Chapter Two:

School was more awkward than it had been before. When he had first arrived in the past Satoru had been too confused about what was going on to be embarassed. After that he'd been dead set on his mission of saving Kayo, and hadn't had time for embarassment.

Now all that was done. He was a twenty nine year old in the body of a eleven year old reliving his life. What was he supposed to do with himself now? He'd expected to just get teleported back to his old life, but that hadn't happened.

Maybe he'd changed things so much that they couldn't just snap back.

'Hey Sutoru.' said Kenya during a free period. 'Can I ask you something personal?'

The last time he'd been asked that question it was about whether he had a crush on Kayo. What was it this time? Kenya was always picking up on things. 'Yeah?'

'Why were you and Mr. Yashiro out driving in the first place?' Kenya asked.

That was the last question he wanted to answer now. 'I uh, I thought I saw Misato in a car and asked Mr. Yashiro to help me follow her. We passed the car and it turned out that I hadn't seen right. Then the car slipped on some ice and… and…' He hesitated, memories flooding back.

'Hey Satoru-' began Kazu as he blundered in. 'How did you get those bruises? Around your neck?'

Oh crap. What if they suspected? 'The seatbelt it uh… I…'

'I'm sorry, we shouldn't be asking these kinds of questions.' said Kenya, before pausing. 'Satoru, do you think the kidnapper is gone?'

'I… yes.' said Sutoru 'I'm positive.' Kenya knew, or at least suspected.

'That's good.' said Kenya.

At that moment the last person Satoru had been expecting came into the class. It was Kayo and she was smiling for a change. She ran up to Satoru and hugged him. Saturo felt a blush coming to him as he hugged her back and murmurs came from the rest of the class.

'It's good to see you again, Kayo.' said Saturo as they separated. 'I didn't think you'd be coming back.'

'Grandma made all the arrangements for me.' said Kayo 'I wanted to see you guys again.'

'Wow, you guys are really serious about this aren't you?' asked Osamu.

'What?' said Saturo 'Um…'

'So, where is Mr. Yashiro?' asked Kayo.

'Mr. Yashiro,' said Saturo 'he got in this car wreck and he's in a coma.'

Her eyes widened. If only she knew. 'Oh.'

At that moment the teacher arrived. He was not Mr. Yashiro, thank god. Class began and went smoothly for the rest of the day. As Satoru followed Kayo downstairs he approached her from behind. 'Kayo, do you want to walk home together?'

'You're an idiot.' said Kayo.

'What?' said Saturo.

'Remember man, she's taking the bus from now on.' said Kazu.

'Oh right.' said Saturo 'Well um, I'll walk you to the bus then.'

They made their way down to the bus stop and Satoru looked at Kayo, a question on his lips. 'Hey Kayo.'

'Yeah?' asked Kayo.

'Is everything going okay with your grandmother?' asked Satoru.

'Everything is great.' said Kayo 'She makes breakfast for me every day, and she's really nice.'

'Great, I'm glad to hear it.' said Satoru as the bus pulled up. 'Um, see you tomorrow okay.'

'See you.' said Kayo, before suddenly leaning in and kissing him on the cheek. Then she went into the bus.

As the bus pulled away Satoru tried and failed to control his blush. 'Dude, you're twenty nine. And you're going to be almost fifty by the time you look it. This is going to be one hell of an awkward life.'

It was graduation. There was a shrine to Gaku Yashiro at the far end of the classroom. As far as anyone knew he was a devoted and kindhearted man who'd died saving a students life. A lot of the class looked very upset, even as the teacher who'd been hired to replace Yashiro spoke. No one had ever gotten used to him, though he wasn't a jerk or anything.

He wasn't a serial killer either, so that was something.

'Congratulations everyone on your graduation. I realize I didn't get a chance to know every one of you like Mr. Yashiro, but I can tell you he'd be proud of you all. And I think he would want you all to go on to pursue your dreams, with or without him.

Life isn't about right now. It's about the future. Growing up. Growing older and wiser.

Keep learning every minute of every day for the rest of your life and your life will be worth living.'

Kayo was there, having returned to school, and she looked like she was about to start crying. Misato too. She and a bunch of others students had spent time raising money for Yashiro's medical bills and a lot of people had been contributing. He didn't have any close family to tell.

It was depressing that a mask had mattered so much to everyone.

As they filed out of the graduation they walked down the steps. No need for care now. Yashiro was gone. What did Saturo do now?

The question kept bothering him until he was eating dinner with Mom. He looked back to his old life, before the revival. What he had wanted to do and looked up with new resolve.

'Mom, I know what I want to do with my life.' said Satoru.

'Oh yeah?' asked Mom 'What do you have in mind, kiddo?'

'I want to be a manga artist.' said Satoru. 'What do you think?'

'Well I think you've got your work cut out for you.' said Mom 'I could probably get you some books on drawing.'

'Thanks.' said Satoru.

Authors Note:

Okay second chapter. Usually I write them longer than this, but doing this in snippets has worked out pretty well. So here we go.