Ken was sitting in the front seat of the car, his gaze focused on the skyline out his passenger window. His mother had picked him up after receiving a call from the principal.
Yuki Takagi had rushed to the school as fast as she could upon hearing that her son had gotten into a fight. She was awash with worry, fearing the worst. This was the first time that she had ever been called for such a thing.
The principal had decided to suspend Ken from school for the next 3 days, only because he had no prior offenses. Yuki bowed and thanked the principal for his considerations before ushering Ken out of the room.
She didn't say a word to Ken, even until now, filling him with a sense of unease. However, his conscience was clear. If he was in the same situation, he could say without a doubt he would make the same decision.
"Why did you go so far for a new transfer student?" She asked, breaking the long silence. The details were a little convoluted, but she knew the main points and who was involved.
Yuki knew her son enough to know that he would never bully someone, so she could piece together the information on her own. It seemed that the new student had been bullied by some kids, Ken saw this and let them have it.
"He's my best friend, there is no way that I could stand back and watch while those people were beating him." He said matter-of-factly.
She nodded, inwardly feeling a sense of pride swelling.
"Was it worth it?" His mother asked after a period of silence.
Ken paused, remembering the crying face of his best friend. "No. I should have hit him harder." He said with a wry smile.
Yuki felt like laughing out loud, however she managed to hold it in, her rational parent mindset kicking in. She was satisfied with how her son had acted, despite being sentenced to a 3 day suspension.
"Don't worry about your father, I'll stick up for you." She said with a smile.
"Thanks mom." He replied, feeling a warmth blossom within. It felt good to have someone to rely on, someone who would always have your back even when you were in trouble.
It was only now that he truly realized what he had thrown away in his previous life. He had been so embroiled in his depression that he pushed away the only people who had cared for him.
However there was no need to regret. He now had another chance to live his life properly, there was no way he would make the same mistakes.
They arrived home shortly after and headed inside.
*DING*
WARNING - USER STILL HAS OUTSTANDING TASKS REMAINING FOR AN ACTIVE MISSION
'Ah damn!' Ken jumped in fright at the sound, almost dropping his bag in the process. He had almost forgot that there was still 5km and all of his exercises left to do otherwise he would face the punishment.
The only problem was, he was now suspended from school, would his mother allow him to leave the house or would he be grounded?
"Um… Mom. Can I go for a run?" Ken asked, feeling a little guilty.
His mother turned her gaze and raised an eyebrow, "You want to go for a run? Even now?" She asked in astonishment.
"Yeah, I need to get into shape for the new baseball season." He said, scratching the back of his head nervously.
She paused, letting out a small sigh. "Okay, go and have your run. But don't think that your suspension is a holiday from school, you'll need to study for at least 4 hours a day."
Ken's eyes lit up and he began to thank his mom profusely. Now he would not have to sneak out and go for a run at night which made things much easier.
'Man it's nice to have such an understanding parent.' He thought inwardly.
Around 40 minutes later, he once again came into the house drenched in sweat and gasping for breath. Ken did not go and shower right away, he still had the additional exercises to get through.
After another 45 minutes, he completed the final yoga pose from the flexibility regime that was provided by the system. While he had continued to sweat profusely, the stretching routine had done wonders to ease his trembling muscles.
He had never done Yoga before in his previous life, so he was quite surprised at how effective it really was.
'I think I should continue this even after the mission is completed.' Ken thought.
"Kenny! Dinner will be ready shortly" His mother called out, grabbing his attention.
"I'll be down soon mom!" He called out. It was time for a quick shower in order to wash off all the sweat he'd just worked up.
After dinner Ken needed to complete his homework before he went to sleep. By the time he crawled into bed, he was absolutely exhausted.
His gaze turned to his clock which was reading 9:30pm. He set his alarm for 5:30am before turning over and quickly entering the sweet embrace of sleep.
"Kenny, have you finished studying—" His mother opened the door only to see him fast asleep under the covers.
She couldn't help but smile before backing out slowly and quietly.
The next morning, Ken was rudely awoken from his deep slumber by the incessant ringing of his alarm. He quickly sat up and struck down on the clock with scary precision before rolling over exaggeratedly.
'No. I need to get up and begin my training.' He shouted inwardly.
The next 2 minutes was a classic internal versus external power struggle. Ken's teenage body wanted to go back to sleep, yet his 26 year old mind was trying to force him to get out of bed.
Like any teenager, it took a lot of convincing to finally get them to act. It was only after 10 minutes of tossing and turning that Ken could drag himself out of bed.
He then proceeded to change into his workout gear before heading down the stairs like a zombie. Ken was so tired that he almost didn't notice his mother who was enjoying her morning coffee.