All Is Forgiven - Angel Beats! Fanfiction

Chapter 2

"Alright," I look up at the sun, and even though it hurts my eyes, I don't really want to look at his face. "Oto- Yuzuru? What were you memories like?"

"They… Uh… Compared to Yuri's, not that bad." I can't imagine what she went through. Sure, I had my share of bad experiences, the ones that made my life unjust, but it wasn't like I was trapped in the middle of them. Unlike Yuri. I could tell she was strong. I just wished I could've been able to know her. I mean, I'd probably see her, if I decided to pass on. But she seemed real. Not like anyone I knew in my past life. She sounded that way anyway.

"I had a little sister. Her name was Hatsune and we had a lot of fun together. Then, years before I died, she got sick. Our parents- I don't even remember who they were or what happened to them, thanks to my amnesia. They weren't around much. And it killed me to watch Hatsune die with the cancer. I was a crossing guard. And even though the pay was small, I bought her manga magazines. I wasn't even sure if I bought the same series, or the same issue every single time, but she always said "Thanks Bro." I guess she kept me alive. It was Christmas, and I wanted to do something special for her. I snuck her out of the hospital, and carried her on my back. We had a fancy dinner with the money I saved up and I bought her something… I wish. I could remember. But. On the way back to the hospital… she. She died. On my… On my back."

The blow of his words hits me harder than I expect. I drop a chopstick and don't bother to pick it up. It just rolls along the asphalt roof.

"After that, I was crushed. I didn't understand or have the will to live anymore. I just wandered, looking for it I guess. One day, I was passing a clinic and overheard a little girl thanking a doctor. She finally got to go home. I thought of Hatsune, and I knew what I was born to do. I started studying to become a doctor. I worked harder at that than anything I'd ever done in my entire life. I was at the top of my class, and I knew I'd be able to do it. I boarded the Tran to go to my exam, that if I passed, I'd get my medical license. I don't know what happened, whether it was an earthquake or just plain failure, but the tunnel collapsed and the subway crashed. I had injured my head, but when I awoke, I wasn't dead. Although, some didn't make it. The crash, I mean. There were a few other survivors, some in worse conditions than others. I heard faint breathing where I was and found another survivor, Igurashi. We gathered up all the other survivors and went outside the train into the tunnel. All together, we had a few water bottles and snacks and such. I treated everyone. One guy was really out of shape, and sadly he died. I had another wound, other than my head injury, but I kept it a secret from everyone else. Soon, we were running out of food, mostly because it was sabotaged, and everyone was losing hope. I was dying by then. All we did was lay on the ground, the only thing we could do, wait. I asked Igurashi for a pen, and I took out my insurance card. I donated everything. My eyes, my kidneys, my liver. My heart." He grabs at his chest. "All in hopes I could make someone's life last longer. Then a loud drill sound echoed the tunnel. Light was shining in and all I could hear were shouts. But by then, I was gone."

Once again, I'm speechless. Sure the way I died was pretty big all in itself, but it wasn't the same as his. Not as giving, at least. Yuzuru startles me.

"You don't seem to have amnesia the way I did." Otonashi looks down. I shake my head. "Would you mind? Sharing? You don't have to-." I take a deep breath.

"It won't hurt. I mean, you told me yours." Dark memories rush into my head and I fail to brush them away. I take another deep breath, and with a small, shaky voice, I begin.

"I was supposed to have an older sister. But she died before she was born. I was supposed to have a twin brother as well, but he didn't make it either. It was something about my parent's genes. The way they bonded. I was their only child. And they were pretty good to me. My grandmother, who lived with us from the time I was born, died when I was 2. It was too much for my mother so my dad suggested we move. We lived in Tokyo at the time; so naturally, they wanted to get as far away from the city as possible. We moved to some small town, way up north. It was nice. The cicadas chirp was a lullaby, and we were never bored. Although the houses were far away from each other, I befriended a girl my age and we did everything together. Her name was… M-Mio. She was sweet, but when it came to sense, she had none. She was dense and restless. It caused me a lot of trouble. When we were 6, my mother got sick. I was the same kind of cancer that killed my grandmother. It must have been hereditary. Even though I was little, I had to learn to be more responsible, which pushed me and Mio apart. Because of that, she wasn't as sweet anymore and was 10 times more reckless. Months passed by and by the time I was 9, my mother couldn't stand anymore. She did nothing. Mio and I were still close, but it wasn't like it used to be. I hated it though. Watching my mother die... It was slowly, which made it all the more gruesome to stand. On my 10th birthday, I got the worst present of all: A dead mother. And the worst thing, I was the one who found her, her hair strewn on her pillow, in an eternal sleep on her futon."