Where am I?
As his eyes struggled to open, he sees colorful blobs of light and the random shapes of passers-by. Vision returns, and he begins to sit up, placing his left hand on his head, feeling no pain, but a feeling of waking up from an extended slumber. As his vision returns, he looks around. People walk past him, paying no mind, as if he were just a homeless man, sleeping on the concrete. He begins to regain control of his reality, slowly beginning to stand. People in regular, street clothing passing with their children and friends. He looks up at the night sky, greeting a crescent moon with his burgundy eyes, seeing few stars, as the light from the city seemed to have blocked their shine.
Did I just pass out on the sidewalk?
Sounds of vehicles are abundant, as traffic seems busy, and pedestrians walk past, taking no notice to him. He stops a random woman, tapping her on the shoulder.
Yuzuru: (in Japanese) "Excuse me, can I ask you a question?"
The random woman stops and looks at him. He's taken aback slightly, realizing that she is not Japanese, but of European origin, perhaps in her 40s with shoulder-length and straight hair. He felt slightly awkward as he had just spoken to her in Japanese, realizing that she likely did not understand him.
Woman: (feeling slightly guilty and giving a look of confusion, speaking in a British-accented English) "Oh, I don't... Umm... I'm sorry, my dear, I can't quite understand you"
Strangely, while being able to completely understand the woman, Yuzuru does his best to make a sentence in English, attempting to recall memories of his speaking skills.
Yuzuru: (Broken English) "I am sorry... My English is not umm, not too well. I am umm, where I am"
The woman expresses her empathy, smiling and trying her best to comprehend the question he was asking, understanding his wording, but feeling as though it was not literal.
Woman: "Well, we're on the intersection of Brookside and Aura Avenue, if that's what you mean"
Brookside and Aura Avenue? Are we not in Japan? What strange names, if that's what she means by this particular intersection...
Yuzuru: (Broken English) "Oh, umm, I mean... Are we at Nihon?"
Woman: "I'm sorry, I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean"
Yuzuru: "Sorry, I mean umm, Nhon, umm... Japan?"
As if a light bulb managed to click on in the woman's head, she responds happily.
Woman: (Giggling) "Oh, that's what you mean! Well, I'm afraid I can't say we're necessarily in Japan! However, you can say we're everywhere and nowhere"
Suddenly feeling lost again, Yuzuru smiles and rubs the back of his neck innocently, unable to comprehend such a metaphor.
Yuzuru: (Smiling innocently) "I don't umm, are we not umm, American city?"
The British woman puts her hand over her mouth as she giggles more, this time slightly apologetically.
Woman: "I'm afraid we're not on any Earthly continent, my dear"
Yuzuru's smile is suddenly wiped from his face, understanding the literal statement of what he had heard.
Woman: "We're all dead. We're not on Earth anymore. This is the afterlife"
Yuzuru stands in shock, his eyes pin-pointed and his mouth slightly open, and feeling his heart race. The woman looks at a clock on a building close-by, and turns, preparing to walk away.
Woman: "I'm sorry to break the news to you, but the shock will wear away soon! Many of us have had the same feeling as you, I'm afraid. I must leave for now! I'm sorry to cut this short, my dear. Good luck!"
She waves as she walks away. Yuzuru stands there, amidst busy, pedestrian traffic, in heavy denial, giving the infamous thousand-yard stare.
No... No... This can't be it! Wait...
He looks up at the same clock the woman had just glanced at before parting.
00:35 AM... Wait... I don't understand.
Frantically, Yuzuru grabs another pedestrian by the arm, almost frantically.
Yuzuru: (Japanese-accented English) "Which city are we?!"
The man, feeling almost threatened at first, gives an angry glance. The man's temper quickly quelled after coming to the realization that the young, Japanese man was in clear disbelief. The Caucasian man expressed a look of sorrow, quickly realizing the Yuzuru's situation, able to understand his frantic and broken English.
Man: (American accent) "You must not have been here long... Sorry to say it, but you're in the afterlife now" (Attempting to rush) "Sorry, I wish I could help right now, but I gotta go!"
The man walks off, Yuzuru does the same with another person, followed by another, all repeating the same to him. He drops to his knees. Pedestrians walk past him, paying little to no attention to him.
This can't be... Something isn't right! I'm breathing! I'm obviously conscious! I can touch and feel! I can see! How can I be dead?!
Yuzuru looks around at the busy people; different races: White, Black, Asian, Latino, Arabic and everyone else in-between, all wearing clothing ranging from casual Western, formal suits, to traditional Chinese, and even traditional, African attire.
I don't understand... Midnight, heavy traffic, and all these people... I've never seen anything like this before! This can't be! I must be in New York or something, and I'm being pranked!
As Yuzuru begins to take a stroll, overloaded with worry. A small and dainty hand, waving a bunch of colorful flyers peers over the crowd, cuffed in blue and sleeved white. Her voice calls out in Japanese to the pedestrians, who seem to just walk by, paying no mind to her.
"Looking for new recruits! Join us in our next meeting! Want to help us figure out the meaning to this life? Join us in the Afterlife War Front!"
A pink pigtail and red hair tie pop up from the crowd. Yuzuru takes notice, taking in a sense of familiarity with the voice and that pink hair. As the crowd begins to clear, he moves his head, attempting to get a direct look at the girl.
Wait, she's speaking Japanese! Maybe she can help! But what is she talking about? Is she promoting some kind of gang or militia, or... something?
As he looks from the side, taking a step off of the sidewalk, he gets a direct view of her. Her legs dressed in black ribbons leading to her knees, a pair of garters on her thighs, and a school uniform - blue skirt and white blouse, with a pink ascot, and a strange devil tail coming from her rear. A feeling of strange familiarity sweeps through Yuzuru's mind once more, and is filled with strange de-ja-vu. The crowd thickens once more, and he loses sight of her.
Why do I feel like I know this girl?
Yuzuru watches her for a short moment through the crowd of people. She shouts and waves flyers with a familiar symbol, a crest of sorts, also appears to have been sewn onto the left shoulder sleeve of her blouse; a shield with three diagonal S's placed within it, and a scroll along the bottom reading, 'rebels against the god'. He thinks for a moment, but is unable to put his finger on it. As he is about to approach her, he stops himself, deciding to turn and walk away.
No... Wait... Afterlife? She's got those hair-ties that look like devil horns... That tail? What if she's some kind of devil worshiper? ... No, I'll just figure this out on my own. Afterlife War Front sounds like something way too dangerous for me to mess with.
As she continues to shout for attention for her cause, something calms her, as though she had the feeling of being watched, and she looks in the direction of where Yuzuru stood, catching a strange, but familiar glimpse for only a split-second. She stops waving flyers, feeling as though she had just suddenly seen a ghost, as her near-maniacal smiling turned into a blank stare of unsure familiarity. Her hands drape to her side, while still holding the flyers, feeling a sudden sense of strange happiness and despair.
She suddenly drops her flyers, frantically attempting to navigate from the epicenter of busy pedestrians.
Yui: (Whispering to herself) "Wait, no way... It can't be him, can it?"
As she reaches the side of the crowd where fewer people walked, she looks in the direction where she thought he made his way, but was unable to locate him. She gives up in the moment, but with more skepticism building through intuition.
Yui: (Whispering to herself) "There's no doubt about it. It has to be him... But if he saw me, he had to of remembered me..."
Turning around, she sees the stack of Class SSS flyers being trampled on. She snaps back to reality, and then yells loudly in shock. Yui frantically dives back into the crowd, attempting to recover each of the flyers she dropped.
Yui: (Shouting, attempting to collect her papers) "Hey! Stop! I need these!"
She dodges footsteps left and right, collecting her papers on all fours, yelling out, with few people even paying any mind to her.
Yui: "Can't you people see I'm down here?!"
01:32 AM - Class SSS HQ
The stern voice of a girl calls out from a room: 'Briefing Room'.
"We need to figure out what these anomalies are"
From inside the large office room, a girl sat at a desk, slumped in her office chair, her legs propped atop a wooden desk that was centered and towards the front of the room, with a large, flat-screen monitor placed on the wall behind her. A green bow resting on her breast-length magenta hair, sea-green eyes. Wearing a white blouse with blue collar and cuffs, a Class SSS crest sewn into the left shoulder sleeve, blue pleated skirt, and her legs covered up to her thighs with black stockings, her school-like uniform shoes rested upon the top of the desk. As she briefed, she twiddled with her white beret, tossing it in the air, before finally allowing it to fall upon the desk.
Yuri: "We've only recently discovered these strange readings around the world"
She points over to a short boy with a light, yellow-brown bowl cut, sitting on a couch near the center of the room, his glasses reflecting light from his own laptop, blocking his eyes from anyone else's view, and wearing a light-brown blazer and black slacks, also bearing the same Class SSS patch on his left shoulder.
Yuri: "Takeyama, are there anymore readings regarding these anomalies?"
Takeyama: (Pushing up glasses) "Observatories A4, F2, and T7 have come up with the strange readings. A4 is about three-thousand kilometers west of F2, and F2 is about five-thousand kilometers west. Each are in a row, and the anomalies have each shown that their paths seem to be on a direct course to this exact city" (Showing now obvious frustration) "Also, for the millionth time, I'd appreciate if you called me Christ!"
From the couch opposite to Takeyama's sat a male, short, but same height as Takeyama, black hair, sporting a black and long-sleeved uniform, sporting a black Mao cap on his head, the brim lining up with his eyes to give a more intimidating appearance. He crosses his arms.
Naoi: "Have these readings given any sort of sign that they're even going for us?"
Yuri: "Didn't I just say that that we don't understand what they are yet?"
Naoi: "I heard you the first time! Let's be real here... We're the only degenerates in this world who thinks every blade of grass that rubs against the sensors on those useless observatories means that something is coming for us! Everyone else seems to be living a nice afterlife, but we seem to be always on alert for threats that don't seem to exist. Why must be remain so paranoid"
Hinata: "Hey, just a minute, who are you calling degenerates?! It's in our nature to be watchful!"
Hinata calls out from the wall one the right side of the room, pointing at Naoi. His blue hair waves back from him almost lunging towards Naoi in response to his insulting comment.
Naoi: "We're all delusional! How can we have been here for three years, and not a single fight has broken out! We have all these guns, technology, and may as well have an army, and for what reason? We could be enjoying the time of our lives, and yet we're here looking for Casper the friendly anomaly?! We're all fools!"
Hinata pulls a self-developed (Polaroid) picture from his tan blazer, showing it to the rest of the room: A picture of Naoi attempting to fire a shotgun and falling back embarrassingly.
Hinata: (Evil smile) "You sure didn't seem like you were pretending to train for any threats with me when you tried hip-firing a shotgun, and fell on your ass!"
Naoi: "You jerk! That was supposed to be between us! You were the one who told me to try using it that way! I could have killed myself!"
Hinata: (Laughs) "Oh, please! Spare me the tears! Consider it a learning experience, you!" (Grinning) "It's not like I was the one who was trying to show off to a certain blonde and emotionless girl with pigtails"
Naoi: (Shocked and in anger) "WHAT?! Th-That's not true! I was just trying to LEARN how to do something YOU told me I asked IN CONFIDENCE, you jerk!"
Hinata seemingly gets the last laugh, as Naoi jumps the rear of the couch, attempting to grab the Polaroid image, as Hinata's much taller stature dwarfed over Naoi, holding the photo above him, just out of his reach.
Hinata: "Who's the degenerate now?!"
Naoi stops for a moment, looking dead into Hinata's eyes, calming down.
Naoi: (Smiles, stops trying to grab the picture) "You know what? You win. You know what else? (Voice becoming deeper) "Enjoy the picture as much as you want, Hinata. The picture is definitely beautiful isn't it?" (Eyes glowing red) "Doesn't it make you want to just eat it? It is definitely nice enough to eat, isn't it? Almost like a beautiful, tasty, strawberry and vanilla cake. I'll bet you're pretty hungry after all of that time holding up that cake, huh? I'll bet you want to eat it, don't you?"
Hinata gives a look of worry, looking up at the picture he was holding over his own head, somewhat becoming manic in his gaze into it, as his eyes widen.
Hinata: (Manic) "Oh no! You're absolutely right! How could I not see it before?! It's almost like I'm lifting up a slice of cake! And I'm so hungry!"
Hinata suddenly brings the photo down to his face and opens his mouth wide, scarfing down the image in one foul swoop.
Yuri: (Almost ignoring the banter between Naoi and Hinata) " Takeyama, I need you to continue monitoring their activity. If it's passed A4, F2, and T7, it's probably going to end up passing observatories Y1 or X9 in a few hours, if it's traveling at that same speed. Try to get a good focus on them by getting some infrared or thermal footage of them. I'm curious as to what they may be" (Speaking to herself) "I'm hoping they're not what I think they are..."
Yuri's memories flash back to a moment in the Afterlife School, where they were fighting against the NPC-turned shadow beings.
Naoi: "Foreshadowing much over there?"
The door opens from in front of the room. Yui walks into the door, her hair messed up and her uniform a mess, with shoe-prints and dust covering most of her clothing. She gives a sigh of relief, finally home from a long day. She drops all of the Class SSS flyers and plops herself onto the couch where Naoi sat a few moments prior. Without looking, she takes notice to Hinata enjoying a Polaroid image meal.
Yui: (Giving absolutely no fucks. Talking quietly to herself in regards to Hinata's current actions) "Moron"
Yuri raises an eyebrow at Yui, almost slightly concerned for her appearance and lack of enthusiasm.
Yuri: "What's up with you?"
Naoi: "Yeah, you look like hell"
Yui: "This job sucks! I dropped some flyers and went to try to pick them up in a busy crowd" (Shuttering, remembering the horrors of being recently trampled by a busy crowd) "I tried to yell at them to stop, but they just... They just kept on going..."
Takeyama: (Sarcastic) "Your services are appreciated"
Yui looks up at Yuri, giving a more serious look.
Yui: "I saw someone though"
Everyone let's out a collective, "Huh?"
Yuri: (Sarcastic) "What, you almost saw Iwasawa naked again?"
Yui: (Angrily blushing) "I told you, that was not my intention! Just because she's my hero, doesn't mean I'm attracted to her like that!"
Yuri: (Almost interested) "What did you see then?"
Yui's face becomes serious once more.
Yui: "I don't know how many people we know that are somewhat tall and have red-orange hair, but..."
Yuri gasps. Everyone in the room stops what they're doing. Yuri suddenly removes her feet from atop the desk and stands from her seat, smacking her palms on the desk, putting the full frontal weight of her body over the surface. Takeyama nearly drops his laptop, his mouth open in disbelief. Hinata spits out the photo and quickly stands to his feet, free of Naoi's hypnotism almost immediately. All are silent for a moment.
Yuri: (Serious and yelling) "Are you telling me that he's here?!"
Yui: "I swear, I saw him with my very own eyes!" (Questioning herself, puts index finger over her lower lip and looks up, contemplating whether her memory deceives her) "At least, I'm pretty sure that it was him..."
Yuri: (Commanding voice) "Hinata!"
Hinata looks at Yuri.
Hinata: (Serious) "What is it?"
Yuri: "I need you to wake up Noda, Matsushita the Fifth, Fujimaki, and Takematsu. I have a mission for you five"
Hinata quickly obeys Yuri's orders, quickly making a move for the door.
Hinata: "I'm on it!"
He exits the room quickly
Yuri: (Looks at Yui) "Are you absolutely certain you saw him?"
Yui: "I..." (Feeling less confident) "I... I couldn't tell for sure. I... It was just a moment, but it was out the corner of my eyes! It was like he was watching me, and then just walked away!"
Yuri thought to herself for a moment.
He had to of known it was Yui, if it really is him... Why would he just look at her and then leave?
Yuri sits back down. The whole room remains silent. Naoi looks at Yuri, almost sorrowfully.
Naoi: "If it really is him... I mean... It's been three years. When we all left that other place, we all ended up here. Why didn't he follow-suit?"
Yuri: (Crossing her arms) "That's something I've stopped trying to figure out months ago. This afterlife seems to further the idea that reincarnation isn't real, but..." (Thinking for a moment) "That doesn't make any sense. We all left the school almost at the same time... Everyone else was here... Except him"
Naoi: "Tachibana was the last person to come through"
Yuri: "I've already talked to her about that. She doesn't know what happened either..."
Even though I know that's definitely not the truth... How can I, or even Kanade even face the others? They wouldn't trust her anymore... They'd shun her for the rest of eternity... Kanade would be left alone in this world with no one, just like she was left alone every time she made a friend in the previous world...
*Yuri's perspective*
Kanade told me everything... She told me that after Naoi, myself, and then Hinata left, they were the only two left. She told me that Otonashi had requested to take a walk outside with her. They talked for a short time. Otonashi so foolishly mentioned that he wanted to stay with her forever in that world... He loved her, after losing so much already in his previous life. He admitted to her that he loved her so much. She never told me whether she felt the same way, but... I bet she felt it, too. The entire time we've been in this other world together, she's changed. I've not seen her smile since we first saw her here, even after being freed of any burdens that anyone else would believe she carried previously, since we were all able to pass on... But since we've been in this world, she's become far less curious, less caring, and closed off from everyone else. Fewer times than I could count on my hands has she even sat with us to eat...
I'll bet she feels selfish about what she feels she did to Otonashi... It's funny. Someone who's so selfless took her opportunity to pass on, despite possibly feeling the same love for him as he did for her. She took the opportunity to leave, after feeling all of this loneliness for all of the years she'd been in that other world. That very loneliness she previously felt was the reason she'd smiled few times over there, why she was so bent on academic perfection, and why she fought so hard against us when we were enemies...
Even though we've all made our peace with one another a long time ago, part of me really wants to hate her. I want to hate her for how selfish she was. How she was the one who helped so many pass on, but couldn't help one last person - Yuzuru Otonashi... But... If Otonashi passed on before her, could she have been able to go forth? Is that why she left first, even at the risk of trapping him in that world? Is she really selfish? Was she just fed up with being lonely herself? We all have our crosses to bear... All she wanted to do was tell him 'thank you'... The whole purpose of her existence there, was to just give appreciation to him, for giving her the gift of life...
08:30 AM
A soft clap from the base of a hard-paper cup that was filled with coffee had softly hit against a green table-top. Yuzuru woke up, raising his head from his arms, as he rested, seated at a table of a cafe. He looked up at a tall, young man, one of the cafe baristas, who was wearing a white apron and black shirt and slacks, had long, brown hair that went to his shoulders. After placing the medium-sized, hot cup of coffee on the table for Yuzuru, he smiled and sat down across from him, still holding his silver serving tray.
Barista Ben: (Speaking Japanese) "Rough night, I take it? Here's some coffee. It's on the house"
Yuzuru is immediately taken aback at the fact the man spoke Japanese.
Yuzuru: (Amazed, speaking Japanese) "Oh, finally! Someone I can speak to!"
Barista Ben: (Laughing) "Yeah, well, there's a lot of people in this world. Most of em speak English, even if it's a second or third language for them. In comparison, few of us actually speak in Japanese, but that's alright. I take it you're fairly new here, huh?"
Yuzuru: "Yeah, I guess so... I still feel like you people here are still trying to prank me with this whole afterlife crap"
Barista Ben: "Well, I'm probably not the first to tell you that this is the real deal, but it's definitely true. I can tell you that, because I've been here in Necropolis for almost a century"
Yuzuru: "Necropolis? As in a city with a crap ton of graves and dead people?"
Barista Ben: "That's what they call this city we're in anyways. Has a nice ring to it!"
Yuzuru tries giving a halfhearted smile to the seemingly implied joke.
Barista Ben: "Other than that, outside of the city, we have rural areas and such, more big cities, some smaller cities, and a lot of suburban areas where blood relatives might gather and form clans that make up entire neighborhoods. Sounds pretty feudal, but it's actually pretty cool how they do that. Though finding family here is fairly difficult, because of how massive this world is. One kid explained to me that it reminded him of some kind of game you kids played in the mortal world... War of the Craft World, I think it was? Or something crazy like that. I don't know, I'm one-hundred and some years old, so I died around the time when motorized transportation came about. Anyways, you may have to travel out pretty far to find some nice patch of land to settle for the rest of eternity, but it's quite nice not having to worry about no apocalypse, crime, or anything of that sort. Other than all of that, how are you holding up?"
Yuzuru: "Well, I have no memories of anything. I can remember my name, I think, but nothing else really..."
Barista Ben: (Puts index finger and thumb over chin, thinking) "Hmm... I've seen thousands upon thousands of people come through my shop as a first destination, coincidentally. Not a single one had any sort of amnesia, at least from what I have understood. They'd just come here, see my shop, and just talk. Even folks with Alzheimer's in their previous life remembered most things in their life"
Yuzuru: "Hmm..." (Thinks for a moment, looking around) "You're the owner of this shop?"
Barista Ben: "You betcha! I've had this shop for 82 years! Took a visit to America when I was alive. Coffee was on the rage over there, and I fell in love with it! When I died and got here, there were plenty of shops that served nice, hot tea, but there weren't many coffee joints around , so before this area became pretty popular, I went for the permits to own the shop, and here I am now!" (Laughing) "We've had all kinds of people come through; people who lived poor lives, the rich, famous, and everyone in-between! I wouldn't have considered myself very luck in my mortal years, but since coming here, I've made the most of my afterlife" (Looks up proudly) "This place has become my legacy, and I don't ever plan on retiring!"
Yuzuru looked at him, thinking.
Yuzuru: "Oh, I'm sorry, I don't think I properly introduced myself. I'm Otonashi"
Yuzuru places his hand in front of him, hoping to shake the owner's hand. He accepts and they shake hands.
Barista Ben: "I'm Benjiro" (let's go of Yuzuru's hand) "Most people call me Barista Ben, or just Ben I guess"
Yuzuru: "It's a pleasure to meet you then, Ben"
Ben nods his head and smiles. Yuzuru grabs his cup of coffee and begins blowing on it to cool it off.
Yuzuru: "I know I'm beating at a dead horse, but how do I really know you're telling the truth? How do I know we're actually in... Well... You know... The afterlife?"
Ben gives a lighthearted chuckle as Yuzuru takes a small sip of his coffee, careful not to burn his mouth. He turns around and points past the cash register and counter, near a group of brewing and espresso machines. A collage of photos are framed on a brown-painted wall, some photos were in black and white, few in sepia, and most in color; most photos also bearing an autograph. Yuzuru's eyes grow, fixated on the many photos, each with Ben standing next to a famous individual, all long deceased in the mortal world, and most of the pictures crammed with people.
Yuzuru: (In disbelief) "I don't believe it..." (Points to a signed, colored image of Ben and an older man in a suit, appearing to have been taken recently) "That's Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi! He died years ago!" (Points to another signed, black and white photo) "That's former American President John Kennedy! What?! I don't believe it!"
How the hell am I able to remember these people, but I don't even have memories of my own?!
Barista Ben: "It's been a long road. Like I said, this place has seen many interesting people. I take pride in this cafe, helping anyone, regardless of how poor or rich. Life gives us all valuable experience. We're all here to enjoy ourselves, because we've earned it through the rite of passage called life and death, my friend"
Yuzuru: "I don't mean to be rude, but why do so many people come through here? How did you get the opportunity to meet all of these people?!"
Barista Ben: (Reassuring Yuzuru was not being rude) "Well, to be honest, I've asked myself that question quite a few times. The only answer I could come up with, is that my coffee is just that damn good!" (Laughs heartily)
Yuzuru is in a mental state of shock, thinking to himself, realizing that perhaps he really is in the afterlife now.
I don't believe it... I really am dead! I'm actually in the afterlife... I... I can't be dead... How can I be dead when I can't even remember when I did before I died?!
Yuzuru: (Confused) "I don't know what to say... I'm actually dead?"
Barista Ben: "Well, to put things into perspective, it ain't the first time I've had a visitor come here confused and in denial" (Chuckles) "Why do you think I put all of those pictures of me and those dead old kooks up? I care about my shop's reputation, but I want people to understand that they now have only one aim, and that's to finally rest, which is why I put those pictures up, to provide proof that we're immortal now" (Pauses) "I will say though, at least you're not one of those new guys who go into a frenzy when they find out they're dead"
Yuzuru: (Taking everything in, trying to process his thoughts) "Right... I can see why they'd go pretty berserk..."
Barista Ben: "This world is pretty damn big. There are a few routes that go between Necropolis and the rural areas, up to thousands of kilometers outside of Necropolis city limits, as well as to other cities that a lot of people tend to go out to, to settle down and enjoy themselves. Those long, motorized carriages that carry a good amount of people-" (Thinks for a moment) "I think they're called busses? Well whatever they are, they travel in and out of the city, and to other places, free of any charge" (Smiles)
Yuzuru: "That's... Actually pretty amazing. But why do people have jobs here? I mean, the bus drivers, you, and all these shops all over this city? What's the point if this world is meant for us to rest in peace?"
Barista Ben: "Well, although the idea of the afterlife is to find peace. Many find their peace with owning shops. You'd be surprised at the kinds of places people open up when you have an eternity to just experiment with passion and happiness! Money does exist here, but mostly because living in such a densely-populated city, such as Necropolis needs to be able to have currency, since living her is so sought after. As for those drivers who drive those bus things, they may find peace in assisting others in their journey through this place" (Pauses, smiling) "Personally, I find a lot of joy in helping others while serving a hot cup of Joe! I've met so many thousands of people, and never do I grow tired of meeting more!"
Yuzuru: "So, I guess there is a lot of peace made through working then"
Barista Ben: "You don't have to know where you're going, because the limits of this place are based on the limits your imagination! You have all the time in the world to build a big home, find a girl, climb the largest of mountains - anything and everything you could ever imagine! Many times, the journey itself is the answer to your inner peace"
Ben looks down for a moment at his tray and smiles. He looks up at Otonashi, who was smiling at such a positive thought.
Barista Ben: (Standing up) "Well, it's eight thirty-five now" (Walks towards the counter) "I gotta get back to work before more people come in. We usually get a lot of customers after about nine clock. You're more than welcome to stay here as long as you need to. I understand that this ain't something easy to just take in, being dead and all. Take your time"
Yuzuru: "One last question though..."
Ben stops and gives Yuzuru his attention.
Yuzuru: "Are there bad people here? You know, like criminal gangs, or anything like that?"
Barista Ben: "Usually, when people die, they're released from the mental state that were caused by stresses in life. Even gangsters, thieves, and all those types of bad people have their reasons, not that anyone would justify them. This world caters to a lot of the people who were problematic in mortal society, and gives them a place, to show their life was meaningful, even if it wasn't moral. There simply is just no reason to be bad here. Even the people I've met who were pretty coo-coo in life are usually released from their struggles upon death, so generally you don't run into a lot of the bad guys here. If they do exist, then I sure as hell haven't seen any here"
Yuzuru: (Thinking for a moment) "I came across this girl earlier, and she had like this strange, devil-looking schoolgirl getup. I don't know how to really explain it. She was handing out flyers for this Afterlife War Front. She seemed almost familiar"
Barista Ben: (Laughing) "Ah, you mean those kids! They're pretty famous around these parts... I wouldn't say in a great way. They're more notorious, but in a sort of adorable way. They aren't inherently bad, but they're one of the few exceptions most people make in terms of the whole 'coo-coo' thing. They seem pretty mischievous at first. Other than that, I see them pretty regularly. They're a bunch of nice folks. You don't look the type that'd join them, but what do I know?" (Chuckles) "I will say though, they tip nicely, and that's always great for business, so I like 'em! I think they also have their own place in the city somewhere. I don't know how they are able to afford it, but more power to them, I guess!"
Ben starts setting up cups from in front of the counter to prepare for the morning rush.
Barista Ben: "And as far as that little devil-girl is concerned, I believe her name is Yui. I see her more often than I'd like if we're being honest. If you manage to meet her though, I'd probably tell her to lay off the caffeine. She's got more energy than a powdered keg" (Walks behind the counter to work on coffee machines) "Perhaps the reason your mind pointed out that girl was because of your intuition. With all the time we have, it's probably worth researching the curiosity!"
Yuzuru thinks to himself for a moment. He goes back to his table to try enjoying his coffee, thinking to himself.
If I'm really dead, what are my own limitations of this world? Should I talk to these people? I mean, what if they're just some rag-tag group of degenerates and outcasts?