and run the other way."
Akio raised an eyebrow. "You act tough because you're afraid people will see how smart you actually are."
Another pause.
Then another laugh.
"I like you. You're not boring."
From that day on, Riki didn't leave Akio alone. At first, it was constant teasing—shoulder bumps in the hallway, dramatic gasps when Akio answered a question right in science class, fake swoons whenever Akio got called "promising" by a teacher.
But slowly, something shifted.
The teasing became casual banter. The bumping became walking to class together. And the fake swooning? That became discussions in the library.
They had more in common than anyone might've guessed.
They both hated being underestimated.
They both had a history of failure.
And deep down, they both wanted something better than what the world had handed them.
One afternoon, while helping Akio carry a box of science supplies back to the club room, Riki paused by the window.
"You really like this chemistry stuff, huh?" he said.
Akio nodded. "It's what I want to do. For real. I want to become a pharmacist."
Riki leaned against the windowsill. "Sounds like a pain. But... I get it. You've got that look. Like this stuff matters."
"It does," Akio said. "It used to matter a lot. Then life... got in the way."
Riki turned to him, brow raised. "What are you, forty?"
Akio laughed, maybe too hard. "Feels like it sometimes."
Riki smirked. "I wanted to be a veterinarian once. I liked animals. Still do. But my dad said it was stupid. Said I'd end up broke and useless."
He didn't say it with sadness, just... resignation.
Akio stared at him for a moment. "You know, smart people fail all the time. It's not the failing that breaks you. It's giving up."
Riki looked at him, really looked. Then nodded.
"You're alright, Akio. For a nerd, you're the first one I've actually respected."
Akio grinned. "And you're not as dumb as you pretend to be."
They laughed.
That evening, the two sat under the sakura tree on the hill overlooking the school. Hikata had joined them, as chaotic and loud as always, eating takoyaki with chopsticks like drumsticks.
"Damn, this is what life should be!" Hikata declared, mouth full. "Friends, snacks, no homework."
"We literally have three assignments due tomorrow," Akio said.
Hikata waved a hand. "Details."
Riki leaned back on his elbows. "Never thought I'd actually enjoy being here. You dorks changed something."
Akio smiled. There it was again—that warmth. That spark.
Relatable.
In his past life, Akio never really let anyone in. His twenties were spent behind glowing screens, late-night emails, and empty instant noodles. He had traded connection for ambition. And in the end, he lost both.
But now, in this second life, as this younger him with its endless possibility, he wasn't just chasing a career.
He was building something bigger.
And though the shadow of his past world still lingered—whispers of regret, of roads not taken—Akio felt lighter. More grounded.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, casting long shadows over the school, Akio closed his eyes.
He didn't dread tomorrow.
Not anymore.
He was living again.
[To be continued in Chapter 5: Unlikely Trios and Club Invitations]