Chapter 0: A Dark Past Behind an Old Uniform

The high school hallway felt narrow and stuffy, even though the windows above tried hard to let in the fading afternoon light. But to me, that light was no more than a spotlight in an interrogation, highlighting every inch of my body that felt heavy and out of place.

"Hey, pig! You walk so slow, have your legs gotten fat too?"

That shrill voice was always the start of my bad day. Today, the culprit was Takeshi, the class president who somehow always felt he had the right to belittle me. Behind him, his group of followers laughed—voices that had long memorized the mocking tone.

I could only look down, trying to quicken my pace even though every step felt like I was carrying tons of weight. I clutched my textbooks tightly to my chest, as if they could be a shield from the looks of disgust and piercing taunts.

And then, my eyes caught her figure at the end of the hallway.

Sakura Hanami.

Her long, straight black hair flowed gently, catching the last bits of twilight, creating a faint halo around her head. Her innocent face, which usually wore a smile as warm as the morning sun, was now flat. She stood with her friends, watching the scene unfold without expression.

Sakura... why are you just standing there?

The tiny hope I always kept in a corner of my heart—the hope that maybe, just maybe, Sakura saw something else behind my fat body and awkwardness—was once again crushed by a bitter reality.

Takeshi and his friends came closer. One of them roughly bumped my shoulder, making me nearly lose my balance. My books almost fell.

"Useless," Takeshi hissed right into my ear. "All you can do is eat and breathe up our oxygen."

I bit my lip, holding back the hot tears stinging my eyes. I wanted to fight back, I wanted to scream, but the words were always stuck in my throat. Years of being bullied had stolen my courage.

Suddenly, Sakura moved. My heart pounded. Is she going to stand up for me?

She walked closer, but not towards me. She stopped right next to Takeshi, touching his arm with her slender fingers.

"Takeshi-kun," her voice was soft, but with a coldness I had never heard before. "The bell is about to ring. Don't waste your time."

Takeshi looked a little surprised, but his mocking smile quickly returned. "Alright, Sakura. For you..." He gave me a triumphant look before finally leaving with his group, leaving me frozen in the middle of the hallway.

Sakura glanced at me for a moment, expressionless, before turning and walking away with her friends. Her steps were light, as if I had never even been there.

Their insults hurt, but your silence, Sakura... that was more than just pain.

I walked home with a weary step. My uniform felt sticky and dirty on my shoulders. The smell of the sauce and mayonnaise they had deliberately dumped on me wafted up, making me sick. But that was nothing compared to the nausea in my stomach from my shattered pride.

When I opened the apartment door, a small body immediately rushed and hugged me tightly. It was my sister, Yui. Her small hands clung to my uniform, and her shoulders trembled.

"Nii-chan... what happened again?" she sobbed, her voice muffled against my clothes. "I... I can't stand seeing Nii-chan being treated like this anymore!"

Seeing Yui cry because of me, my heart felt like it was being torn apart. I couldn't protect her from this sadness.

Just then, Kazuki-nii came and gently ruffled Yui's hair. His eyes, usually cheerful, now held a serious look. "Akira, listen. You have two choices. Keep being a victim, or stand up and change your destiny."

I stared at him blankly.

"Go on an extreme diet. Not just for your body, but for your soul. Prove to them, and to yourself, that you're not the person you used to be. Become a man who will make them all regret ever laughing at you."

Kazuki-nii's words were sharp, but they also became a fire. A fire that ignited a resolve deep within me.

From that day on, I began my journey. Year after year, I fought. Every drop of sweat during training, every pang of hunger I endured, was a reminder of Sakura's look of disgust and Takeshi's mocking laughter. I was no longer the fat pig with no courage. I was a person fighting for a future they could not take away from me.

Our parents were gone, but I had Yui and Kazuki-nii to protect. I wanted to become a lawyer, just like Kazuki-nii, so I could protect them and myself. That was my only goal in life.

After graduating from high school, I kept fighting. Finally, I got what I wanted. When I looked in the mirror, I saw a lean, strong, and muscular figure. Silver-gray hair, golden-amber eyes, and a sharp jawline. It was me, and yet it felt like a stranger.

Until that day arrived. The day I enrolled in my dream university in Tokyo. Law major. A new chapter in my life was about to begin. My real revenge was about to start. Not a revenge to hurt others, but to show that I had been reborn.