"Angel Beats!"

© by Jun Maeda

"Tokyo Ravens"

© by Kouhei Azano

"...it's cold"

"Natsume..."

"...where am i ?"

"Natsume"

"...who's there ?'

"Natsume"

"...i can't see anything."

"Natsume!"

"..."

It's now about 11:00 pm AST (Afterlife Standard Time). As usual, the school infirmary looks dead since it's almost never been used. But now there are 2 girls. One of them lying unconscious on the bed, and the other one sitting beside her.

Nakamura Yuri almost falls asleep when she realized that she's been sitting there for nearly 3 hours, waiting for the girl next to her to wake up.

"Seessh, why do i have to do this ? why me of all people ?"

She muttered

"If only we've had a doctor, i don't have to do this tiresome job of waiting and eating chips in my office...i bet that idiot Fujimaki and Matsushita-godan have eaten all of it by now"

Not that she need a doctor for any other job than waiting for unconscious people to wake up, though. Now with some sigh, she lies her head on the bedside.

"Yurippe-san!"

Someone opened the door

"Oh, it's Ooyama-kun..."

As the brown-haired man entered the room, Yurippe recognized his face

"Are you here because Fujimaki asked you to ask me if i have more snacks ?"

Yurippe still with her gloomy expression, not raising her head from the bed.

"N-No, i come here to inform that tonight's operation tornado had succeed. What does Yurippe-san want ? Hisako-san will deliver it later. And she also asks if you're tired and want to change shift"

Ooyama with the report. Now Yurippe looks pretty relieved.

"I see. Then i'd like 2 Katsudon, and just tell Hisako i'll be waiting for this girl to regain consciousness. You guys just prepare her uniform"

Now she returns being the usual Yurippe.

"Ok"

Ooyama replied in short.

"Thank you, Ooyama-kun."

"Don't mention it"

Ooyama closed the door.

"Now i'm alone again...it's so boring"

Here she goes again with the muttering. But well, you can't really consider an unconscious guy lying in front of you as a companion.

"She's not having a fever, but she's been sweating quite a lot"

Yurippe said as she put her hand on that girl's forehead, checking her body temperature.

"I wonder if she's dreaming about her past life right now..."

Yurippe knows, as well as the rest of the Afterlife Battlefront, that having your memories of your previous life is not considered so lucky in this world.

The door slides, it's been 20 minutes since Ooyama left. Now there's Hisako, Otonashi, and Hinata coming with their 'reinfocements' for Yurippe.

"Sorry for the waiting~"

Hisako came with 2 bowl of Katsudon on her hand.

"So, how's the new guy?"

Hinata asked calmly. With his usual laid-back attitude.

"As you see, she haven't moved an inch since the first time Shiina-san brought her here."

Shiina is the one that found her in the school backyard.

"Say, Yurippe..."

"What ?"

"Do you really think that it's a girl ?"

Hinata's face looks serious. Otonashi's face looks like he knows where's this going.

"W-What do you mean ?"

"I mean, she died and was sent here with her school uniform just like most of us did. But she wears trousers, not skirts!"

"...you interrupted my Katsudon just to say that ?"

Yurippe frowned.

"Shiinacchi was so sure that it's a girl. But..."

"Don't just jump into conclusion with your perverted reasoning, pervert."

Hinata is so perverted to Yurippe that she needed to use the word two times. Looks like she haven't forgotten what he has accidentally done at the guild operation long ago.

"Anyway, it's not a problem either she's a girl or a boy, right ?"

Otonashi spoke his mind.

"Of course it is!"

Hinata exclaims.

"What if Yurippe hid the fact that this girl is a boy, so she could spend the night waiting here all alone meanwhile we're stormed by Tenshi, and secretly..."

SNAP!

"I-Idiot! Like hell i'd do that!"

Yurippe hits him with whatever she found near her. And it happens to be a wooden fan.

"Ugh, i'm sorry! I'm sorry! I was just kidding"

Well, maybe what Hinata needs to relieve today fatigue is just to tease one of his best buddies after all.

Yurippe and Hinata keep quarreling, Otonashi and Hisako just sit there with the 'here-they-go-again' expression.

"Hey, Yuri..."

Otonashi looks like he wants to say something

"If you don't kneel i'll feed this Katsudon through your nose!"

"Whoa, don't waste your food!"

But their quarrel prevents Otonashi to do so

"Oi, Yuri..."

Still no response to Otonashi's call, he looks frustrated

"Enough, you twooo! Listen to me just for a while, will you!?"

After Otonashi's half-shouting, the two finally calm down...not

"What do you waaant?"

Yurippe doesn't look really mad, but a little bit unsatisfied. She moves her head closer to Otonashi's

"Err...sorry, ehm...Yurippe-sama...looks like our guest have woken up there..."

He points to the bed, the girl has opened her eyes

"Oh, you're right. There's no time for this"

At first, Yurippe intended to question this one stranger right after she had woken up. But she decided to let her fill her stomach beforehand, she looks dizzy and pale anyway.

"Are you hungry ?"

Yurippe gives Hisako a signal to bring the Katsudon here

"...where am I ?"

The mysterious girl spoke

"Hey, are you really a g-"

SLAP!

"You look pale and dizzy, go eat first"

Yurippe said that as she casually punching hinata with her fan

"You can ask as many question as you want later, okay ?

Now with some smile on her face, Yurippe persuaded the girl to eat the food they had prepared.

"One more family member have come, eh?"

With this thought on their head. The others are smiling as well

"Thank you for the feast"

The girl had finished her first meal in the afterlife

"Is it okay ? You haven't eaten all of it"

Hisako talks to her for the first time

"It's alright. It'd be rude if i'm eating all by myself with the four of you watching"

Now the girl smiles. The battlefront lads look amazed with her politeness and attitude

"Ahem"

Yurippe breaks the silence

"My name is Nakamura Yuri, the girl with her sleeves rolled is Hisako-san, the tall guy is Otonashi-kun, and the guy beside him is Hinata-kun"

She initiated the conversation with an introduction. The lads nod in turn.

"Nice to meet you all"

The girl bows

"And you are ? Do you remember your name ?"

Yurippe asked her

"My name, huh..."

The girl gazed at the ceiling

"It's okay if you don't remember"

Yurippe assured her

"...Natsume"

The girl turns her face, now facing Yurippe's

"Tsuchimikado Natsume"