Chapter 25: Express Yourself Part 2

'Now that I think about it. I'm not exactly sure about what I want to do in the future.'

 

I'd been too focused on the supernatural problems. The stands I'd encounter. The future I'd foreseen in the manga, and all the inaccuracies I'd come to learn about. I hadn't thought about what to do about MY future. 

 

I already committed myself to saving my father. I also decided to be supportive of Josuke, in his endeavor to protect our town, and my brother, in his effort to become someone better. But what about me?

 

This world, if you put aside the hidden supernatural underbelly, is an exact copy of my old one. The countries are for the most part, the same as they were in the other world. The level of technology, infrastructure, and culture. Even the brands are the same, Pepsi is still Pepsi, McDonald's is still McDonald's. Nintendo is still Nintendo, though obviously it's Nintendo in the 90's. (Same with the other brands.) Aside from the current year, this world Is almost an exact replica of my old one, and I died as a college-dropout-come delivery boy in that one.

 

I lived day to day dreading the future. Hating myself for never being good enough, but never being able to actually move forward in career, education, or relationships. Eventually I ended up turning a blind eye to everything else and just focused on my stories. 

 

And then I died young…

 

Now I've started over, in another world, more than two decades before that death.

 

I'm young again, even younger than I was before I died and the world is full of possibilities. But I have no Idea what to make of them for myself.

 

Actually that's a lie, I do have a few Ideas. I just haven't decided on them. Each of them has some promise, each of them requires some risk and sacrifice. Each of them is immature and not fully thought through. 

 

For example:

 

The internet blew the fuck up in the early 2010's, Right? Maybe I can do something in I.T.?

 

(I don't know Jack about computers though. I only knew how to use them in my last life, but not how to program them. In other words I could use the finished product, but I had absolutely no idea about what went on inside…)

 

Maybe I could follow Sumiwa and become a nurse? 

 

(Definitely not a doctor though. Over 10 years of school on top of the usual 12 years. That sounds like too much work, and I know I can't handle that.)

 

There's also the speedwagon foundation? AKA this world's equivalent of the SCP foundation. Dedicated to studying and in some cases, containing or destroying the supernatural, so the rest of the world can live on with their normal lives.

 

 I now have close ties to Josuke, the bastard son of one of the board of directors, so maybe I can Join them?

 

(Though as a stand user I might end up being studied rather than doing the studying …)

 

I saw the future! Maybe I could invest!?

 

(But again, I know Jack about investments, the economy, and money in general.)

 

I was lazy in my past life. In my body for sure, but in mind especially. 

 

That's why I said that 'Okuyasu was a genuine idiot, but I wasn't much better.' 

 

I was intellectually lazy. I cared more about reading fiction than studying for school or for my future. I ignored my problems and stayed forever in limbo until the day I died.

 

Okuyasu, on the other hand, despite his obvious disadvantages, always had optimism. He looked to the future with a smile, because for him the future would mean more good things.

 

I guess out of the both of us, maybe I'm the one in truly dire straits. 

 

'I should stop differentiating between the two of us. We are one being now. One person.'

 

But I can't help but compare! Would he worry about his future? What would he have done after leaving highschool?

 

The original manga, despite everything that happened throughout the story, only lasted one summer, in-universe. 

You are reading story Yasuko’s Bizarre Adventure at novel35.com

 

But what happens after the hero's won? What did he do afterwards? What of all the other characters living in that crazy, noisy, bizarre town? What became of them after the epilogue?

 

As fans we got practically nothing. Josuke forever remained immortalized as the Highschool Hero in the pages of that manga. But we never learned what happened next. Did he go to college? Did he make something of himself? Did he even graduate from High School?

 

I like to think he did. But without direct confirmation I don't know for certain. The later parts had almost no connection to Josuke and his crew of misfits. So his fate remained more or less unknown to us fans.

 

Now I'll never know about that Josuke. I can't exactly travel back to my old world, and even if I could, The original mangaka left the story open-ended on purpose. By the time I died it'd been 20 years since he finished writing it! I doubt he'd come running back to change it or add on to it.

 

'Hm… I wonder if Araki even exists in this world? Probably not, Rohan was his self insert character, why would he write himself into his story when he already had Rohan?'

 

The Josuke in this world on the other hand…I'll be able to see for myself in a few years. By then, I should have decided on my own future as well.

 

I'd rather not get left behind by my peers again. 'It was bad enough the first time around.'

 

If all else fails, I'll join the military…something I was too cowardly and lazy to do back in my old life. (Actually not the military, but the Special Defense Force. This is Japan after all.)

 

I have so many choices here. But I can't decide!

 

I almost feel like I'll be trapped and tied to a future if I do choose. Like I'll be tied to one identity for the rest of my life.

 

Obviously I know that's just my anxiety talking, but I can't help but feel that way. 

 

'Ugh how'd I get bogged down by this topic?'

 

(Speaking of Identity, I should have enough time to settle things in the admissions office, now that it's lunch.)

 

I talked to Sumiwa about it. 

"Hey, Sumiwa-Chan, is it alright if we go to the admissions office together after you're done with your bento?"

 

"What's up?" She asked me. 

 

"I…the name on my student ID is wrong, and so is the gender. They think I'm some guy called Okuyasu. I have to go get that fixed" I answered while averting my eyes.

 

"Alright I'll come with you." She agreed. 

 

So we went together. Again, I had to follow her lead. This school is large, (well not all that large. I remember my own highschool in the old world was at least twice as big.) For a Japanese highschool I'd say Budo-ga-Oka is large. 

 

In fact the whole town of Morio is very different from what is typical of Japanese towns. It was originally based on Sendai, a real town in the other world, but unlike Sendai, its architecture is very westernized. 

 

Even the culture here is a bit more westernized than you would expect for a Japanese port town. Many of the people here prefer to wear western clothes, and eat western foods. 

 

I assume that's why we can walk around so freely like this. From what I heard in my past life, Japanese schools normally were both smaller and stricter. The teachers came to you, (instead of the students going to the classes). Everyone had a homeroom and the teachers switched out depending on the class period. There were heavy restrictions on where students could go. And they needed permission if they had to go out.

 

Conformity was a given. The students were expected to wear the same uniform with heavy restrictions on how you could modify it, if you could modify it at all. Even certain hairstyles were banned. 

 

Instead, here, the student's schedules are different even from one another. We have to walk to our classes. Students are more free to walk around and teachers aren't as strict. We have more freedom, and individuality is encouraged. Sure we still have to wear uniforms, but we're allowed to modify them.(within reason of cours)

 

But It's important to remember that our level of freedom as students here is not typical for normal Japanese High School students. This is the kind of school that would only ever appear in a manga. 

 

Still, it's not like we learn anything different from the other schools. Math is still math, science is still science, history is still history, wherever you go. I have to pay special attention to these classes to make sure I don't fall behind. 

 

You can find story with these keywords: Yasuko’s Bizarre Adventure, Read Yasuko’s Bizarre Adventure, Yasuko’s Bizarre Adventure novel, Yasuko’s Bizarre Adventure book, Yasuko’s Bizarre Adventure story, Yasuko’s Bizarre Adventure full, Yasuko’s Bizarre Adventure Latest Chapter