My youth story cannot be a knight war

Countless strange images flashed by like flowing lights in the blank world before his eyes. Kousaka Kyosuke sat stiffly on the hospital bed, his eyes wide open, almost popping out, with fine bloodshot crawling up the whites of his eyes.

"Well done... Kyousuke..."

The old man, wearing a police uniform and covered in blood, was lying on the ground. His pupils were almost dilated, but he smiled and stretched out his palm stained with his own blood to her, while his sister Kirino was crawling on his chest and crying loudly.

It was as if there was a hole in his heart, and a pain and sadness that seemed to tear his soul apart poured out from the hole, bringing with it endless despair and... hatred.

But before he could react, his father and sister, who were stained with blood, disappeared before his eyes and turned into something else.

"Long time no see, KUUGA!"

The mantis-like creature removed its paw from the bloody police officer's back, crossed its arms and spoke to itself, its voice filled with joy.

"Do you remember me? I'm—"

"Change! Transform!"

A cry filled with hatred rang out from his mouth, and the silver light that emanated from his waist illuminated the world before him. He rushed towards the figure in front of him, his red armor covering his raised fists...

Countless images appeared before his eyes and then disappeared at a rapid speed. Kyosuke Kousaka felt as if his brain was being inserted with a pair of red-hot iron pliers. The pain was so severe that it almost broke, but he could not utter a single scream. He could only passively endure the scenes that kept filling his mind.

And finally, with the arrival of a scene, the pain stopped, as it was replaced by a bone-chilling coldness.

The cold wind mixed with snow hit his body, and an unbelievable pain that far exceeded the previous one spread across his body. Blood spread out like a dazzling flower bed on the white ground.

In the wind and snow, laughter continued to ring out. The laughter was very happy and very innocent, just like a child who got candy.

"That's it! That's it!"

The voice was shouting loudly, and the extreme joy made the tone almost distorted. The child's laughter suddenly turned into the bloodthirsty thirst of a demon. The extreme contrast was creepy.

"Go on! Go on! Give me more pleasure!"

"KUUGA!"

A fist clenched by white claws suddenly approached rapidly in front of his eyes. As his vision went black, severe pain came again.

At the same time, it felt as if some dark emotion within him lost control, and as his willpower crumbled due to the pain, it gradually spread...

Finally, consciousness completely disappeared into the darkness.

"——!?"

Heavy breathing sounds were heard behind the curtain, and Kousaka Kyosuke suddenly regained consciousness. Cold sweat had soaked his hair completely without him noticing, and it stuck together like seaweed.

Without even the courage to take another look at the light curtain in front of him, Kyosuke Kousaka hurriedly lowered his head to look in front of him.

But the scene that came into his eyes almost made his heart stop.

A pair of hands, a pair of pitch-black hands covered with black armor and golden veins, replaced Kousaka Kyosuke's own hands.

But there was not even time for his pupils to contract, and in the blink of an eye, those hands turned back into the familiar arms. Under the school uniform shirt was bronze skin, and the fingerprints on the slightly rough fingers were clear.

All these scenes changed so quickly that he didn't even have time to react instinctively, but Kyosuke Kousaka couldn't think of it as his own illusion.

Everything he saw was so real, whether it was the arms, the image that had appeared in his mind before, or the emotions he felt...

That emotion, that is him, and that is not him.

——That was everything that "Kousaka Kyosuke" had ever felt.

"...Woo!"

The sense of incongruity that he had deliberately forgotten before came back at this moment like an undercurrent in the darkness. Kousaka Kyosuke hugged his head tightly with both hands, his eyes trembling violently. He felt that there was definitely something wrong with the world, otherwise why would all this be so abstract and absurd that it made people want to laugh.

Are you kidding me? In the future, won't I be a police officer? Haven't I always been the people's hero, fighting bravely to protect the lives of the citizens? Haven't I been the transformer of Kamen Rider GO and Kamen Rider G1? Isn't that all there is to it?

But why...I saw myself becoming Kuaga?

Kuuga, hasn't he always been Zaimokuza?

——【Codename: Kamen Rider Kuuga.】

——[Human body gender: male.]

——[Name: Kousaka Kyosuke.]

The image of the information that "Asahina Mikuru" had looked up before the light curtain appeared in his mind again, but this time Kyosuke Kousaka felt that the line of text at the bottom was so dazzling, especially his own name, which looked like it was written in blood, with dripping liquid flowing down along each stroke, and the remaining liquid outlined a "smile".

That was fate's extremely cruel sneer, mocking all those who thought they had escaped death, who would in the end be given double despair with interest, and black malice was rolling like thick ink.

Was the ending of all this destined from the very beginning?

Everything that happened before, our story in the future, everything that makes me, an outsider outside this story, feel a little warm, those smiles that have been protected...

Are all of them fake?

The huge feeling of terror was like a giant python climbing up from the soles of his feet along his body. Kyosuke Kousaka wrapped himself tightly in the quilt and shivered like a frightened child.

Everything is fake, nothing is real. Kyosuke Kousaka suddenly felt that the world had become like a deep well where no light could be seen, and he had always been at the bottom of the well, in darkness. It was only the light cast by the sun that was just facing the wellhead that gave him the illusion that he had actually been living in the light.

But now the sun has moved, so the original darkness has come over the sky, covering everything at the bottom of the well, and there is no longer a trace of light.

In the darkness, there were actually countless pairs of scarlet eyes staring at him. Some terrifying monsters were patiently waiting for the moment when the light shining on them would disappear, and then they would pounce on him and tear Kyosuke Kousaka into pieces.

The world is like this—

The dark aura that enveloped the body suddenly dissipated like mist, and a warm feeling came from between the fingers, as if someone was holding his hand.

Kyosuke Kousaka, who was shivering, was stunned. He slowly raised his head and looked in the direction where the warmth came from.

The ominous black figure had disappeared without a trace in the light curtain, replaced by another back.

The white-haired young man faced the sun sinking towards the end of the sea. His transparent hair reflected an orange-red glow under the light, and the corners of his windbreaker swayed in the wind.

The lines around his entire body were glowing with golden red light in the setting sun. In the gradually darkening world, he was like a burning human-shaped torch, illuminating the world before the light disappeared.

It was incredible. Even though I was just looking at the back of this figure, the terrifying feeling that was cold enough to freeze the soul began to melt away like ice and snow in the warm weather, and my cold body gradually warmed up.

He stood alone in the front, his thin and slender body seemed like a high wall that blocked everything, becoming an insurmountable chasm of darkness. Malice surged like a tide but could only turn into bubbling white foam at his feet and then rolled back, unable to be crossed.

Kyosuke Kousaka stared at his back in a daze, the darkness in his heart disappeared unconsciously, and he blurted out subconsciously.

"Zaimokuza?"

……

A familiar yet unfamiliar voice called out from behind. Zaimokuza, who was facing the sea and silent as a stone sculpture, was slightly startled and turned to look behind him.

Countless sirens of police cars have arrived at the edge of the coast, and armed police officers are getting out of the cars one by one. A young man in a black windbreaker has just opened the door of the police car in the front. Under the windbreaker, he is wearing a hospital gown and bandages all over his body.

Looking at the young man getting off the bus, Zaimokuza's eyes were a little dazed and he muttered.

"...Mr. Kosaka?"

salsa——

The sea breeze swept past, drowning out his voice and doubts.

Although no one knows it, the story has already begun.

Whether in the past or the future.

20. Irresistible Fate (4K)

【Fukushima Prefecture, Fukushima City, Medical University Hospital. 】

【09:23 PM】

With the killing of Go-Jaraji-Da, Unidentified Lifeform No. 33, a nightmare day finally came to an end for everyone involved in this incident, both the victims and the police.

[…However, the pain that No. 33 left in people could not end with its death, just like its meaningless life.]

It was already late at night, but the hospital was still brightly lit. Countless people were running around inside. From outside, one could vaguely see blood strewn throughout the hospital corridors through the windows. That was Jaraji's "masterpiece" left behind during the attack.

In the hospital's open-air atrium, the color of the pool has faded from bright red to black over time. A strong, fishy odor permeates the area, creating a sense of being in a slaughterhouse.

[Kousaka Kyousuke had already changed out of his hospital gown and back into his usual suit and windbreaker outfit. He stood there expressionlessly, his face still bandaged. The dim light from the atrium cast a marble-like texture on his face.]

"The above is the list of police officers killed in this incident. They are Inspector Muto, Inspector Odagiri, and Uesugi..."

A police officer standing nearby held a roster. With each sentence, he crossed out a name with a red pen. The dripping red stroke was like a bloody blade, erasing the life that each name represented.

[Kousaka Kyosuke just listened quietly, without any reaction, his face like a solidified mask.]

[Until the last name was called out by the police officer, he gently closed his eyes.]

["...Sugita Police Department."]

After crossing a red line through the last name, "Sugita Morimichi," the officer closed the roster and saluted Kousaka Kyousuke with a heavy face.

"Seventeen killed, four seriously wounded, no minor injuries. Report complete."

[“…I understand. You can go down.”]

The police officer bowed and turned to leave. Kousaka Kyosuke opened his eyes, revealing a pair of eyes that were no longer firm but extremely tired.

[He looked at the scene in the courtyard ahead, speechless.]

[On the floor of the front courtyard, seventeen white body bags were arranged in three rows, filling almost all the space.]

Many police officers were gathered around the body bags. The atmosphere was solemn and gloomy. The faint sobbing of a female officer could be heard. It was likely that the deceased officers' relatives were among them.

【Just like Kousaka Kyosuke. 】

[Kousaka Kyosuke quietly walked past his colleagues who were half-kneeling on the ground, pounding their fists or sobbing, and came to a body bag placed in a corner, half-crouching down.]

【“…”】

[Looking at the body bag before him, its surface stained red by the blood that seeped through it, he remained silent. He reached out and slowly unzipped the top of the bag.]

A pale, colorless face appeared before him, still stained with blood. Sugita Morimichi lay quietly in a body bag, his eyes bulging and his pupils sluggish and lifeless.

Even though he already knew the outcome, when he actually saw the corpse of someone he knew appear before his eyes, Kousaka Kyosuke still silently clenched his teeth and clenched his left hand into a fist.

"…I'm sorry, Uncle Tsuneo."

Intense pain and guilt welled up from the depths of his heart. Kousaka Kyosuke placed his palms on Sugita Morimichi's open eyes, slowly stroking them downwards and closing them.

He didn't even dare to zip it down any further, because No. 33's attack had completely pierced Sugita Morimichi's chest like a hornet's nest. When the aftermath personnel lowered his body from the blade-covered ceiling, the scene was so horrific and bloody that many of those with weaker endurance vomited on the spot. The exterior of the corpse was simply horrific.

The ancient saying "a thousand arrows piercing the heart" probably refers to this scene.

The only slight consolation he could find was that despite such a horrific injury, Sugita Morimichi felt pain for a very short time, so short that he lost his life before he even realized what had happened, thus avoiding the need to fully experience that inhuman pain.

Kousaka Kyosuke's gaze suddenly paused as he noticed the corner of a black leather jacket peeking out from the collar of Sugida Morimichi's suit. Judging from its position, the leather armor was originally meant to be placed on the left side of his chest, but when the blade pierced his heart, it was squeezed out due to the angle.

[The outstretched hand hesitated for a second before it touched the wallet. Then it pinched the corner of the wallet. A sticky feeling came from between the fingers. It was the blood that had turned sticky and black.]

[Kousaka Kyosuke held the wallet and slowly opened it. What appeared after the wallet was opened made him fall into a silence far deeper than before.]

[Inside the wallet was a carefully cropped photograph. Half of it was already stained red with Sugita Morimichi's own blood, but the scenery in the photo could still be clearly seen.]

A pretty woman in home clothes holds a little girl in a kindergarten uniform. A smile graces her pretty face, and her eyes, gazing at the camera, are filled with love. The little girl, waving a small red flag in one hand, chocolate sauce still smeared on her lips, also smiles broadly towards the front of the photo.

[Obviously, the person who took this photo is someone they both cherish, otherwise they wouldn't show such an expression.]

[But now the person they all cherished is gone, and the little girl's smiling face in the photo is half stained with blood, and can never be restored to its original state.]

What does it feel like to lose a loved one? Kousaka Kyosuke knows it well, better than anyone present. It's a memory he never wants to recall. Every time he recalls it, he feels like his heart is being bitten by sharp teeth.

The wallet crackled under the force of his fingers, and Kousaka Kyousuke lowered his head. For the first time, he felt what fear was.

How should I tell them this cruel truth? Should I just tell the mother and daughter in the photo, with their bright smiles, that their husbands and fathers are gone?

[The reason? He died honorably while protecting the people? And rest assured, your lives will be taken care of by a dedicated team from the Metropolitan Police Department.]

[Years ago, the negotiation expert, wiping the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief, came to their family and said something similar, and Kousaka Kyosuke responded by punching him and breaking his nose.]

Then he let the negotiator lie on the ground, clutching his bleeding nose and wailing. After settling his sister and mother, who had fainted from crying, he handled all subsequent matters himself, his expression impassive throughout, as if he had grown up overnight.

[And the once weak Kousaka Kyosuke also died overnight, leaving behind another strong man of the same name. ]

[But this kind of growing up is truly brutal, like having your bones and flesh shattered and then roughly reassembled like building blocks. Only the person involved knows the feeling.]

【"Um?"】

Kousaka Kyosuke suddenly sensed something was wrong. The feel from under the photo didn't match the thickness of the wallet. Could there be something else underneath this photo?

[His fingers flicked the side pages of the photo, revealing the edge of another photo with a different view beneath the blood-stained one. Kousaka Kyosuke pulled out the photo that was pressed underneath.]

【“…”】