He looked at Howard a moment before offering, "Honestly, I don't think dying will be very painful for me. And after I'm dead, I guess I won't really care about anything."

That wasn't quite true, though. Not any more. He'd regret dying now, beyond the sort of mild, cerebral acknowledgement with which he regarded the prospect before. Zouichi had guarded himself rather carefully against forming attachments or getting used to the people around him. But he hadn't been wholly successful in staving them off, had he?