Path to Strength

Drops of water were falling on Yuji's umbrella, who seemed lost in thought as he walked along the rain-soaked road. His shoes were soaking wet, but the teenager didn't seem to mind as he lifted his feet and continued walking, completely ignoring the damp feeling between his toes.

It had been four months.

Four months since Yuji had looked in the mirror, only to find a person with tanned skin, brown hair, and brown eyes staring back at him. The features remained almost the same, but Yuji knew better, his hair was never dyed brown and his eyes were lighter in brown.

This was not him, or more precisely, this was not his body.

Startled by the situation, the boy barely had time to react when an intense pain made him roar in pain. Memories of a life Yuji had definitely not lived flashed through his eyes, the pain so unbearable that the teenager eventually collapsed in the bathroom.

And this is how Yuji found himself in the body of someone of the same name and similar in appearance, but with a completely different life.

Having lost his parents two years ago, his aunt ended up as his guardian and raised him as best she could. Of course, this required a lot of work and so the woman found herself on several trips for the company she worked for, which resulted in the teenager having to fend for himself most of the time. The teen didn't really care about this, his aunt would leave money for him to use for 1 whole month and she did everything to give him the best, the least he could do was learn to manage on his own.

Upon receiving these memories, Yuji couldn't help but laugh at how similar this situation was to a generic school life anime. The fact that he suddenly found himself in a different body also did not help him to stop how comical the situation was.

Yuji, of course, originally did not believe that he was suddenly sent to another world, even after receiving the memories of the former owner of his body, so he tried to research as much as possible.

The first thing he discovered was that he had returned to 2005, and this alone was enough to make him depressed. Internet, games with realistic graphics, smartphones, this was a reality far removed from what he was now. From 2023 to 2005 was a long time. It was enough for him to go back to 15 when he was about to turn 18, now he had to deal with the lack of technology.

Aside from how depressing it was to discover this information, this alone could not confirm that he was in another world.

This search for information continued for quite some time, in the end the teenager finding nothing to prove that he had come to a different world. Thus, he just decided to consider that he had returned in time and was now in the body of someone who coincidentally had the same name and looked very much like himself.

This led to the present moment, where Yuji was walking from under the rain towards his school.

'This will be my first day at this school. From what I can remember from memories, I don't have any friends or a girlfriend, so I probably won't have to worry about remembering anyone's name.' Yuji thought. That was one advantage of Yuji from this body's 'past', he was antisocial and usually only cared about getting good grades. Not unlike Yuji himself, who despite caring about getting good grades, still had a group of friends, mainly from the martial arts academy he attended.

'Martial arts...' The term came to the teenager's mind. This was another subject that frustrated Yuji. Unlike before, who had a strong body and great muscle memory due to years of practicing different fighting styles, the body he now had was poor in both strength and technique. Because of this, the Yuji of this body suffered constant physical abuse from the teenagers in his class and even third years.

'The bullies in this place are not to be trifled with.' He thought as he lifted his shirt slightly, his eyes landing on a mark on his abdomen that seemed to be fading. He knew this kind of bruise well, so he knitted his brows.

Delinquents were a breed that Yuji could not stand. In his own life he had gotten into several fights with this kind, and knowing the ones he was up against, he tried to punish them with the biggest beating of their lives. Of course, he probably couldn't do that with the third-ranked people who tormented him in his memories, considering the current strength of his body. Even remembering every move he trained day after day, his muscles were not polished enough to withstand most of their techniques.

'Bottom line, I can defend myself against the bullying of the sophomores with my techniques, but against the third-years, I'll probably get beaten up.' He thought, but it didn't seem to affect him, considering the smile that opened on his lips. 'Well, it's been a while since anyone gave me any work.' Flexing his muscles, he could see a small hint of biceps on his arm. At least he wasn't scrawny.

'But since I'm spending some time in this body, with no idea when I'll return, I might challenge myself a little.'

...

"Hey, Yuji-kun, how about buying us a drink? I know you have money!"

The break bell had just rung. Yuji during class had no trouble at all, as he was practically ignored, as he tried to maintain the antisocial teenage facade he saw in his memories. This calmness lasted until the present moment, where a male voice suddenly called his name as he prepared to explore his school.

"Uh?" Yuji muttered and turned around, his eyes landing on three tall teenagers who were walking toward him with mocking glances. The boy looked at them for a few seconds, the memories of a series of beatings coming to the surface as he stared at their features. 'So these are the ones who tormented this boy all through first and second grade.' He clenched his eyebrows, his posture firm as the three stopped in front of him.

"Huh? What the hell kind of look is that?" The one who appeared to be the leader said with a sneering expression, his eyes staring at the teenager from above due to the height difference. The three of them were between 172 to 176 cm, while Yuji was only 168 cm tall, which occasioned a distinct size difference. "You want to get your ass kicked again?" the biggest one grinned through all his teeth, the other two laughing as they stared at Yuji with a look of contempt.

'Ugh, bullies this age seem to be tricky to deal with.' He sighed and looked around. Everyone in the room, realizing the situation, quickly walked out and left Yuji to deal with the situation alone. 'And it looks like my classmates are pretty cowardly too.'

'Hey, hey! Face me while I'm talking to you-' The bully was about to grab Yuji by the hair, but the teenager quickly reacted and landed a punch right on his jaw, knocking the tall boy down, who fell face first onto the floor, unconscious.

'Ah, this kid has never thrown a punch in his life.' Yuji waved his hand as he felt a slight twinge of pain in his fingers. 'Looks like I'm going to have a job.'

As the boy dealt with the pain in his hand, the other two bullies, seeing their boss being knocked down so easily, were startled, but quickly regained their posture when they realized who was in front of them. Yuji Shinakawa, the nerdiest and weakest in the room, who had been their punching bag for the entire first year. It made no sense for this same guy to take down the boss of the two with a single blow, to them, that was just luck.

With that mindset, a fury ignited in the chests of the two as they stared at Yuji, who upon noticing the change in attitude, turned his gaze to the two.

"Bastard!" They stepped forward ready to beat the boy, but unfortunately for them, it wasn't luck that hit them.

Bam!

... ...

The rumors of how Yuji had beaten up the three bullies from class 2-4 spread like water around the school, but the teenager decided not to do anything about it. To him, this was more positive than negative, because at worst, it would attract other bullies to try to test him, but at best, it would simply keep any delinquents from messing with him.

Grabbing his backpack, the boy walked out of his classroom, completely ignoring the whispers of his classmates.

"To strengthen this body, I'll start with calisthenics. I need energy, nothing better than pushing my endurance to the limit with running and exercises that use my own weight." He was out of school in no time, making his way toward his house in quiet steps.

The street was still wet, but that didn't bother the teenager, who had a slight smile on his face, thinking about the situation he was in.

"Stopping to think, if I invest in platforms like Youtube or Bitcoin today, wouldn't I be a millionaire in the future?" Yuji put his hand on his chin, a smile full of mischief as he thought about the possibility. "That could certainly work out, right?" He chuckled lightly.

Talking to himself, he barely noticed wet footsteps approaching him, a large shadow hovering over his body, this catching the attention of the teenager, who slowly turned with a disinterested look at the one who decided to approach him.

"Yuji Shinakawa, is it?" What looked like a stout teenager, over 180cm tall, asked the boy, who stared at him with analytical eyes.

'A bully?' He wondered, his body stiffening as he prepared for a possible fight. 'The guy is huge, if he decides to hit me, I'm going to have some problems.' Yuji clenched his eyes.

Seeing that staying silent would only further frustrate what appeared to be a third-ranked man, Yuji opened his mouth. "Yeah, any problems?" ...

"!"

The teenager watched intently as the bully raised his leg to kick him, his eyes clearly following the movement, but his body unable to react fast enough. 'Shit.'

Boom!

A kick hit him right in the face, pushing his body down with tremendous force, which occasioned severe pain in his skull as his head collided with the concrete.

"Ugh, and my brother still had trouble with you." The bully spoke and slowly crouched down, his hand grabbing Yuji by the hair and lifting him up until he could face his face. "A wimp like you shouldn't mess with Moebius members, especially when one of them is my brother! Learn your place!" Yuji coughed as a knee hit him hard in the stomach, the bully releasing him as he clutched his stomach and took a few steps back.

Yuji knew very well that the bullies in this place were violent in the extreme. In his memories, the Yuji of the past was almost killed by taking a beating, but still they didn't even care as they left him dumped on the ground. These blows had not yet reached this level, and the boy was surprised at his endurance.

The physical strength of the people in this place certainly exceeded the people of his time, if it were him with his original body, after receiving the first kick to the face, he didn't know if he would be able to stand up so easily. This made him even more likely to believe that this was not about his world.

"Uh? Are you still standing?" The bully asked, a smile forming on his lips as he tightened his fingers. "Well, more fun for me."

Yuji took a few breaths, his mind working minutes ahead as a way to face the bully in front of him, the boy barely noticing the mention of the name that would change his entire perspective on the place he was in.

"Fun, huh?" He scoffed between sighs, a smile full of teeth forming on his face as he raised his gaze to face the bully. "I'll show you a new form of fun, you bastard."

A vein popped out on the bully's forehead, he wasted no time and advanced towards the teenager, who didn't care to defend and received a punch right in the face, blood gushing from his nose as he took a few steps back from the impact.

"Damn you! I'll kill him!" the bully's eyes were filled with madness, a maniacal grin on his lips as he grabbed Yuji's head and pulled it against his knee, blood soiling his pants, which only served to make him even angrier.

'A little more.' Yuji thought, the intense pain in his nose making him wince as he tried to stand. 'A little more and I'm going to crush this guy.'

A punch to the smaller man's ribs caused the air to rush out of his lungs, a cough escaping his throat as he tried to catch his breath. The bully didn't seem to mind as he continued to punish the teenager with several continuous blows, which smeared his fists and clothes with blood.

"Die!" The bully shouted and put all his strength into one punch, sending it toward Yuji's face, which looked extremely bruised from the previous attacks.

"Die?" He whispered.

Bam!

The bully barely had time to react, his gaze meeting the cloud-filled sky so suddenly that it became a complete mess.

"What the hell-" A kick hit him right in the face, his eyes rolling back from his head as he fell into unconsciousness.

A panting Yuji pulled his foot from the brute's face, his eyes staring at the unconscious body of the teenager who had attacked him a moment ago.

'Bullies are a pain in the ass.' He thought and turned to walk away, his steps uneven due to the pain in his body.

"Despite the beating, I'm surprised. The beating over the years has made this boy's stamina reach incredible levels. A person with that stamina where I come from could become a professional fighter without any problems." He grabbed his nose and pulled it hard, a snap making him grunt in pain. "I may not have as much physical strength, but that's only a matter of time."

Yuji, going through this situation, knew that this would not be the last bully who would cross paths with him. He would need to strengthen his new body as soon as possible.

As he walked, the teenager seemed to remember something, the same stopping as he went back to a few moments ago.

"Wait. He said something like 'Moebius'?" Yuji clutched his chin, his eyes widening as he realized the situation he was in. "Oh, shit."

"That's got to be a joke."