Those Who Fail to Learn History

Kagamiyama

"Maria, wait!" Reiko called out to her daughter. Her daughter failed to listen, as she approached her scooter. Horror flashed in front of her eyes, foreseeing a repeat of history. She had to interfere, she can't lose her only daughter. She discreetly climbed on her motorcycle, timing her engine start with the other two.

"3, 2, 1, Go!" a biker shouted.

"Wait, where is that lady going?" another biker shouted.

"EH? Is she trying to run interference?" said another. Reiko throttled her engine to speed up for the intercept.

"What are you doing?" Maria thought in her head as she witness her mom stopping a few meters from the cliff.

"Tch" Kisa cursed as she slammed on her breaks and skid on her side.

"Hmph, looks I win" Maria smirked as she watched Kisa chicken out, "Oh Crap!" Instinctively, she swerved to avoid crashing into her mother while slamming on her breaks at the same time.

Crash!

However, Maria still drove over the edge of cliff and plummeted into the tree line.

"Maria!" Reiko cried in horror as she watch a ball of fire burst up.

Base of the Cliff

Maria blinked, her vision blurred a bit. Where was she?

"You have a lot of guts" a female voice called out, "Though you clearly don't listen to wisdom."

Maria struggled to find the source of the voice until she spotted a blonde woman standing over her.

"It's...you" Maria said in a weak voice. She was in a lot of pain and it was difficult to stay conscious. Was she dying?

"Yes, it's me" she answered, "I'm normally wouldn't introduce myself, but the name is Saki Nikaido."

"Saki...Nikaido" Maria said, "Where have I heard that name?"

"I was once the kamikaze squad leader of Dorami, until my untimely death from a race" Saki answered, "It seems like you suffered a similar fate."

"But I am alive...and so are you" Maria countered.

"I said the same thing after my accident" Saki sighed, "Then I blacked out until I came back as a zombie this year."

"Z-zombie?" Maria questioned. She noticing she was getting weaker by the second...she was dying. With a sigh, Saki removed her head from her shoulders and whistled as a demonstration.

"How?" Maria whispered.

"I don't know" Saki stated as she put her head back on.

"So...did you know my mother" Maria asked. Her vision was fading, she knew she had little time left.

"She was my best friend. She had a lot of guts" Saki answered. She balled her hand in a fist, as she could tell the girl was in her final moments.

"I see" Maria whispered, "Tell her I am sorry." Maria closed her eyes as the last of her lifespan escaped. For a minute, there was silence between the late Maria and actively late Saki before Saki threw a punch into a tree.

"Dammit" Saki caused, "I was too late to prevent this!" Tears rolled down her face, unable prevent the tragedy from occurring.

"You can't be to hard on yourself, Saki" a male voiced said, "The window was rather narrow."

"Shades, what are you doing here?" Saki turned around.

"To keep an eye out" Kotaro admitted, "And now to do my real job, usher her soul."

"Usher her soul?" Saki blinked, "So, you're not just an obnoxious manager?"

"No, I am actually a shinigami tasked with ushering souls into limbo, where their afterlife is determined" Kotaro admitted.

"Heh?!" Saki gasped, "But wait, can't you just raise her into a zombie?"

"No, I can't" Kotaro sighed, "For one, her death is too fresh and it would expose the existence of zombies. And two, my boss determined that you and the rest of girls of Franchouchou would be zombie idols. It's up to them to decide if that would be her afterlife as well."

"What this...about an afterlife?" a downtrodden woman asked. Both Saki and Kotaro nearly jumped at the voice, knowing who was speaking.

"I'm sorry" Kotaro turned around, "I didn't hear you coming, Miss..."

"Reiko Amabuki" Reiko answered, "And two are..."

"My name is Tatsumi Kotarou, manager of Franchouchou" Kotaro answered, "And this is the leader of Franchouchou, Number 2."

"..." Reiko frowned, "You were talking about my daughter's afterlife...who are you really?"

"Can you keep a secret, Miss Amabuki?" Kotaro asked with a soft tone.

"...That depends" Reiko answered.

"Tatsumi Kotarou is my real name and I am actually Franchouchou's manager, but I am also a shinigami" Kotarou answered.

"It's been a long time since we've last rode together...boss" Saki answered.

"Saki..." Reiko muttered. A tear rolled down her face.

"Yes, it's me" Saki gave a sad smile, "Back from the dead, since apparently that's my fated afterlife."

"So...you're a zombie...idol now?" Reiko pieced together. If this conversation wasn't happening under the shadow of her daughter's death, she might of laughed.

"Yes" Saki answered. Suddenly, she felt a fist in her face.

"That's for leaving me twenty-one years ago" Reiko shouted, "I can't believe you didn't break after you had already won."

"I had that coming" Saki thought.

"What are you doing here anyway?" Reiko asked.

"Idol stuff" Saki answered, "I ran across your daughter a few days ago when she and her crew met with my fellow idols. I tried to interfere, knowing that she was going to be involved in a race. I was late today."

There was a moment of silence until Reiko broke down in tears.

"First I lose my best friend and now I fail to save my daughter" Reiko mumbled, "Was Maria right?"

"You just sucker punched me in the face" Saki said, "You still have a lot of guts. You were also right to change from your biker days."

"I still should've been sterner with her" Reiko answered.

"She told me she was sorry right before passing away" Saki answered, "Actually, I should be sorry too."

"...I forgive both of you" Reiko answered after a pause.

"So what happens now?" Saki spoke up.

"Time to move forward" Kotaro answered, "Miss Amabuki, is there anything we can do for you?"

"Some private time with Saki" Reiko answered, "She's was my support through thick and thin."

"Alright" Kotaro nodded, "Here's the address to our headquarters. You may come when ready."

"Today" Reiko answered.

"Alright" Kotaro understood, "Emergency services shall be here soon. Saki, you stay with your old boss until I complete my job." Saki nodded in agreement, leaving the two women to talk and grieve at repeated history.

A/N: This was a what if scenario had Saki not made it in time to interfere.