Angel Beats!

I (Otonashi) slowly opened his eyes "Wh…where a I?" My vision was phased, but I knew I was laying down, on something cold, and hard. I placed my hands beside me and dragged myself up. My eye lids were heavy, and I finally stood on my feet, but was heavily unbalanced. I looked where I was lying. I was lying on the cold concrete on the pavement, in what seemed to be a desolate world. I placed my right hand on my cheek, which was throbbing, because I was lying on it "Where the hell am I?" I asked myself. I looked around to see if I could see anyone. But no-one was in sight. I was in the middle of what looked like a well-built city, with skyscrapers reaching the heavens. But something was wrong. They were not demolished, but it looks like this place has been deserted for many years. The cars that were parked at the pavements were all rusted, and most of them were half destroyed, with the odd one completely annihilated. "What, the hell, is going on!" I yelled out in frustration. I then heard noises behind me. I quickly turned around with relief "THANK GOD…you…are…OH SHIT!" I quickly dived to my side, landing behind a car. I bullet streaked fly past me with an incredibly impressive amount of rounds per minute. It was almost like a minigun. But what was that. I leant very slowly, and took a glance at the figure. He looked human, but I couldn't see any of him. He was in like a jet black shrouded cloak, complete with a hood and a shadow hiding his face. What I thought were bullets, were not bullets at all. They were more like energy shots. They were way too powerful to be ordinary rounds. The figure pointed this pistol like thing at me and let out another few hundred rounds. "WHAT THE HELL!" I flung myself back behind the car and covered my head with my hands. When the rounds stopped, I was thinking or running. But what if he wants me to run, and wasn't really out of ammo? Damn it, what should I do!

"OTONASHI!" I heard a yell coming from ahead of me.

"Yuri?" I asked to myself silently.

"THIS WAY!" She was on the far side of the road, hiding behind a building, flailing her arm to come here basically.

I hesitated for a moment, but I knew it was do or die. So, I jumped up to my feet, and sprinted as fast as my legs could carry me. The rounds started to let lose again, and I took one last glance behind me. He wasn't running for me, he was just walking. Maybe he took an injury or something, or maybe thought if he doesn't get me now, he can get me later. The rounds were almost deadly accurate, so I ran side to side to take off his aim, taking the opportunity so that when I got to the opposite pavement, I had the cover of some other cars. "AAARRGH!" I yelled out in pain, as a round tore through my right shoulder, spewing blood all over the pavement. Nevertheless, I kept running, until I got to Yuri. She grabbed me by my injured arm, to which I shouted, and she swung me around behind the building, smashing my face against it.

I turned around and rubbed my broken face, but still hugged the wall "YOU REALLY DON'T CARE WHAT HAPPENS TO MY ACE DO YOU!"

She turned from the corner and punched me in the gut, and I fell to the floor, grabbing it "SHUT UP YOU IDIOT!" I quickly shut up. She obviously knew more about what was going on than I do. She took one last glance around the corner, and let out a big sigh "Phew, he is going away" She then took a look at me, and knelt down "Come on, we have to get out of here, or he will come for us again" I nodded in approval, and got up, still clenching my shattered shoulder, which was oozing with blood, very quickly. She grabbed my hand and started to run up the pavement.

'What the hell is going on here, I thought we left the underworld!" We ran onto the road and onto the other pavement, and into an ally way. Half way through we turned a left corner. On the corner was a solid reinforced steel door.

Yuri tapped on the door, and opened a slit, whispered "It's Yuri and Otonashi" we waited for a few seconds, then sounds of unlocking were coming from behind the door. It took about 20 seconds before it finally opened, slowly. What I saw was a very dark building. I was taking it in before Yuri shoved me in, me still clenching my shoulder. When we got inside, Yuri closed the door slowly, to try and not make any loud noises by not slamming it. She locked the thing with reinforced everything. Then the light was switched on. I was really surprised.

"What…no way, everyone, what is everyone doing here?" Everyone was standing in front of me, with smiles all round, especially Hinata and Yui, as they are, you know, especially in love after Hinata proposed to her in the underworld to bring peace to her, and he meant every word of it.

"Hey mate, took your time didn't it!" Hinata walked up to me and put his arm around my neck in a friendly way. I wanted to do the same, but I was really wanting to punch him really hard in the face, as he is making the pain even worse. He immediately saw this and jumped away "Sorry" He faked smiled as he was backing away with his hands out in front of him. He sighed "Well at any rate, it is good to see you bud" He made his way to Yui's side and put their arms around each other.

"It is good to see you too, all of you" I looked at every one, and asked Hinata "So what is going on anyway"

Yuri jumped in "We are between the afterlife and the real world. It's more of a middle world. But before we explain, we need to treat that wound, and fast. Those rounds, if they hit you, after an hour or so, it will, in theory, eat you basically like an acid, but more painful. It burns through your entire body until there is nothing left" She smiled playfully, which greatly disturbed me. I was about to say hi to everyone before she grabbed my hand and took me into upstairs. We walked across a landing and into a bedroom. "Now lay down, I will be back in a minute" I complied, and lay down on the bed as she walked out the door and ran down the stairs. I took a deep sigh.

'This world is a middle world? What the hell does that mean?"

I was feeling sleepy when I heard someone. It was a very calm and a very soft voice "Otonashi" I looked at the door entrance. There was no mistaking it; those golden eyes and long silver hair, and a cute smile came across her face. Her hands were clasped behind her back as well.

I let out a big smile, as I confessed my love for her before she disappeared, and now I can see her once again "Hey, Kanade. Are you ok"

"I am fine. But you are in a more serious condition. At your rate, you will die of blood loss before you die of the round itself"

I half faked smiled, "Err, thanks for reassuring me"

She smiled "No problem"

I grinned "That was sarcasm" I was really thinking about all this, and then I remembered something. So I asked "But we can't die can we, no matter what the injury is, we can't die"

Yuri walked in the door with a small green bag in her left hand, and a large bandage in her other. "In this world, you can die, I will explain to you what is happening once I treat you" She opened the green bag and took out a syringe, with this suspicious looking blue liquid in it. "What will eat you is actually more or less a poison, a very, very powerful poison" She raised the syringe up and flicked the top, like you see in films and such.

"Err, what are you going to do with that?" What a stupid question, I knew what it was for, but I HATE needles. I tried to scramble away from her, but I wasn't going anywhere. She grabbed my arm and dragged me towards her. She is very strong.

"This will only hurt a little bit" She basically thrusted the blasted thing into the wound with full force.

I was ready to scream, but nothing came, I couldn't feel a thing. "That wasn't so bad" I looked at Kanade's smile and then I got all worried, and looked at Yuri, who smirked.

"That wasn't bad huh. I haven't injected the liquid yet"

"Huh?" She then squeezed the top and injected the serum into me. I was trying to hold in the scream, but only for half a second. So I let it all out, I screamed like a little school girl being chased by a bee. It was complete hell. I never felt so much pain. It was like she was injecting acid into me. Then, I blacked out.

When I came to, my arm was in a splint and was in a bandage thing that you put over your arm and neck, and it rests it, I just forgot the name of it. I looked beside me and Kanade was sleeping soundly right there, her head resting against me. I looked at my wound and it was neatly bandaged up and I felt only a little pain. I tried to get up, but my shoulder then let out a sharp and intense pain, so I fell back into my position.

'Looks like I ain't going anywhere anytime soon" So I turned to my side and slid out of bed instead of trying to get up. 'This sucks, to think that you can die here, but not in the underworld' I walked to the door, and took a look at Kanade. She looked so peaceful. SO I decided to leave sleeping beauty where she was and made why way across the landing and down the stairs. I saw 2 people TK, and Matsushita standing opposite the door to deal with any threat that may decide to come in. TK was the first to notice me.

"Yo dude, you ill man" He said in his strange hippy like way of speaking, and starting dancing away, like usual. Matsushita placed his hand on my shoulder.

"You sure your meant to be up and going right now?" He had a big smile running along his face. Now that I am fully awake and paying attention, I can see that they all have tattered and dirty clothes, after being here for a long time. Food was hard to come by as well, but they had enough in store for a very long time. I nodded to Matsushita's question. "Well in that case, Yuri told me to tell you that when you come down, she wants to see you in the kitchen. I nodded and he let go from my shoulder, an started to dance a long with TK. I made my way into the kitchen then. It was quite a chocker the kitchen. It was dirty and messy, and half the plaster off the ceiling was taking off, to be replaced by growing mould. All the corners were damp even though the kitchen units were cleared, they were still filthy. In the centre of the kitchen was an old wooden table, with Yuri sitting in a chair beside it.

She pointed to the chair on the other side of the table "Take a seat" I complied and took my seat and sat down. She then got comfortable and started "I will now tell you what is going on"