Chapter 5: Ally or Asset?

Chapter 5: Ally or Asset?

If I was going to stay ahead of Daisuke, I needed more than memories.

I needed people.

Connections, networks, inside information—those had been the lifeblood of every successful entrepreneur in my past life. And I had wasted so much time back then trying to do everything alone, thinking I could outrun failure by being the smartest person in the room.

This time, I wouldn’t make that mistake.

But where do you find allies in high school?

I found mine in detention.

It all started when I accidentally set off the fire alarm.

Okay, not accidentally.

More like: I was trying to escape the business club meeting early and tripped the sensor with my bag. They took it seriously—fire trucks and all. I ended up spending the next two hours in the dusty old library basement with the other “offenders.”

That’s where I met Riku Kanzaki.

Leaning back in his chair like detention was a personal vacation, he wore a pair of wire-frame glasses and a lazy half-smirk, flipping through a thick manga volume while chewing on a Pocky stick.

“You’re not a regular,” he said without looking up. “What’d you do? Accidentally invest in the wrong fire alarm company?”

I blinked. “How did you—?”

He finally looked at me. “You’re Mina Ayuzawa. You’ve been investing under a pseudonym, but you’re not exactly subtle. I’ve been watching your moves.”

For a split second, my stomach dropped. Was he reborn too?!

Then he added, “My sister’s a data science nerd. She noticed your trade patterns. I ran them through an algo and figured it out.”

Just like that. Another genius.

But not reborn. Just… irritatingly perceptive.

“I don’t like people watching me,” I said coolly.

He grinned. “Then maybe you should move less like a storm and more like a shadow.”

I hated that he had a point.

Riku Kanzaki was a legend in the underground academic circuits. Not because he had top grades—he didn’t even try in class—but because he’d hacked the vending machines to offer discounts during heatwaves and ran a secret tutoring ring for rich kids from other schools.

He was also the kind of person who could look at a business chart and tell you what color the CEO’s tie was during a dip.

“I’m not offering a partnership,” he said after our awkward silence. “I’m offering protection. You’re drawing attention. Too much of it.”

“From who?”

“From people who care more about your wallet than your story,” he replied. “Daisuke Hayama, for starters.”

My eyes narrowed.

“What do you know about Daisuke?”

He leaned in. “Smart. Strategic. But not invincible. He’s got one weakness.”

I folded my arms. “And that is?”

Riku smiled like a magician about to reveal a trick. “He only plays offense. No defense. He doesn’t block threats—he outruns them. But if you give him something he can’t outrun…”

“…He panics,” I finished for him.

Riku nodded. “Exactly. You want to win? Don’t just race him. Corner him.”

It was risky. But it was also… brilliant.

For the first time, I didn’t feel like I was walking into a battle alone.

Over the next week, Riku and I became an unlikely pair.

He didn’t ask questions about my “strange” instincts, and I didn’t ask how he got drone footage of Daisuke leaving a shareholder meeting.

We worked in coded messages, sticky notes tucked into manga volumes, meeting after school on rooftops and train platforms.

With his intel and my foresight, we mapped out the next big move: a startup named PetConnect, an app that would link pet owners with on-demand veterinary services, grooming, and pet-sitting. It was barely out of beta.

But in three years, they’d be everywhere.

I still remembered their ad campaign from my old timeline: “Your pet’s best friend, in your pocket.”

We reached out to the founders.

Two college seniors. Ambitious. Desperate for funding.

I offered tech mentorship through Riku’s network, branding help through Kujaku Bloom’s designers, and early capital in return for 7% equity.

They were stunned. I was in.

It was clean. Silent. Under Daisuke’s radar.

Or so I thought.

Friday morning. I arrived at school early, feeling good.

That’s when I saw it—an email notification on my phone.

Subject line: New Investor Application — PetConnect.

I opened it.

DAISUKE HAYAMA.

I almost dropped my phone.

Lunch. Rooftop. Again.

He was waiting for me, back turned, as if he already knew I’d come storming up the stairs.

“You couldn’t just leave this one alone?” I said, walking up behind him.

He didn’t turn. “Funny. I was about to ask you the same thing.”

“How did you find out?”

He glanced back. “Not everything’s about you, Ayuzawa. Maybe I just know a good idea when I see one.”

He didn’t know.

He wasn’t reborn.

Just that good.

I stared at him, and for the first time, felt a strange flutter of respect. Fear. Curiosity.

“Did anyone ever tell you you’re annoyingly talented?” I asked.

He finally turned, smiling. “Did anyone ever tell you that you’re different lately? Like you’ve got a map no one else can see?”

I froze.

He didn’t say it accusingly. Just… curiously.

I couldn’t respond.

He shrugged. “Whatever. You do your thing. I’ll do mine. Let’s see who PetConnect picks.”

As he walked past me, he added one last thing:

“Your too close to that, Kanzaki, Mina.”

As the door shut behind him, I stared out at the city skyline.

Wait-wait how did he know Kanzaki's involving??

Riku might have given me a shield, but I was now fighting in a war where the other side had no clue I was cheating time itself—and still might beat me.

It was no longer about revenge or rewriting history.

It was about proving I deserved this second chance.

And this time, I wasn’t backing down.

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