Heya, this is my first time writing an Angel Beats! fanfic. I wanted to continue the main storyline, going by the alternate ending that the anime has shown, but with more time elapsed since then. Enjoy.

Chapter 1: The Middle of Nowhere

I opened my eyes and the first thing I saw was smoke. It was like as if there was a fire nearby. Alarmed, I sat up and looked around. There was a fire nearby, and around it were the ruins of a destroyed building. The building looked like it would've been a big one if it was still standing. I surveyed my surroundings. The whole area around me looked like as though it had already been burned down for days.

The last thing I remember before waking up here was being at a storefront, and then hearing a crashing sound from above. Everything went black at that point. I couldn't remember anything else. Not even my name. I had to assume that I passed out from a collapsing rooftop.

Before I could put any thought into who I was before, I heard the sound of something exploding, and the screams of people. More smoke filled the sky, and suddenly a whole bunch of teenagers came out of nowhere, carrying guns. Another group appeared on the other side, and they began firing at each other. It caused dust to kick up, and I couldn't see anything around me. I tried to get out while keeping low to avoid getting shot. Somehow I knew that if I kept low, I had less chances of getting struck by a bullet. I knew that there was no time to stop and wonder what was happening. I had to get out of there unless I wanted to die, because getting in between a group of boys and girls with guns is not something to play around with. Especially if it's war. And it's almost like one anyway.

Suddenly someone grabbed my hand and yanked me up. It was a red-headed teenager wearing a strange uniform, and he rushed to the nearest rubble and hid behind there, dragging me with him. He peeked out from behind it, looking at the ensuing fight before running off, taking me with him. I knew he was trying to get me out of the war zone area, but I needed to know if he could be trusted.

"Who are you and where are you taking me?!" I shouted over the noise.

The guy didn't answer, and instead, he ran towards the woods nearby.

"He's there!" I heard somebody shout. "After him!"

The guy who was dragging me along with him ran even faster into the woods to the nearest bush. He made his way to a tree with some bushes in front of it. He pushed the bushes aside and revealed a hole at the trunk of the tree. He jumped down inside the hole, and I fell with him. The hole wasn't very deep, and after he covered the entrance with the bushes, the guy took me deeper into the hole. He had a lantern in his other hand, and we went down into what appeared to be a somewhat crude underground room. He put his lantern on a table and turned back to the entrance. He appeared to be listening to outside, and he was carrying something under his uniform. I guessed that it was a gun and he was prepared to attack if somebody were to peer into the entrance. Something told me that I should ask questions later.

"Did you find him?" I heard a girl's voice say from right outside the entrance.

"No, I didn't," another voice, belonging to a guy, said.

"Damn, we lost sight of him again..." a third voice, belonging to a guy, swore.

"He keeps vanishing into the woods here, but where could he disappear off to each time?" the second voice that had spoken wondered.

"On top of that, we've spotted him for all these years and he's always gotten away from us!" the girl's voice said in frustration. "Where the hell has he always been hiding anyway?!"

The girl sounded like she'd be a very vicious person if I were to meet her.

"But... did you notice that he was taking a guy with him?" the third voice asked.

"Yes, I know that!" the girl said, sounding like as if it was very obvious.

"It's very likely that he was taken to his hiding place," the second voice said. "Maybe we should find him to get him in our army so he can spill us where the hiding place is."

"Did you get a good look at him?" the girl asked.

"No," the second voice answered.

"I didn't either," the third voice answered.

"Damn it!" the girl sounded very pissed now. "So none of us saw who that other guy was?! Geez... our one chance to find him and we didn't get a good look at that other guy... Maybe he'll show up somewhere else later on... If you see any random guy who isn't on our side or the other, capture him. He could be that guy..."

Wonderful. Now I'm a target... of whatever kidnapping they were planning. There were the sounds of footsteps outside, and they gradually faded away. The guy then went to the back of the room, put the object he was hiding his uniform away, and turned to me.

"Are you okay?" he asked. He looked legitimately worried.

"I'm fine," I answered. "Who are you and what's going on?"

The guy looked puzzled for a split second. "I'm the former Student Council President," he answered.

"Former Student Council President?"

"Back when the school was still standing... By any chance, are you new here?"

I was not sure what he meant by being new here, but what I can say for certain was that I have no idea where I am. "Yeah. I woke up and found myself in the middle of a war zone."

The guy looked sorrowful. "That's pretty much how it is around here now... I thought you were a soldier trying to escape."

Soldier? I need to question this guy further. "Sorry, but what's your name?"

"My name is Otonashi Yuzuru. Your name is...?"

I paused. What was my name again?