Disclaimer: I do not own Angel Beats!

"Were you referring to me? I am God."

Otonashi couldn't help but quietly laugh to himself. Their newest recruit, Naoi, seemed to have a few screws loose in his head, but then again, who here didn't? The reason why all of them were here in the first place was because they had issues. More specifically, issues with their past life. Some of them kept it to themselves, others, like Naoi, expressed it more outwardly.

At first, Otonashi, hated this place and everyone in it. The leader Yuri, a loudmouthed girl, told him he was dead and that this was the afterlife, from out of the blue. Not only was the information so sudden that Otonashi didn't believe it, no one even bothered to explain and convince him any further. They just asked, no, demanded, that he join the "SSS" in order to fight "Angel" who just looked like a harmless teenage girl. However, after a while, he discovered he was actually dead. He then decided to play along with the SSS in order to find out more about what was going on.

As time passed, the group members grew on Otonashi and vice-versa. He forgot about trying to find out more about his past and just treated this current afterlife as his actual life. He also discovered that the reason these kids acted so unruly and misbehaving was because they had lived regretful and often, terrible lives in the past. He couldn't help but feel sorry for them, especially Yuri. He heard about her past where all her siblings were murdered by heartless robbers. Even to this day, she still blamed herself for being unable to protect them.

"THEY'RE WONDERFUL! THEY CAN EVEN BE USED AS PAPERCLIPS! THEY'RE SO VERSATILE! WHY AM I IN COMPARISON TO THEM?! I'M NOT WORTHY TO THINK OF IT! I'M NOT WORTHY!"

Otonashi looked over at Hinata and walked over. This had gone on too far. He grabbed Naoi by the collar and said, "Look here, don't abuse your hypnotic abilities."

"Otonashi, good morning!" Naoi replied in an innocent voice.

"What did you do to that poor guy?"

"He started it. I was just trying to end things peacefully, that's all got it?"

"How is that peaceful?! You made a grown man cry on his knees!"

Suddenly, Yuri walked into the room.

"Otonashi, Naoi, come with me", she asked.

"Where are we going?" they both asked simultaneously.

"Just come", she repeated and walked out the door.

"Jeez, she's so bossy. Why don't you be the leader, Otonashi? I bet you'll be twice the leader she is!" Naoi said as they both followed Yuri.

"Oh, just can it, Naoi. Yuri is doing a great job and besides, she's your leader now, so you're not supposed to talk like that." Otonashi said.

"What do you think she wants from us?"

Otonashi shrugged his shoulders but Naoi's question was soon answered. They all found themselves in a staff room.

Otonashi looked around. The room was pretty much almost empty save for a few desks and chairs.

"So, what is it?" he asked.

Yuri turned to Naoi and said, "I want you to help Otonashi retrieve his memories. Your hypnotic powers are the real deal and they should be able to work on him."

Her words were like a sharp jab to his stomach. He had forgotten all about his goal of trying to find out his past! But had he forgotten naturally or did he try to forget on purpose? Maybe after hearing about Yuri's and Iwasawa's past, he preferred not to be troubled and haunted by the memories of his regretful past life.

"Well Yuri, I'm not sure that's such a good ide..."

"Don't tell me you want to be an amnesiac forever!" she argued.

Otonashi wasn't really sure what he wanted. He knew his past was going to be full of regret and he wasn't prepared to learn about it, especially since he was now getting so comfortable with the SSS. What if these memories end up throwing everything into chaos again? On the other hand, did he really not want to learn about who he really was? As kind and nice as he was in the afterlife, this might not have been the person he was on Earth.

Yuri noticed Otonashi thinking deeply and placed her hand on his shoulder.
"I know it's not going to be a great past. But no matter how bad it is, just remember you still have all of us. We're going to be here for you, no matter what happens."

Naoi joined in. "Yeah, how bad can it be? Whatever happened, it can't be as bad as mine."

Their words reassured him and he said, "Okay, let's do it."

He sat down on a chair and Naoi sat opposite him.

"Okay, I'm going to start now."

Otonashi nodded and soon he dozed off...

"How was your job?" Hatsune Otonashi asked.

Yuzuru smiled. His little sister asked the same question everyday despite hearing pretty much the same response everytime. He wasn't irritated at her though. How could he be when she was the only good thing going on in his life?

"Same as usual. Had a man nearly get run over by some rich guy but that happens all the time."

"Really?" she asked, shocked.

He laughed. "No. Come on, how could you believe that?"

She laughed too as he went to change out of his work clothes. After he was done, he asked, "How was school?"

Her mood changed in an instant. "It was...okay, I guess..."

He sat down beside her, "You normally like school. What's wrong? Want to tell me about it?"

"Not really..." she said, looking away.

"It was about that new phone that just came out, huh?" he asked.

She looked up in amazement. "How did you know?"

"Well it's not that hard to figure out. It's what everyone at work was talking about too."

Hatsune's face was full of sadness. "I don't want to sound spoiled but I wish I had something new for once. Just...once". Tears sprang into her eyes.

"Here, wipe those off", Otonashi said, handing her a nearby tissue.

As she did just that, he hugged her. "Trust me, no one in their right mind would think you sound spoiled. If they did, just tell them to come over and look at our house."

"Do you think, maybe..." she hesitated.

"Yes?"

"Maybe we could leave this place and go someplace a little better. You, me and Mom?"

He looked into her face, so youthful and full of hope. He thought about lying to preserve that look on her face but decided that, as much as it would hurt, his sister deserved to hear the truth.

"I don't know, Hatsune. I mean, I make peanuts at my job. You know that. And I don't think Mom is going to be getting a job."

"One day she will, right?"

"Uhh...I don't think so, Hatsune. You see her every day. All she does is drink and nothing else. She doesn't even want to get help. And even if she did, we couldn't afford to get anyone to take a look at her."

They sat in silence for a while, both in a saddened mood.

"Yuzuru?" she asked again. "Do you think she'll ever get married again?"

The idea was so out of the question that Otonashi almost laughed. Instead, he said somberly, "I don't think that's going to happen."

She sighed. "Well, maybe you can get a better job one day, Yuzuru." Her face then lightened up. "Hey, maybe you can be a doctor."

This time, Otonashi did laugh. "Me, a doctor? Have you been stealing Mom's drinks?"

She remained hopeful, "Come on, big brother! I remember you always liked watching those medical drama shows on TV when we were younger! And if you're a doctor, you're a lot of money! We wouldn't have to live here ever again!"

"That's different, Hatsune. If you want to be a doctor in real life, you have to read a lot of difficult books and pass near impossible tests. It's just...out of my league. It's not something I can do."

At that point, Hatsune stood up and got angry. "Well, we have to do something! We can't just keep doing this every single day!" She then walked off but Otonashi didn't feel like following her and calming her down.

Her words were like an icy dagger in his heart. "She's right", he thought. "We can't keep going on like this."

He walked up the stairs, still thinking. "And it's all up to me. My mom's not going to do anything for us and Hatsune is too young to work. I need a way to get some money. At least enough so that she can buy that new phone. All I want is to make her happy and to see her smile."

As he walked up, a voice called out to him.

"Y..Yuzuru? I..is that y...you?"

"Yes, mom. What is it?"

"Come...hh...ere. I...I w...want t...to see y..you".

"Alright, coming!"

Her speech was more slurred than usual, he thought. Is she really drinking more every day?

A morbid thought entered his mind. "How has all that alcohol not even killed her yet?"

He walked in front of his mom's room where the door was mostly closed. In the tiny open space, he saw his mom's hand hanging off the couch, pale and limb...

Please R & R in order to let me know what you think so far as well as any suggestions, thanks!