Dead Man's Questions

Dead Man's Questions is a short story / one-shot by Hirohiko Araki originally published in Allman magazine in 1999.

The story stars Yoshikage Kira, the main antagonist of Part IV. A ghost, Kira's only clue as to his former identity is his name.

Summary
After his death, Kira is trapped in the living world as a ghost. He states that he cannot remember how he died, but is sure that he cannot go to heaven. However, he still desires a peaceful life, aiming to avoid the attention of living people.

As a ghost, he can enter a room only if it is empty, or if he has a form of permission from any persons in that room. Most people cannot see him, but animals can feel him. He can manipulate objects.

During the three chapters, Kira works for a female monk, neutralizing local supernatural problems in exchange for money.

Kira is shown some time between the End of Part 4 and the End of Part 6 as a vagabond spirit who is unaware of his identity. Now a Ghost trapped in the living world after his death, Kira can't remember anything but his name, but is sure he cannot get to heaven. However, he still shows traits of his personality, as he wants a normal life and doesn't wish to attract attention of living people. Not sure what to do with his eternal existence, he now works for a monk, doing the "dirty work" of killing targets she gives him in exchange for money. He believes that, by making this job his purpose to live, he might find happiness.

He is sent to a soldier's mansion that turned into a spirit to find out the reason behind the deaths of people around the area. He is surprised to see even objects can become spirits and wishes to live in the mansion, as he can not only manipulate objects, but feel them, as they are spirits just like him. Enthusiastic and finally finding happiness, Kira investigates the entire mansion, including the various spiritual books, CDs and fire within it. He comes across many suspicious-looking eggs and touches some of them. The eggs crack open and release creatures revealed to be Cleansers. One of then enters inside Kira's arm and begins to eat him from the inside, forcing Kira to cut his arm off as the creature climbs through his entire body. He then comes to the conclusion they are cleansers of spirits and the mansion was a nest of its eggs. They try to cleanse Kira because he touched their eggs, but he luckily enters the painting of a soldier and uses the gun in it to kill the creatures. Kira escapes the mansion and goes to investigate the information the monk gave him about it, and if he finds any errors, he will make sure she finds out the credibility of netherrealm personally. He then wonders if her arm would stick in place of his lost one.

Author's comments
By Hirohiko Araki:


 * This is a work where I drew a character who longs for the peace of his heart even after death, and who continues to grow mentally. This character is the greatest adversary in "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 4", a dead murderer.

Trivia

 * Kira's former Stand, Killer Queen, is not seen nor mentioned.


 * In the world of life after death, if the spirit lives on, it would not be a world where anything goes, but where there are "rules", just like this world. The ghost should go through the same amount hardships as we do, if not more. That was the idea that sparked this story. But drawing this character who couldn't listen to the music he loved so much, it kind of made me cry.