All Is Forgiven - Angel Beats! Fanfiction

Chapter 1

“How ugly can these uniforms get?” I mean to say it in a cheerful tone, but it comes out just as depressing as the mood.

I look down and Otonashi takes a breath to speak.

“When I first came here, I lost my memories. I just happened to wake up on the ground in the courtyard next to this girl. Although I probably should’ve got used to it sooner, I was a bit stunned to see she had a sniper rifle. Not that I really had any business in it, I was a bit concerned that she was aiming and going to shoot someone. That someone was Tenshi, Angel, and at the time, we thought she actually was an Angel that could contact God and had powers. The girl asked me to join the Battlefront.  I thought she was crazy, mostly because she was about to shoot someone, so I decided to ask Angel what was going on. The girl told me I was dead. Like you, I didn’t believe her. I thought it was a joke as well. I asked Angel if I was really dead, and like the girl, she confirmed I was in the afterlife. Being stupid, I asked her to prove I was dead. Naturally, the only way she could do that was stab me dead in the chest. You can’t die here, being dead already, so you basically revive from a few minutes, to a few hours, to a few days, back to your normal state, depending on how bad the injury. The next morning, I woke up in the infirmary and I was still really confused. I thought it was a dream, well right until I found my shirt, soaked with blood. Just as I was awakening, some dude with a scythe...halberd thing,” he points to the one propped on the wall, “Came into the room and ‘killed’ me again...” I cut him off.

“Sure sounds like you had a rough time in the beginning.”  He lets out a sad laugh.

“I was a bit desperate for some guidance, so I figured here would be the best place to go. I was about to open the door, and the next thing I knew, I was killed again, struck by a huge hammer trap.” He whistles, gesturing to imply to a huge fall out of the building.  I laugh, picturing him hurled out of the window.

“When I awoke next, I was here, stretched out on the couch we’re sitting on, and I met everyone. Yuri, Hinata, Ooyama, Shiina.”

For the next two hours, he tells me about everything, Yurippe, her memories, the SSS, the parachutes to the Guild, Ayato Naoi, Girl’s Dead Monster, Angel’s clones, and the shadows; even the disappearance of everyone. Including Kanade...

          “So, she had your heart? Then she just… left?” There’s tension in the room. I look at Otonashi and the sun gleams on his face, revealing a glint, one that could only be a stream of tears.

          “I loved… her. And the one time… we had the chance, we could be together-” I butt in.

“That’s not true!” I can tell he’s shocked by my tone. “It’s not. At all. True.” I laugh quietly. Otonashi’s confused. “You can believe it. You won’t ever see her again. Never.”

“Wha-”

“You really believe that?!” I stand and yell at him. “You think, just because she found peace that you’ve lost your one chance to be with her? And you say you’re the one trying to help others pass on.” A memory punches me in the face and I struggle to fight back tears.

“I’m not ready to move on. I can’t forgive-.” Tears roll down my cheeks, but I whip them away, and grit my teeth. “I just got here. I can’t be going just yet.” I look back at Otonashi through my hair, and notice he’s smiling. “What are you smiling at, you moron?!”

“I can’t even imagine what the SSS would’ve been like if you and Yuri met.” I frown.

“What do you mean?”

“Besides the fact that you have the same eyes, including the fire behind them, you have the same burdens. And strengths.”

“Is that a compliment?” I cross my arms.