Angel Beats! A Step Closer

Act IV Chapter 14: Shading

By men of many calibers, Otonashi would be praised in the highest regard for many reasons. Girls often seemed to find him attractive and giggled when he came close. Other times they would be willing to take the leap of faith, and there are times where he would just simply know.

Otonashi was an older man by now, and such trivial things as sleeping next to a female didn't matter. So he fell asleep beside her, grabbing a portion of the blanket to make sure he stayed comfortable.

Sleeping was the body's way of getting its peacetime, to heal and fix itself.

He never imagined that the sleep he would have that night was one that was most comforting and relieving. It had played out like a montage. Moist grasslands and hills, with roadways being the only artificial thing that took appearance. The sun had reflected off each individual blade of grass and brought a warm glow that formed a shield across the entire land. Each crevice, each imperfection, and each jagged part of nature only added to its beauty. It displayed the warmth, the ruthlessness, and the inevitable.

To the human eye, it was an appealing sight to behold. To the nose, it contrasted greatly and refreshed those who lived amongst concrete industrial zones or smoggy cities that bustled with the everyday lives of humanity. Those that lived in the rural greenery couldn't get enough of it. He could feel it. The screen moved along an axis across those fields and hills, capturing anything that wasn't blocked by the heights of other objects.

In one hand, he held the hand of a girl who fought an already lost battle. Her face wasn't blurred, but even not seeing her, he could tell she was smiling. The excited glee she displayed was uncontainable and downright a crime.

Terrorists would convert to the religion that had her as its figurehead if they bear witness to such a thing. She had let go, and instantaneously he was moved to the middle of the grassland with her. No matter length of teleportation, there should have been some grass being crushed beneath his feet. The crunch or soft pillow would've definitely been heard, but it was squished beneath his shoes with no sound. The definition of instant was severely overused, and he had forgotten how fast instant was. Even the word fast wasn't a good word to use.

Hatsune ran through the blades of grass as fast as she could, creating a path of destruction that regenerated itself slowly. That path allowed him to view her with a satisfied look, and she slowly disappeared as the grass went back to its original state: unbent and unbroken.

Her footsteps were hard to miss as the grass continued to crunch and dance around her as she returned to her brother. He stood tall amongst nature's tiny soldiers, and even they broke Hatsune's height just by an inch or two.

She grabbed his hand and begged him to run with her, and he did. In the end, he was panting and begging for his life. He had beat her, but she wanted a rematch. The pride of a man could only go so far, so he conceded, and she relished in victory and his misery. The unpredictable dream had moved him towards a hill that had short grass that provided something nice to sit on. He sat down, then fell onto his back, completely exhausted.

"I love her, but fucking hell," he said aloud as if he was conversing with someone.

Only the wind replied with its smooth moan, bending every single piece of grass, branch, and piece of nature it could get its invisible hands on. Strangely, the grass that was depicted in this dream was a soft, flat pillow. On the contrary, Otonashi had felt them in real life like any person should, but instead feeling little needles that made him itch. The grass was a lie, but the character that he played as didn't care. This husk that mimicked his personality and looks went along with the environment that was forged for this scenario. It was a script that had been pre-written and played, with all expectations completed and done to perfection.