Chapter 17: Ethereal [Finale]

"I hereby trial you for murder. You will be tried as an adult... Yuuto Sakurai! The evidence clearly shows you murdering everyone in cold blood!"

The crowd roared. No one stood by his side.

"Life in prison. May you rot and die there like the scum you are!" the judge declared, smashing his hammer against the wooden table.

He was cuffed and tossed into a jail cell.

His assaulters were hailed as martyrs, and he became a cautionary tale—a psychopath who went on a killing spree, as the school twisted the evidence to suit their narrative.

"You lost, Yuuto Sakurai..."

He lowered his head silently, his white beard and hair glistening in the night as he slowly died in his cell.

"You..."

"...lost."

His eyes opened.

He didn't panic. He didn't speak. He didn't snap. He simply breathed in and out, rhythmically.

It was daytime. Sunlight spilled through the curtains.

His vision was blurred. For a moment, he wondered if he actually needed real glasses instead of the fake ones, since the haze didn't fade for several long minutes.

After about an hour, his sight began to clear—but by then, he had already assumed where he was.

'A hospital...? I... lived?' he thought as his mind gradually pieced things together.

'I can't feel my legs...' He looked down. His feet were buried beneath a white blanket. He tried to move them.

Nothing happened.

His gaze snapped to his arms—those, he could feel. The first thing he noticed was that they weren't bound or cuffed to the bed. One arm had an IV line running into it, the bag hanging above him.

His head pounded.

'...Alright... Good so far... It's noon, so it's... safe to say it's been more than a day since then...' He recalled his bleeding form collapsing onto the police officer.

He looked to the side. A small remote lay within reach. Ahead of him was a television. He glanced around, searching for his phone.

Nowhere.

'...I'd rather not call a nurse before I make an educated guess... I'll turn on the television. Something as brutal as what I've done is sure to be broadcasted.' He grabbed the remote and turned the TV on.

[SUNNY DAY HERE AT SAKURA CITY! We're looking at a nice weekend ahead of us, and…]

'Not interesting... Maybe another news channel?'

He switched it.

[BREAKING NEWS:]

'Here we are...'

[A child was lost for one whole day in the suicide forest before being found by the police. The child was horrified, having discovered the hanged corpses around that area. Psychiatrists are worried that—]

'I mean... what? No way my case wasn't front page. Beaten by this sob story...?!' He furrowed his brows and flipped through more channels.

None mentioned him.

'Fuck... FUCK... Did they bury it after all...?!'

Another channel. Then back to the first news station.

[—Thank you once more to the weather-cast! We're looking at a very sunny May this year, and—]

His eyes widened.

'...May? No... Wait. It was still November when I killed that guy and got shot...'

'Fuck... I've been asleep for over six months?!'

'SHIT... SHIT..! I need to know what happened..!! Who knows what truth they've twisted? What lies they fed everyone? Fuck... it's not safe for me here...' His breath hitched as his eyes darted around the room.

Then he saw it—sitting neatly on the windowsill. A phone. Not his.

He reached for it, hands shaking. It was unlocked.

'Probably a nurse's... whatever.' He didn't care. He barely noticed the wallpaper as he dove into the search engine, his fingers fumbling over the keyboard.

He typed the name of his school.

"...?"

[Local School SHUTS DOWN After a Student Gets Wrongfully Shot]

"..."

His breath caught in his throat as he read the next headline.

[Bullied Student Shot by Police After Standing Up for Himself — "HE'S THE MURDERER!! SHOOT HIM!" a Teacher Shamefully Shouts Despite Knowing the Truth]

[Student Fights Valiantly to Protect Himself from Brutal Bullies…]

["I'mma Baseball your ass" — once shouted by a bullied student before choosing to fight back, the phrase has now become a national symbol of resistance against oppression.]

[Teacher Screams MURDER at a Bleeding Student While Police Open Fire]

["I defended myself. I was alone. I'm innocent. You saw me give him the recording, right...?" — Bullied student's final words before falling into a coma. The nation mourns a system's failure.]

He scrolled down, now on social media forums. His heart pounded harder.

Guest4$2

To think a kid has to carry a recording just to prove he's not a killer… fucking shameful.[914 LIKES]

Samakandt101

I saw the leaked police bodycam footage. Shit was awful... He fucking begged while drowning in his blood to make sure EVERYONE saw that he handed the recording to the officer.[1.3K LIKES]

EuhHASeo

Isn't he still in a coma????? Holy shit, those teachers should fucking kill themselves. I heard one of them was a closeted pedo too.[879 LIKES]

TruthSeeker21

That teacher yelled "murderer" knowing damn well he was innocent. Fire isn't enough. I want arrests.[1.1K LIKES]

NoMercy88

The cops didn't ask a single question. Just drew their gun and pulled the trigger. America? Nah, this was here. Fucking terrifying. Fortunate for them, he wasn't using his bat to baseball their asses too. Fucking legend.[532 LIKES]

KyraDusk

He was bleeding. Literally BLEEDING. And the staff still chose the bullies' side. I hope every adult in that school never works again. Baseball their fucking futures.[998 LIKES]

ChocoSinner

Those bullies wore masks to avoid punishment. That's premeditated. But HE'S the one who gets shot? Are you joking??[1.4K LIKES]

CursedByFacts

Burn the whole institution down. You don't "accidentally" shoot a kid handing over evidence. That was execution by narrative.[1.7K LIKES]

GuestPoV707

He didn't lose it. He defended himself. They lost it when they let a bunch of monsters beat a kid half to death. HE DID FUCKING GOOD BASEBALLING THEIR ASSES. BASEBALL THEIR ASSES ALL THE WAYYYYYYYYY!!!!![1.9K LIKES]

SharpGlare

Fuck the school. Fuck the teachers. Fuck the police. Every adult failed him. And now they wanna act shocked? Cowards. BASEBALL THEIR ASSES TOO![1.2K LIKES]

DeadKonjoAirRadio

I hope he wakes up and sues the living shit out of everyone. And I mean everyone. School, police, media—clean fucking sweep. They need to have their asses BASEBALLED.[1.6K LIKES]

Guest124

I feel so sorry for his mom. Imagine getting a call saying your kid was shot over a lie.[1.3K LIKES]

h... hah... Yuuto let out a shaky breath as the phone slipped from his hand and hit the bed. He slumped back into the pillow, eyes wide, chest rising.

'I... I did it...' he thought, his breath still shallow as he closed his eyes for a moment.

But peace never came.

'Right... this world. Of course I can't calm down.' He swallowed hard and lay still.

Then—he heard it. A soft, quivering breath from the other side of the room.

He turned his head slowly. A figure stood there.

His mother. Alone.

Her eyes widened, face pale, hands covering her mouth as she struggled to breathe.

"My baby... Y-You're... Ahhh..." She trembled down to her bones as she looked at him.

And I don't need to tell you what happened next. Reassurances. The kind of things a mother tells her child. She cried. Told me how sorry she was. How she could never make up for it, but she'd try. Said no one blamed me—not anymore—for killing those fucks.

Yuuno's sister slipped up, by the way. Said too much. So now their whole family's under watch, and I've been cleared of the original charge. Guess I don't have to worry about them anymore.

I'll admit, I was impressed. She came to the hospital every single day. Considering the emotional toll, and how exhausted she already was, you'd expect her to eventually get herself a boyfriend or two for support. But no. Not once. She was only there for me.

As expected, my dearest sister didn't show. By then, she'd already moved out.

Next came the physiotherapy. I wanted to walk again. Took a few weeks, but my legs got back in order. My muscles were nonexistent even before this, so they had to massage them daily just to prevent permanent damage. The nurses taught my mom how to do it, and she kept at it for six months. Even when they advised her not to—because the odds of me ever waking up were slim.

Apparently, I lost so much blood my brain was starved of oxygen. People are still dumbfounded I didn't end up with permanent brain damage. Maybe I did, and I just don't know it yet.

Reporters came too, of course. Asking for statements. The staff had to keep chasing them off. I became a sensation again—because I woke up from something no one's supposed to survive. At least, not without damage.

I still can't sleep though. Not before. Not after. Not in this world.

Oh well.

Naturally.

It's a hostile world, after all.

But even through those insomnia-riddled days... I didn't expect her to be there.

I guess it was her presence that made it a little more bearable.

'And things might get difficult. But all in all, I did what I came here to do,' Yuuto thought as he looked up at the ceiling of his room, back in his house after all that time in the hospital.

'I baseballed an NTR antagonist's ass, my words became gospel... My name cleared. I'm done here, aren't I? Shouldn't I get transported to my world again, soon?' he wondered as he gazed at the ceiling illuminated by the dim moonlight through the window.

'...I already have a mother back at home. A family... They really are there,' he thought. 'I need to go back... Though...' He looked at the door, thinking about the mother he had here.

'It's not bad here... I guess.'

'...If only I could sleep better.'

And as if his thoughts were answered, he heard a gentle knock on his door. Then, without waiting for a reply, it opened.

His mother walked in.

'...Can't get any rest here. What now?' he thought, squeezing his eyes shut as he listened to her footsteps.

She stood above his bed, then slowly lowered herself, getting under the blanket with him.

'W... What is she doing..!? Has she finally lost it...!' His breath quickened, his body tensed.

But then, she just gently pulled his head to her chest, patting his hair.

He opened his eyes as he felt his face begin to warm, his breath hitching against her as he froze.

[BACKGROUND MUSIC: SELIN SORAL - Ethereal]

"Shhhh..." she hushed gently.

"It's okay..."

'..!!' Another hitch in his breath as she rested her chin on his head.

Her hands were soft as they brushed against his hair and reached his nape. Her hand's warmth touched his skin, which he hadn't realized had been so cold.

"You can sleep now, baby..." she whispered.

'What is she..?!'

"Mommy's going to protect you..." she hushed, clutching him tighter, his form sinking into her softness.

'You... Can't protect.. I had to do it all the time...!'

"...." Yuuto's body shook, unsure what to think, say, or do.

All he knew was that when he looked ahead, instead of a dark room, he saw her bigger form blocking the darkness from his sight.

And all of a sudden, the bed felt much softer. The pillow, much more inviting. His bag-riddled eyelids feeling much heavier as she cradled him.

And slowly, gently...

...he closed them.

Falling asleep soundly in her arms.

----------------------------------------

"M... Mom..." he whispered, his voice barely above that of a whisper as he reached out to hold her back.

But she was gone.

His eyes then opened slowly to make sense of her absence...

He woke up back in his room. Back in his original world. He looked at his arm—muscular, toned. He was back in his original body.

And instead of relief...

...the only thought he had was...

'...It wouldn't have been awful to stay,' he thought. 'Just a bit longer.'

He closed his eyes once more, hoping maybe he could go back there. For a moment more.

[THE END]