Dead Man's Tales: HSOTD

Rika stared out the window, watching the fields of flowers blur past. The colors bled into each other—yellows, purples, whites—almost like a painting. They seemed so simple, so peaceful. But her mind was far from that tranquility. The thought kept running through her head, gnawing at her like an itch she couldn't scratch. Would flowers still look this beautiful if the world were burning around them? Would they still bloom if everything else turned to ash?

"What's wrong?" Takashi asked, his eyes glued to the road. His grip on the steering wheel was tight, knuckles pale. Rika knew he was focused on the traffic heading toward Biei. 

"Would the flowers seem this beautiful in the apocalypse?" Rika muttered, her words barely loud enough for him to hear.

He shot her a glance, confused, then asked, "You think Shoko caused whatever happened to Biei?"

Rika shook her head, staring at her reflection in the glass window, her own eyes hollow and distant. "No," she said simply. She closed her eyes, feeling the hum of the engine under her skin.

"Why?" 

"If he had that kind of power, I doubt he'd hide it. That's not Shoko's style." Rika opened her eyes and let her hand drift outside, fingers slicing through the wind. The sensation was cool, almost numbing, like she was trying to distract herself from the storm raging in her mind.

"Maybe it's a one-time thing," Takashi mused. "Maybe it takes a while to recharge or something." He was grasping at straws, trying to make sense of it all, just like she was. But Rika couldn't bring herself to agree. She didn't want to give shape to that kind of fear.

"Could be…" she replied, her voice softer, almost lost in the roar of the wind outside. Her mind wandered back to Kozen—his face, his determination, his vulnerability that he tried so hard to hide. We're trying to prepare him for something that doesn't make sense, that we don't even understand. How do you prepare someone to face an apocalypse?

"Are you worried about Kozen?" 

"Just like you," Rika said, keeping her gaze fixed on the horizon. The thought of Kozen facing what was out there made something tighten in her chest—a knot of fear she couldn't untangle. He's not ready. He's just a kid, but we don't have time to let him stay a kid.

"So, what's the plan?" 

"Train Kozen to survive in the apocalypse," Rika said, the words coming out like a declaration, even though they tasted like defeat.

Silence settled between them, heavy and suffocating. Rika knew what Takashi was thinking—it was written all over his face. How can we train anyone to survive something that can destroy cities in a blink? It felt impossible, like trying to punch a hurricane or spit on a forest fire to put it out. Utterly futile.

"Kozen is going to do the Superhuman program," Rika said, her voice steady, but her insides churning.

Takashi slammed on the brakes, and the car screeched to a halt, throwing them both forward. "What?!" he yelled, his eyes wide with disbelief. He looked at Rika like she'd lost her mind.

Maybe I have, she thought. But she didn't say it out loud.

The superhuman program… Even just thinking about it sent a shiver down her spine. An old, abandoned project from the days of Unit 731, a relic of World War II that was designed to push humans beyond their limits—mentally, physically, in every possible way. It was supposed to make humans into something more, something stronger, but the cost… the cost was unimaginable.

Rika remembered the stories from the SAT police academy, how the seniors would prank the juniors by making them try snippets of that program. The ones who tried ended up in the emergency room, their bodies broken, their minds shattered. It was a joke—a cruel one—but a reminder of what happens when you push human beings too far.

"Are you trying to get Kozen killed?!" Takashi's voice broke, raw and angry. He looked at Rika like she was suggesting a death sentence. Maybe she was.

But what choice did they have? How do you train someone to fight against something that's beyond comprehension? You either break them until they become something stronger, or you watch them die.

Rika clenched her fists, nails digging into her palms. "I'm not trying to get him killed, Takashi," she said, her voice quiet but firm. "I'm trying to give him a fighting chance. Because right now, against what's out there, he has none."

Takashi's face softened, just a little, but the fear was still there. He's right to be afraid. I'm terrified too. But if we don't do this… if we don't at least try… then we've already lost Kozen. And I'm not ready to lose him. Not like this.

Rika took a deep breath, staring out the window as Takashi drove them toward the city. Her mind was racing, the pieces of the plan coming together in a way that felt like fate was giving them just enough time to prepare Kozen. It was October 8th, 2011—they had about three months before the world turned upside down, and if they were going to train Kozen to survive what was coming, there couldn't be any distractions. Her decision was already made.

"I'm quitting my job," she said, trying to sound more confident than she felt.

Takashi shot her a confused glance before he put it together. He knew the date as well as she did, and it didn't take him long to realize what she was saying. They couldn't afford any half-measures. They needed to be all in for Kozen, no matter the cost.

"So, do you want me to write our resignation letters?" he asked, a small smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. He knew Rika hated paperwork with a passion.

She shook her head, already picturing how this was going to play out. "No, you're going to stay in the SAT," she said firmly.

Takashi blinked, taking a second to catch up, then the realization dawned on him. They were going to need top-grade equipment to push Kozen through the superhuman program, and there was no way Rika could get her hands on that stuff without the SAT's resources. But an active SAT officer could. Takashi could. He understood that instantly, and he just nodded.

"Fine," he said, a resigned sigh slipping out, "for Kozen."

Rika nodded, grateful he didn't need any more convincing. But then he grinned that mischievous grin of his, the one that always seemed to pop up at the most inappropriate times.

"Rika?" 

"What?" she asked, already feeling the exasperation creep in.

"Well, is this your way of proposing to me?" he said, smirking wider.

She blinked, caught completely off guard. "Huh? What are you talking about?"

He chuckled. "Think about it. You're the stay-at-home mom, Kozen is the son, and I'm the dad that provides for you two," he said, putting on this ridiculously proud dad voice like he'd been rehearsing it.

"No," Rika said, deadpan, immediately bursting his bubble.

He gave her a mock-pout. "Oh, come on! So, I do everything a father does but get no benefits?" he said, feigning the world's greatest tragedy.

"Yes," she replied, completely straight-faced, and then they both started laughing. It was the kind of laugh that felt good, like they were grabbing onto the last bits of normalcy before the storm hit. It was a moment that made Rika forget, just for a second, about the apocalypse looming over them.

But then, as they pulled into Asahikawa, Takashi's face turned serious. "Rika, what about us?" he asked.

Rika knew what he meant. He wasn't talking about them as a couple—he was asking about their role in the apocalypse. What was going to happen to them when everything fell apart? The truth was, she'd already made peace with their part in this plan.

"Kamikaze on Shoko," she said, the words heavier than she expected. She'd accepted it already—the idea that they might die fighting him and the Doomsday cult. But if they could just take them down, if they could buy Kozen a little more time, a better chance in that broken world… then their lives would be a fair trade.

She tried to keep her face straight, but she couldn't help the small smile that crept up when Takashi didn't even hesitate. He was ready to stand beside her, to go down fighting. He didn't protest, didn't argue. He was just willing. Willing to die besides her.

"Takashi," Rika said, her voice softer than she intended.

"Yeah?" he answered, his eyes still on the road, but she could feel his attention fully on her.

Without overthinking it, she leaned over and gave him a light peck on the cheek. It was the first time she'd let herself be that vulnerable, that honest.

"Thanks for dying beside me," she said, and she could feel the tears in her eyes, blurring the edges of the world.

He gave a small, sad smile, shaking his head slightly. "I would rather live," he said. "I would rather have us kill Shoko and the cult and have a happily ever after."

Rika let out a shaky breath, brushing away the tears that had escaped. She didn't want to cry; not now, not when they still had work to do. But his words hit her somewhere deep, in that part of her heart she tried to lock away.

"Let's make that happen," she said, trying to put on a brave smile for him. "Okay?"

"Okay," he said, nodding, and at that moment, Rika knew. No matter what happened, they were in this together. Even if the world was going to end, they'd make damn sure that Kozen had a fighting chance. And if they were lucky—if they were very, very lucky—they might just get to see the other side of this apocalypse.