A/n: I hope you like this chapter!
Art by jandreatheresse
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Arima Kousei POV:
I woke up with the sound of a familiar person and when I looked around the place where I am, I noticed that I seemed to have been sleeping in a very beautiful paradise. The whole scenery in front of me was like a painting to me. The river's blue and the sky is clear. There were birds flying at the sky.
I stood up and as I observe the place where I am, I saw that there were a lot of sunflowers and the petals were looking up at the sky as if they were looking up ahead at the sun.
Most of all, there are a lot of animals around.
I sighed a bit...
I died.
I could feel it inside of me.
I looked at my hand and it's very translucent even if I am wearing white clothes.
I am a soul, now and that depresses me.
As I was walking at the paradise where I ended up, I saw a shadow of someone... no... more like... the vague image of the man slowly went closer to me until I am face to face to him.
The stranger looked at me happily. I stared at him and as I could observe, he does have white clothes too, but his was like a dress. He's taller than me, his black hair is long, his eyes were brown like mine and lastly, he is pretty much brown-skinned. He looks like a Jew to me. He smiled at me and when I finally heard his voice, my eyes just focused on him.
"You are in my paradise, Arima Kousei. This place where you are now was the land where the ancestors of all humans once lived," he told me.
My mouth dropped. I'm looking at him. Him. Why did He appear before me?
"You look confused, Arima Kousei," he told me.
"I died, right? I died after I decided to enter the blue light with my mother," I told him.
His brown eyes gazed at me. "I can see through you that you want to return."
"But! I'm sure that the doctors had already announced that I am dead," I told him.
"I am God. As you can see, the time here and on Earth are not the same. Angels are time travelers and you can also return back to the time you want to go," he informed me.
I was in shock. I looked around me and found my mom behind us. She's a bit teary but she seemed to say goodbye to me. I decided to stay here with my mom. "Arima Kousei... do you want to see Kaori's future if you don't return?" he asked me.
I nodded in one swift, the sky showed Kaori crying so deeply while she's hugging my corpse. I clutched my fists and I still tried to let all of those slide. I want to return but yet, I want to stay here. I am with my mom. I know she abused me as a child but she only did it to make me independent. Suddenly, I found her struggling to find some other men to fall with even if she's a successful violinist.
I also found out that my dad and stepmom had their own kid.
After that, the sky returned to normal. "She can move on," I told him.
My mom sighed and slapped me which shocked Him, of course. "You're in Paradise but you don't act like a son of God! You're such a despicable child!"
I stared at her and explained, "I want to stay here with you!"
"Forgive me. I thought that this is already your time of death but I'm wrong. God still have a lot of plans for you," she told me.
He looked back at me and held my mom's shoulder to calm her down. After that, her lips smiled. "You deserve to grow old with Kaori," she told me.
"Mom," tears fell down my eyes. For the last time, I hugged her. "I'll miss you!"
God guided me in a crooked bridge going back to Earth so I could be with Kaori again. God wanted me to be with her. I know that I actually felt bittersweet. In the end, she forced me to stay with the girl who needs me right now.
I began walking on the bridge and slowly, my vision on the paradise vanished.
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Kaori POV:
I kept screaming at him to return back to me.
I don't want him to ever leave me alone!
Please... Arima Kousei! Return back to me!
I am begging you, return to me!
His heart beat was still a flat line and I tried my hardest not to let go of him even if his brother was pulling me out of his body. "Kaori... it hurts to accept that he's gone but we have to let go," Mitsuo told me. I obeyed him even I truly don't want to let him go. I did let go of his body but after I let go of him, a miracle happened.
His heart began to beat again.
The nurses who were supposed to put him in a white blanket were as shocked as we are. Arima Kousei returned to us. I ran beside him and called out, "Kousei! Kousei! Wake up, Kousei!"
His eyes propped open and I dried my tears quickly. I looked at Mitsuo and of course, the nurses quickly called out his doctor.
When Doctor Haruo entered the room, he is also stunned to see him awake after he just had a cardiac arrest. Even if doctors were like robots without feelings, his sudden awakening broke that barrier on him. He was also astonished to see him alive and I could see that there were traces of tears on his cheeks. He was dead for ten minutes. His awakening was like a lightning that struck a lot of us.
"What... what happened? I returned... I finally returned...," he murmured. Tears fell down his eyes until he fell asleep once again.
His words made me curious. What does he mean he finally returned?
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Arima Kousei POV:
"Kousei!" someone's calling me.
"Kousei!" again, I don't want to wake up yet. My body feels so heavy.
"Kousei!" she doesn't stop calling me until I finally opened my eyes.
When my eyes were a bit clear after someone put the glasses back on me, I took a peek in my whole surroundings. I had also noticed that I do have a breathing mask. I almost cried my heart out when I finally was assured that I am back on Earth. Of course, there were two women who are special to me who quickly became anxious for me when they heard me whimpering.
"Kousei..." Seto Hiroko took out the breathing mask on me.
After a few minutes, she dried my tears. Kaori helped me sit up and I held her hands. "I'm sorry... I really am sorry," I told her.
She looked at me with a confused face. "What are you sorry for?" she asked me.
I looked at myself in a nearby mirror and as I could see, I really am not having an illusion that I am alive. I could feel her warmth.
"I died. I saw a glimpse of paradise. God and my mom forced me to return," I told her.
"Arima Kousei... I am happy that you returned. You were a strong breeze that swept the storm when you woke up," she told me. "Thank you for returning."
I looked up at her and a smile crept on my lips. I guess, my mom doesn't want me to suffer in sadness in heaven, isn't it?
A few hours later, my family came to visit me. I'm still in a nasal cannula, though. My father hugged me with so much happiness while my brother still kept on looking at me as if he's seen a ghost.
"You're real, right? I'm not dreaming, right? My brother's with me," he asked them.
Father looked at him and laughed. "He's alive, baka!"
I also found Yamato Kento crying.
Tears fell down my brother's eyes more and he quickly hugged me. "I thought you'll leave us already!" he screamed at me. "You scared me!"
I smiled happily while I am in his embrace. I looked at my surroundings and I found my friends looking back at me. There were also tears on their eyes. I felt guilty for saying I want to stay dead already. I felt so selfish. I never knew that there were a lot of people actually waiting for me to return. I hugged my brother back and once again, I tried to get them their forgiveness.
My family and friends became curious why I was asking until I told them, "I saw my biological mom in the after life. She and God asked me to return. I guess... I just experienced near death experience."
Mitsuo let go of me for Watari and Tsubaki to get near me. Tsubaki held my hand and she told me, "What's great is that you're here with us."
Watari dried his tears and told me, "That's right! You can't just die without seeing me become the most popular soccer player!"
Finally, my stepmom went beside me and hugged me, too. "I'm glad you're here."
Seto Hiroko held my hand and in my surprise, I found Aiza Nagi crying behind her. It had been a long time that we haven't seen each other due to my fragile condition. Seto Hiroko pushed her. She looked at me with a teary face and slowly, she showed me something that actually cheered me. It's a certificate that shows she's the champion.
"You won the Maihou Piano Competition? That's great for you!" I told her.
She blushed and finally, she spoke up, "S-sensei! I hope you get better! He told me that he'll be learning piano in a conservatory. I hope you do the same!"
I looked at all of them and of course, my father nodded. "If you also want to be in a conservatory, why not?"
I smiled at all of them. I also saw my doctors smiling behind them. They seem to be happy that I am finally well. I held my chest and I do believe, It won't bother me for far longer this time around. I returned alive and that's the only important thing right now.
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Spring came.
Before Kaori and I left the mansion to study in a conservatory here in Japan with only Yamato Kento to look after us, I learned that my stepmom's finally pregnant and they planned to name it Arima Hiroki.
I felt nostalgia all over me. Most of all, I feel like I expected them to name my youngest brother Hiroki.
Even if months have already passed, I still can't get enough that I stood in the Garden of Eden and I was able to see God. After I was released in the hospital, I asked my parents to go at a nearby church so I can thank him by bringing me back alive. I felt more peaceful after I had woken up after I almost died again.
I did kneel and thanked him so much. There are too many things I want to tell him and so, the only thing I prayed was my promise. I promise to love Kaori forever and I will take care of her as she takes care of me. I kissed her afterwards when we were finally in the car and she kissed me back. A few minutes later, we separated.
"God is sweet, isn't he?" she told me.
"Yeah," I looked at the blue sky and whenever I look at it, I always remember my biological mom. She made me return.
Also, I remember that I was actually shocked when I found Kaori reading what was supposed my letter if I died.
She looked at me with such vigor and I blushed. She hugged me tight when she saw me and cried. Now, I am with her.
"Yes. He's really sweet. I can never forget that I was able to see him," I told her.
I hugged her and so, my new life after a near death experience officially begins...
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A/n: Domo Arigatou Gozaimasu!!! Vote and comment, okay?