章 3: A legends making

Four-Year Time Skip:

For the past four years, my routine has been simple: I wake up, eat breakfast, go to school, do gymnastics, return home, exercise with my body weight, take my dog for a walk around the neighborhood, and then go to sleep. I have one of the best physiques a child my age can have, muscular yet lean, which keeps me quite fast.

In my free time, I watch documentaries and movies to learn about what's happening around the world, who is in power, and how to make money in this economy. Through this, I realized that the series would take place between 2017 and 2019, about ten years before now. Technology was much older than when I died in 2024, but I managed to adjust.

This year marked my first year of primary school. I felt indifferent about it because I knew it would consume most of my exercise time. When I woke up, I sighed and thought, "Learning is such a drag." I got dressed and went to the kitchen, where my mother was waiting. She greeted me with, "Good morning, honey! Are you excited for today?" I replied, "Yes, Mom, I am." She added, "Try to make friends and don't start any arguments." I said, "Will do." She walked me to the bus that was waiting and said, "Good luck, Jack." She hugged me affectionately, kissed my forehead, and let go as I boarded the bus, smiling.

On my first day, a teacher guided us around, helping us memorize where everything was located. He handed out our schedules and said, "This is your schedule. You'll need to learn it and find your classes. Your books will be given to you tomorrow, and you'll meet your teachers. Lunch is in the cafeteria, and every student will be provided with a free meal after the second period." (He seemed really serious, I thought.) We spent the rest of the day walking around, eating lunch, and meeting the teachers. After school, I returned home and worked out.

While having dinner with my mom, I asked, "Mom, can I learn martial arts?" She looked at me and replied, "Why would you want that?" I explained, "Some of my friends from school are learning karate, and they say it's really cool. I also want to protect myself." She regarded me with curiosity and asked, "Why martial arts and not something like boxing?" I responded, "Those sports are meant to hurt others. I just want martial arts as a shield against bad people, not as a weapon to attack and hurt others." She looked at me with understanding and said, "Since your motives are so pure, I'll introduce you to one of my friends who knows karate. You might have heard of him—his name is Daniel LaRusso."

I stared at her in disbelief and murmured, "The Daniel LaRusso?" She asked, "You know him?" I replied, "Yes, I've seen his car dealership. How do you know him?" She explained, "He's an old friend of mine. If you're really determined, I'm sure he will take you on as his student. You share the same belief about defending yourself and not attacking first. From what I know, he has a daughter your age that he is teaching, and you could be studying together under him." I responded eagerly, "Yes, I would love to train under Mr. LaRusso! When can we meet him?" Mom said, "I'll contact him tonight and plan a day for you to meet." I smiled and replied, "Thanks, Mom! I'm going to sleep now. See you tomorrow."

That night, I had my first genuine smile in years. Since the day I was born in this universe, I felt like the black sheep of the valley, very unlucky because my dad died before I was born, my mom was always at work, and I was often alone. But for the first time, it seemed like the planets aligned, and God smiled at me. I went to sleep that night, eagerly awaiting what the future would hold.