Hello! This is officially my first fanfic! It's my own little epilogue to one of my favorite anime's, Angel Beats! I would appreciate feedback so I can improve later fics. *I do not own Angel Beats!* So without further introduction, I present
Oh, to Remember Home
"Where am I? What happened?" I groaned as I sat up. I was in my room just like any other day. The clock read 6:32. "An hour 'til I need to be at work. Why was I so surprised?" It was a morning just like any other. Then I began to remember; I had a strange dream. I shook my head with frustration as I tried—and failed—to recall what is was about. "Wait, where do I work again? Oh right, I work at the hospital. How could I have forgotten that? C'mon, get it together Yuzuru." My head continued to spin as I got up. "I'm hungry," I thought absentmindedly. I wandered into the kitchen to find my little sister already making breakfast. "Hatsune?!" I rubbed my eyes and stared at her.
"Good morning, Yuzuru!" she greeted me brightly after hearing me enter the room. I stared at her with large eyes. She turned to look at me, analyzing my face. "Are you okay, Bro?" she asked with a worried expression.
"Yeah, I'm fine," I replied with a tone of doubt in my voice, trying to give a reassuring smile. "Am I really fine? Why did seeing my sister shock me so much? I see her every day… don't I? Of course I do. If she weren't here I would never get anything done." Ever since our parents died in an accident, we've been on our own. At age seventeen, Hatsune cared for me more than our own mother used to. She would cook and clean and still make straight A's. I just wished I made enough money to send her to collage like she always wanted to do. She was going to graduate this year. "Graduate… why does that word give me such a strange feeling?"
"Okay," she said interrupting my thoughts. I could tell she was doubtful as well. "I need to head to school, but I laid your breakfast on the table and your lunch is in a bag on the counter."
"Thanks, sis." I gave a slightly more believable smile.
"See you for supper?" she asked, grabbing her books.
"Sure, see you then," I answered as I watched her dash out the door. I plopped down at the table to eat. "What's wrong with me? Why do I feel so off today? Is this all because of that weird dream I had? Why can't I remember what happened…?" I sighed, lost in thought. "I guess I should get ready now…"
It was a warm April morning, my sister's favorite time of the year. Spring was just starting to make the flowers bloom. I walked to work, very distracted. Something was wrong; I could feel it. "No, Otonashi. You have to focus and do your job." I continued fighting with myself as I dragged my feet across the pavement.
I stepped into the hospital and sighed. It seemed I was always there; like this was my life. I was a nurse still working to be a doctor. I hoped that if I became a doctor I would have more money to provide for my sister. It was always just the two of us against the world. I didn't really have any friends, or did I? It felt as if there was someone somewhere that was trying to reach me. I shook my head to dislodge the thought. That was insane. I was too focused on the necessities to have any sort of social life. I had to grow up too quickly. I didn't have friends.
I was seeing a new patient today because Hakashi was out sick. I stood frozen the second I walked in the room. The pink haired girl stared at me with large eyes.
"Will you marry me then?" My head echoed.
"Where the heck did I get that from?" I glared at the papers in my hand trying to act normal for the patient. The form stated that the girl had been in an accident and was paralyzed from the neck down. She was in for a checkup and some rehabilitation. It seemed that she was here quite often according to the records. She seemed very familiar. I supposed I could have seen her before since she was here frequently.
"So, you are filling in for Dr. Hakashi today, huh? The receptionist said he was sick. I'm Yui," she stated with a smile. She was a very outgoing type. "My friend Hinata brought me in today; he should be in here soon. My mother had to go out of town; so I hope he will do. I know my mom usually has to fill out a lot of papers and such…" she continued to ramble on but I was barely paying attention.
"Hinata…" I suddenly felt overcome with emotion. "What is wrong with me?! Maybe I should get an appointment after this patient…" "Umm, yes, of course, that's fine," I quickly reassured her.
"Hey Yui, sorry it took so long," a blue haired boy announced as he ducked into the room. "I bumped into a nurse and…" he stopped short. I glanced up to see what the cause of his pause was and suddenly I felt dizzy. I knew him. Without a doubt, I knew him. He stared back at me mimicking my expression. "Umm, well basically I had to explain about your mom being out of town…" he continued slowly as he went to sit next to Yui. He took her hand and continued to stare at me.
"You must be Hinata," I began. "Yui already explained. So shall we get started? First I'm going to need to take your pulse, Yui." I continued the examination hesitantly but professionally. I couldn't get over the feeling that I knew them.
"Well, you seem to be doing just fine. If anything comes up you can call the office or you can call my personal number and we will try to help with all we can," I said as I handed Hinata a paper with the house number on it. "It was nice to meet you both," I stated politely as I stood up to leave.
"Thank you, it was nice to meet you too!" Yui said brightly. Hinata was still staring at me with a strange expression. He had barely spoken throughout the entire session.
I left to give the report back to the office. I felt as though I should go home and lay down or something, but something was keeping me at the hospital. I saw several other patients but was still hung up over the two I had seen first. When it was the end of my shift I headed home. "I bet I'll feel better after I have dinner and lay down," I thought to myself.
I wasn't paying attention to anyone. I took my normal route home as my mind continued to spin, but out of all the noise of the street I heard humming. I glanced around me, trying desperately to find where the familiar song was coming from, like notes from a life once lived. I saw her standing there leaning against a wall. I walked right past the silver haired girl but suddenly stopped in my tracks.
"Thank you…" The two words rang in my head.
"I love you, Kanade!" I could hear myself screaming in my head. "Kanade... Kanade!" I turned around quickly to see her walking in the opposite direction. I took a step towards her. Then another step. I started running to catch up with her. I reached out and touched her shoulder.
She turned around to look at me with large golden eyes. "Oh, do I know you?" she said in a soft voice like silk. Her eyes grew in realization. "Yuzuru?!" She gasped.
"Kanade." Suddenly everything came back to me. I remembered. I remembered the battlefront. I remembered the shadows. I remembered the band and diversions. I remembered Yui and Hinata. I remembered the Mapo Tofu and the lunches we shared. I remembered her. I remembered my angel, and I was never going to let her disappear again.