Resurrection Requiem (2)

The morning after the events at Sakuragami Academy, the media reported the news with an air of relief. On the very morning of his arrest, the alleged culprit had been arrested and tried in an urgent trial. The city breathed a sigh of relief after the trial of the alleged perpetrator of all the murders of the past few weeks.

“Welcome and thanks for tuning into Sakurashi City’s local news channel to keep updated on local happenings in our beautiful town.”

“Last night, there was a failed mass murder attempt at Sakuragami Academy. The culprit for the student murders in recent weeks is attributed to the case inspector, Yamazaki. Statements from the students claim that he was the one who drugged them, tied them up, and fractured their faces with punches. He came to school a lot to question the girls. We saw him searching through our gym bags while sucking on a lollipop. Yuck. Among the seriously injured were students with multiple facial fractures and one stabbing victim. Fortunately, no deaths have been accounted for. However, police fear that a young student, Butagami Oshino, was an accomplice of Mr. Yamazaki. He is currently missing. This is the photo of the alleged fugitive. If you have any information, please call the number on the screen.”

8 months and 3 weeks after Butagami’s disappearance

Hello!!! I’m very happy to be here again!! It’s me!! The narrator of the story!! Well. You can call me Koezaki if you want. Anyway!! Since I’m here, that means that Chizaki, or Yamazaki, is still alive!! But you must have deduced it by yourself. Anyway, I’m here to introduce the next and final scenes!! Ejem, ejem… 8 months and 3 weeks after Butagami’s disappearance, an unknown, yet familiar man walks into Sakurashi police department.

*Murmur… Whispers…*

“Look!! Isn’t that…???”

“Yes, he is…”

*Mumble*

“But didn’t he quit 6 years ago? I remember him being extremely mad!

“I heard that he personally asked to work here again after what happened with Yamazaki-san…”

*FIERCE STARE*

Hm!! I see that things haven’t changed since high school. You can talk behind my back all you want.

*Step, step, step…*

“Oooh!! Good to see you back here. It was a surprise to know that you were being transferred here again. Since Yamazaki had to retire, we were short on detective personnel. Along with Yamazaki, you were our best detective back then when you left us.”

“Enough chit-chat, chief. Where is he… No. Where are they?”

*SERIOUS STARE*

“Follow me.”

…

…

*Step, step, step…*

“We have him locked into a high-resistance tempered glass prison. He’s also locked with heavy chains that weigh a couple of tons. I’m unsure about why, but his strength is inhuman.

*Stop*

“Here he is. Top security prisoner, Yamazaki.”

*EPIC PANORAMIC VIEW*

The aesthetic white color of this wide room sends synaptic waves into the brain of the imprisoned person in order to keep him submissive. If I stay here for too long, I might lose even the ability to walk. “Thanks. From here on, I will take care of the detective unit of Sakurashi police. You can leave me alone with him, chief.”

“As you say. After all, you are now the current best detective in Japan. See you again after you end here.”

*Grab chair*

*Sit down*

“Well, well, well… You finally came back to me...”

*MENACING STARE*

*COUNTER FIERCE STARE*

“... Matsuo-kun.”

“I’m back again, Yamazaki-san. Or what should I call you?”

“He!!! So you knew after all.”

“Yeah. After I resigned because you gave up solving the dismembering homicide 6 years ago, I stumbled upon 16 strange books that spoke about a so-called Syndrome that made people resurrect. At first, I laughed and thought that it was just fantasy. But after a year, I realized something. I became obsessed with it and began spying on you for the last 5 years. Yamazaki-san never seemed to care about it. He almost seemed like he wasn’t unaware of me. But I know he was very conscious.”

“Yeah, he was.”

“I investigated your past and I found that you changed your name. I couldn't find what your original name was nor your family. Every document before that was missing.”

“It was the old Yamazaki who did all of that, 40 years ago.”

“Then. Who are you? Who am I speaking with?”

“I’m the main personality of this body. If you prefer, I’m the first one to be in this body. Yamazaki was the first one to resurrect in me when I was 11. Five years later, another 13 personalities resurrected at once inside me. A poet, a detective, a blood kink psychopath, a pedo rapist, an extremely religious woman, a little girl who loves pandas… and other 8 personalities live inside my mind. All of them came from the same era, 500 years ago, after they confessed their crimes before the Sakuragami goddess. All of them are blood related to me. All of them have something they want to do before leaving our world forever. I’m a mere vessel for them to achieve their dreams. But there’s one inside me that is very powerful, much more powerful than the one that came out 8 months ago at the high school. It's someone that comes out when it wants to. There's no way to keep it under control. The fact that it hasn't come out in 40 years has not been because Yamazaki had it under control, but because it didn't need to come out. But I fear that in a few years, this may change. You need to kill me now! My name is..."

*Desperate sad stare*

“…Kaizaki!!”

“I see. So your real name is the same as my new subordinate’s. Tell me everything you know.”

“The culprit is… Butagami Oshino. Yamazaki knew it all along.”

“May I call you Butagami?”

“But old Yamazaki is hiding something from us all.”

“Why did you place fake microphones?”

…

“Let's stay here. We don’t have enough evidence to detain them.”

“So Yamazaki knew who the murderer was and did nothing. He let him continue his rampage until he completely disappeared without a trace.”

“That's what he told us. But there was something strange. He seemed obsessed with a girl. Be careful from now on, Matsuo. There’s a blonde girl whose name is unknown to us. Old Yamazaki was helping her in secret, but he managed to hide her name from me and my other personalities, except from two of them. All that I know is that he placed a lollipop behind a furniture.”

“How does that make any sense at all??”

“I don’t have all the details, but they were planning something dangerous, not only for Sakuragami Syndrome victims, but for all in this city. You should come back again to ask him when he awakes again.”

****

“ATCHUSS!!!!” OUCH!!! My bones haven't healed yet from Yamazaki-san’s punch. Did I catch a cold?? Aaaahh… Today is the day when the new inspector arrives. I don’t want to make a bad first impression!!

“Anko ice-cream!! We have anko ice-cream!!”

I hope that Yamazaki-san is not hurt, wherever he is. “One plwish!!

“Coming!”

****

Back at Butagami’s home, a mature female picked up a pile of letters that had accumulated in her mailbox before entering the house.

*CLICK, CLACK*

*CREAK*

“Butagamiii!!! We are home, sweetie!! Sorry for leaving so suddenly without warning you, but with a note!! Your father and I had the best vacations of our lives!!”

…

…

Mmh?? Isn’t he at home?? Sigh… I’m sure he’s upset at us for leaving him for 9 months. The post box was full of strange letters too. Let’s see where those are from…

*Rash*

*Dear Oshino family.

We tried to reach you for the 68th time this month. We still couldn’t find the whereabouts of your son, Butagami Oshino. As you already know, we are aware of you being on vacation abroad. Sadly, we can’t communicate with you until you come back to Japan.

Ignore the rest of the letters and come to the police station as soon as you come back home.

Sincerely, Sakurashi City Police.*

*SHOCKED FACE*

"It... can’t be…!!! My Butagami..."

****

At that very moment, in Sakurashi City Hospital, a young woman was alone in a delivery room. As she was dilating in solitude and preparing to give birth, a voice inside her began to speak to her.

“Hey!! Manami!! Do you hear me?? What is this pain?? Why can’t I see or hear what is happening outside??!! What did you do to me??!!!”

*What do you want, Manamichi? I’m busy right now.*

“I’m the main personality!! You made me sleep since the police rescued me from that skull-crusher psychopath!! All I remember is that you let me live with Butagami for 4 days, and all of a sudden I was tied up with other students!! Where’s Butagami?? What did you do to him??”

*I’m sorry, Manamichi. But Butagami is already dead <3*

*Happy smile*

“Wha… he… died… no… HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE??? YOU PROMISED THAT YOU WOULD PROTECT HIM WHILE YOU WERE IN CONTROL!!!”

*It's a pity. But now he is gone forever, so it is your ability to control your body <3*

“So… You’ve been lying to me… What the hell have you been doing with my body?? What happened on the school trip?? What happened on your night date at school??”

*I will explain everything to you. Consider it a farewell gift. We’ve been very good friends for the last 5 years <3 But now, you are about to be engulfed into the deepest abism of your own brain. I won't kill again, and you won’t ever see your dear and deceased Butagami ever again <3*

“What happened the day you took control over our body for the first time after 5 years? After I found that injured student?”

*I killed him.*

“So that’s why you gained more control… using one of your [Trigger Factors].”

*Good thing I waited 500 years to resurrect in your body <3 My original one had exactly the same shape as yours, so no one noticed it. The only difference was the color of our hair. So it was easy to fool everyone with a simple wig <3 And I also had the opportunity to meet an old friend. After that, I started a mastermind plan to fool Butagami to achieve my desired dream <3*

“Explain it to me!!”

*To put it simply… I made Butagami think you were me and I was you <3 But in reality, it was me all along.*

“That you did what?!?! How?!?!!”

*First, I sent him a fake love letter. I needed to make him think that you, the main personality, were a psychopath <3 For it, I killed a student that pretended to take advantage of him in front of his very eyes. After that, I lived with him for 3 days. There, I build your supposed personality with my own. Then I prepared for the school trip where I would kill those stupid bitches who took the role of Juliet. They didn’t want to hurt Butagami, but they annoyed me. There was where I made up a show to fool the police behind me. I threatened the owner of the hostel and forced a homeless man to take responsibility for the murderers. He wanted to touch your body in exchange, but he never had the chance <3 Slowly, I tricked Butagami to think you were a psychopath <3* Even though he never really spoke with you!! *I also did a little act at the edge of a cliff to steal your dear Butagami’s first kiss <3 Just imagine, I made him think that strawberries were your [Trigger Factor] when it is mine, hahahaha!! After revealing to him that I had a double personality, I made him think that I needed help to stop you from making a slaughter. After the school trip, I let you take control to live with… Butagami <3* That’s a lie, but you’ll never know <3

“Why couldn’t I see anything you just said??”

*Oh!! That’s because seeing hope fly away from my victims’ eyes is way more powerful than your shitty love trigger <3 I controlled your body until I let you out, as I promised you <3*

“When you allowed me to live with Butagami after the school trip, there were times when I lost consciousness. It was you, wasn't it? What did you do?”

*I was just preparing the massacre of our classmates <3*

“Massacre??!!?”

*Don't worry about them. They wanted to mass bully Butagami. But I managed to stop them, not like you. But the plan went perfectly since Butagami died, and Yamazaki was charged with all the murders. There were a couple of casualties, but nothing important. Even if we had killed them all, my plan would still have gone ahead <3 I fooled Butagami into thinking that you were the psychopath personality of us two. I acted like I had taken control over your body and threw my wig without him noticing it. Then, I told him how your parents treated you so he could feel sorry for you <3 I had to tell him the truth about who killed your parents, but it was all planned. I also told him how you stalked him. You should have seen his face!! He thought you were crazy, even if your intentions were to help him get out of a bullying lifestyle. I told him that we were both in love with him and were in a fair love battle for his love, hahahahaha. After confessing all that, the first part of my plan was completed. I managed to make him think he was the cause of every murder and I was the one suffering trying to stop the slaughter you supposedly prepared <3*

“So the only moment I really spent with Butagami was the 4 days between the school trip and the night of your planned massacre. You did all the other things Butagami saw!! You made him think that I was you, but you were just acting to achieve your ambitious plan.” This is strange… the time I spent living with Butagami, he didn’t mention anything about that…

*Exactly <3*

“You told him how my parents treated me before you appeared. You also told him that I stalked him without mentioning the real reason. You made him think that he was helping you to defeat me.” That may be why Butagami acted like that while I lived with him… “And finally, you lied to him, telling him that we were fighting for his love when you were not interested in him!!”

*You are mistaken, Manamichi <3 I was interested in him. I needed to use him in order for my plan to come true. I completely destroyed his mind with those last words and confessions. That’s why Butagami decided to take his life before helping an assassin like you. He died despising you <3*

*Happy smile*

“You lied to me… You said that Butagami came to you searching for help after he killed his bullies!! I could tell from the way he spoke to me while I lived with him, that he was very upset. What happened to our promise???!?! I was your only friend!!! Don’t you have a conscience??!?”

*Nope <3*

*Lovely smile*

“I'm the original!! You can't bury me!! You can't make me sleep!!”

*I wonder... You’ve been in control for the last 2 years because of your stupid [Trigger Factor]. Now that you can’t protect the man you love, you can't use it <3*

“I did everything I could to help him!! He was the only one who wasn’t speaking badly about me!! I owe him for giving me the strength to prevent you from controlling my body!!”

*You are the only one responsible for his death. You saw him the day Butagami killed Sasaki. You limited yourself to follow him everywhere to gather evidence about him being bullied, but you did nothing to help. You doomed him to kill them. He had no other choice but to commit suicide to pay for his sins and clean his soul <3*

“I don’t… It wasn’t my fault!!”

*MENTAL SPACE CRUMBLING*

“The police will stop you, Manami!!”

*The police?? Don’t worry about that. I have a really good friend there who obeys to everything I command him to do <3*

“Don’t tell me that you and… WAIT!! You barely explained anything!! All you did was tell me what you did, but I still have a lot to ask!!”

*I’m so sorry <3 But your time is almost over. I guess you will never have your questions answered. You lose, pathetic host. This is my victory. See you never again.*

*EMOTIONLESS FACE*

*Free fall into total darkness*

“NOOOOOOooooo….!!!!!”

*Vanish…*

…

…

Poor Manamichi… You had bad luck to have me resurrected in your body. You did not have the opportunity to know that your dear Butagami was also suffering from Sakuragami syndrome. He never get to know the real you. I feel so sorry for you… Joking <3

“Congratulations, Manami-san. She's a precious girl!! Here, it’s important for the newborns to feel the arms of their mother.”

"MUAAAAAAAAHHH!!! Muaaah… m…"

*Gentle grab*

“Look at her. She’s such a good girl. Look at how calm she is in the arms of her mother. Then, what name did you have in mind for her??”

*Precious peaceful smile*

*Her name is Kira. Kira Manami.*

“I see. Remember, since you are still underage, you have the right to ask for the government to take care of your daughter until you are capable of maintaining her.”

*No. I will take care of her by myself.*

Butagami… You disappeared that night. I don’t know if you ran away or if you killed yourself somewhere. But if you ever come back again, the Manami-sama you adored for the last 2 years will long be dead inside of me. My plan was a success because I didn’t tell you all the truth. I had to use you to achieve my final goal. I don’t want to make the Sakuragami Syndrome disappear… This is not the end of my plan. This is just the beginning. What I really want to do with the syndrome and with that little goddess is…

*Loving mother eyes*

*She’s the one who will bring peace to everyone's lives.*

… to destroy them and become the next goddess <3

-The end-

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-NOT YET!!!-

****

15 years later

*Murmur*

“Look… she’s still coming after yesterday’s banner.”

*Whispers*

"I heard she cried again while eating her bento alone at the toilet!"

“Ssshhh!! She’s going to hear us!!”

I can hear you… I have perfect hearing thanks to my genetics.

Yo!! My name is Kira Manami. I’m a 15-year-old girl who studies at Sakuragami academy. I live in Sakurashi City, with my single mother in a discrete apartment. She’s kind, gorgeous, strong, and a lovely mother who loves to eat strawberries. Despite having inherited my mom’s beauty and body, I have no friends, and I’m not popular at all. Since I was a kid, I was marginalized by other kids because my father abandoned my mother when he impregnated her when she was just 16 years old. She had to work at nightclubs as soon as she turned 18 to pay for my food, clothes, and education. I have also been bullied for that. When I was in elementary school, I didn’t care about those kinds of comments from immature kids. But since I started studying here, my levels of depression, stress, and anxiety have risen dramatically every day I spend here. I should be grateful to not receive physical bullying. The girls and boys from my high school only talk on my back or steal my shoes once in a while. Sometimes I dream that I kick them in the head until their neck creaks. I don’t know why, but that relieves my stress. Anyone in my situation would dream about having that ideal school-life portrayed in the manga. But that’s not me. My dream is to find my father and kick his mouth until he apologizes for leaving my mother alone!!! I wont ever forgive him for abandoning not me, but my mother!! I swear to God!! The moment I have him in front of me, I will smack his face!!!

-The end-

…

-For now-