Angel Beats!

The Drownings of Fujimaki

It'd been three days (or a week... or a month... really, Otonashi wasn't too sure) since he'd chosen to remain in the afterlife to help others to pass on and, not for the first time his mind was drifting. Drifting to thoughts of his friends his allies, and even his one-sided rivalry with Noda of the Afterlife/We're Gonna Die/Suicide Battlefront, and just what may have become of them.

Of course, those thoughts weren't the only ones on his mind, but the ones of Kanade were for evening hours only.

It was all so normal, so quiet, so dull without Yurippe bossing him or someone else around, no Hinata to chat with, no TK to, well, be TK. Hell he'd nearly settle for that dumbass Noda if only it'd liven up (he cringed inwardly at the unintentional pun) the place!

And so, it was a shock this day when a very familiar face appeared in class, not one iota different from the last time Otonashi had seen him...

"Fujimaki?" Otonashi caught the other boy's attention, "what are you doing here? Weren't you, you know, reincarnated, or... I don't know, ascend-"

"Fujimaki?" The other boy looked at Otonashi, his face twisted in frustration. "Who the hell's he? Sure isn't my name. Who're you to be askin' me shit like that, anyway? And-hey, wait a second, wasn't I just drowning a minute ago? How'd I get here? What did you do to me, you bast-"

"I'll explain, it's a long story..." Otonashi grinned, He's the same old Fujimaki... still, drowning? Again?

Hours later.

"Surfing? And you didn't know how to swim?"

'Fujimaki' glared at Otonashi, "I know already! So sue me!"

Otonashi promised to help him pass on, avoiding the question of just why 'Fujimaki' looked the same as he did before.

Days later.

'Fujimaki' had passed on uneventfully, and Otonashi had returned to his normal routine again. So caught up in his own musings was he that he almost failed to see a familiar face appear, yet again, in class...

"Again?"

Hours later...

"Spelunking?"

"Yeah, underground river-"

Otonashi sighed, "lemme guess, you fell in?"

'Fujimaki' stared, shocked. "How'd you know?"

"Lucky guess."

Days later...

"Again, Fujimaki?"

"I ain't this Fuji-whatever guy, and who the hell-"

"I'll explain. Again."

Hours later... again.

"Touring a waste treatment facility?"

"Yeah, school outing... I-"

"No."

"What? I was just gonna say how I died-"

"No."

Days later... again.

"Fujimaki, why again?"

"I ain't this-"

"Yeah, yeah... come on..."

Hours later... his last straw.

"Also, when you reincarnate, try for a place like-like a desert, okay? For me, and you, okay?"

"Seriously, you gay or something, dude?"

Days later... his last straw.

"Again? Seriously? What happened? Did you drown in the only pool of water in the damn desert?"

"For your information, I was shot!"

"Oh-oh, crap. I am so sorry-"

"Well you should be. I tell you, it sucked. Blood was everywhere, and I couldn't tilt my head for it to drain from my-"

"You drowned. Again. In your own blood."

"Yeah... hey, why're you cryin'? I'm the one who had to suffer through it!"

End