You are so precious

I think Kyoko loves Ren more than that. I think the young Kyoko would want Ren to marry her in the future, instead of asking him to be her dad.

This is purely my opinion, and no hate for the original story. I just imagine a what-if scenario.

What if young Kyoko asked Ren to marry her, because Ren was her only knight in a shining armor, and Kyoko wanted to spend her entire life with him. They met in a ramen shop, with the older boy bought her a ramen. He did nothing but being so kind to her. And Kyoko, she had been living in a community, not a family, so I guess she did not know what a father was or why a father was important to a child's life. She only had an older girl that she considered as her older sister. But that's that. She was abandoned by her mother and never had a father in her life, so I guess she didn't really understand about a father's role. What if Kyoko asked Ren to be her dad so that they could live happily ever after, but that didn't mean that Kyoko understood what a father would do.

All that Kyoko wanted was to be happy for the rest of her life, with Ren, the only person who treated her like a human. Since she lived with Ren, she read a few books, watched TV, listened to the radio, and saw happy, ordinary people in the park.

All that she wanted was to live happily with Ren, and she didn't really understand much that time. But, one thing she knew, from learning, that she could stay forever with Ren if they got married.

They're not related by blood, so marriage is the best way.

So, when Ren asked Kyoko about her request, she said that she wanted to marry Ren. Her answer left the older man freeze, and a stifled laugh from the ramen owner. Ren stuttered, but he still smiled warmly.

He said, "let's see after you reach 20 years old!"

His response got a little frown from Kyoko's face. Ren flailed his hands, trying to dismiss her distress.

He ended up making a promise with Kyoko that he would stay with her until she reached 20 years old. Then, Ren would ask for Kyoko's request again. Kyoko was satisfied with his answer and hugged Ren.

I imagine, what if the second time Kyoko met Ren, the stoned Ren, she realized that she missed the man so bad. She hugged him but it was like hugging a cold hard stone, and she cried, begging the empty air to bring back her knight in shining armor.

Kyoko was ready to open the door to her heart to Okamoto, but after she met the stoned Ren, her attention was back to her knight again. Despite being a statue, Kyoko relieved her longing feelings of all these years by hugging him, still hanging her hope to the empty air around that maybe Ren would be back.

Her happiness shone and broke the moment her stoned knight was back in his human form. She ran into him and wrapped her hands around Ren, crying of happiness. But, then, his empty eyes, and his frozen arms by his sides, made Kyoko realize something. Like being hit by a hammer, Kyoko somehow knew that Ren wasn't back.

She didn't understand, she called him several times but she didn't hear her name from the man's lips. She shook him as hard as she can, but he didn't change his stoic face. It felt so cold to stare at a face that she missed so much yet he didn't look back at her. She ended up crying on his stomach.

After she calmed down, 'Ren' moved and said something. But still, his eyes wouldn't look at her. His question was simple, "dear listeners, what's your request?" and his body stopped at a pose where he offered an imaginary mic.

It was so similar with what they usually did when they're happily together. Somehow, Kyoko's heart broke again, and another tears trickled down from her eyes.

In her heart, she replied, 'I want to be with you forever.'

But she didn't know, she was so unsure. She wanted his Ren back, but not this Ren.

So she didn't answer.

Her first answer was her request to kill Yasutoshi Mori.

She decided that she wanted to end it all. She had all of her revenge. Now it's time to pay the price.

She didn't prepare anything enough, just her stamina for running to a vault in her old office so she could trap Ren and ended the terror.

She never calculated the possibility that Ren might be controlled by someone else other than her. She didn't want anyone to use him, but she couldn't destroy the old vinyl player that recorded her happiest time with Ren.

Kyoko thought, 'well, this is my atonement. If Ren is the one who kill me, then I will be the happiest.'

To have her dearest person as her last view before death.

In front of her, there was a raging smoke. It was Ren, but not the Ren she knew. Kyoko knew her time was near.

So, she smiled, and said, "Ren-san, I've missed you so much. My...my last request is, in our next life, I hope we can stay together, have a family, grow old together. I think you'll like children. I think you'll love our daughters. I think you would be a great dad."

As the smoke enveloped her and lifted her up in the air, a tear fell down from her eye, "I'm sorry I made you do these, I'm sorry I made you suffer.

I love you, Ren-san."

There's a loud bang from inside the vault.

Okamoto fell down on his butt because of the blow. He peeked from the window and yelled for Kyoko, but he only saw her shoe on the floor, and a ring that he once planned to give to her.

He also saw trace of sunlight from above. There was a big hole on the vault's roof.

Okamoto never saw Kyoko. They didn't found Kyoko's body or the remains of her flesh. After several weeks not finding another clue, they decided to build Kyoko a grave. Okamoto sometimes visited her grave. He put a ring on her gravestone, the ring that once was planned to be the symbol of his engagement with her. He left after praying for Kyoko's happiness.

Years passed, Okamoto was now promoted as a superintendent. He was still single.

On his holiday, he had a staycation to a rural area, enjoying the hot spring. He saw a happy family passed by his inn, and a slight view of the mother's smiling face reminded him with Kyoko. But he didn't get to see her face clearer, as the family walked away. The youngest daughter, a toddler, asked to be carried by the father, and the father put her on his shoulder. The father gave an imaginary mic to their oldest daughter playfully, asking for what she wished for. She answered that she wanted to be carried too, and the mother said about patiently waiting for your turn.

I don't think that Tagusari brothers killed Haruko. They were too emotional to pull the trigger and too calm when strolling on the seaside. I think they purposedfully missed the shot and the bullet hit an oil barrel or something. If Haruko died, her body should be shown, even though it's just her hair or hand on the ground, and the blood should be pooled much more, not just three drops.

We still have a mystery about who gave Haruko the poisonous plants book (or maybe I forgot about the details, maybe it's Amagi(?)) and maybe the brothers would pursue him.

I think they walked into the police station to make a report about past crime (Haruko's) or tell the truth to Kosei. Although the case is already expired, I think they're still thinking that they had a responsibility to close the case completely. I think they left Haruko at the port, and Haruko just stayed there until sunrise, drowning in her guilt and thinking about what the brothers just did to her-- not killing her as their revenge, but letting her live and hopefully she would repent her sin.

I think the Tagusari brothers did not kill anyone. But, they did manage to release the clog in their head and the flow cleared.