Hello, this is the second chapter of RE: IFY! Compared to the original, this chapter is so much more wholesome and in my opinion, written much better.

Also, thank you to PetuniaRose and Yuzuhara-san for reviewing Chapter 1! I'm always so giddy whenever I see that someone took the time to comment on my work, good or bad :D

And without further ado, I hope you enjoy Chapter 2!

Disclaimer: I do not own Angel Beats, all characters go to KEY

There was dead silence as the ball soared through the clear June sky. The crowds on each team were holding their breath as this could very well be the deciding factor on which team would advance to the semifinals.

Hinata Hideki kept his eye on the flying ball, squinting as sun rays glared into his vision. He could see that it would most definitely go over his head, so he began to run towards the edge of the field. He could hear his teammates yelling at him but was too concentrated to fully make out what they were saying. Keeping eye contact with the ball, he raised his gloved hand in anticipation for the impact. There was a dull thud and immediately, Hinata closed his glove over the rounded object. There was a moment of quiet before the crowd on his team's side erupted in yells and shouts which were greeted by the groans of the other team and their respective side.

"And that's the third out!" The referee waved his hands to signal out. "The game ends 5 to 4, for Tengoku High!"

Still unsure of what had happened, Hinata turned towards his team to only be greeted by a wave of cheers and claps from his teammates.

"Dude, we're going to the semis!" Hinata's best friend Otonashi Yuzuru hooked his arm over Hinata's neck and dragged him away from the overbearing crowd. "Okay, okay everyone, give him some room. Don't get too excited, we still have the semifinal team to beat! We can celebrate when we win then!"

Hinata sighed, relieved for his friend. He was never really good with being the center of attention, if it was possible to not be. "Thanks, Otonashi." He looked up to see his father standing proudly by the bench. He was beaming so much, Hinata felt embarrassed just by looking at him.

"Son, I'm so proud of you. That was an amazing catch there!" He ruffled Hinata's hair with his hand before Hinata could duck out of the way.

"Dad… stop it." Hinata tried to flatten his hair down again. "I'm not a kid anymore, I'm already 17. Also, if you're proud of that catch, wait till the semi finals! Then the finals! That'll really be something to be proud of."

"Yeah, Coach." Otonashi quipped. "This was nothing!"

Sighing, Hinata's dad, the team's coach, shook his head. "Don't get ahead of yourselves boys. Who knows what will happen during the actual game."

The two boys looked at each other before turning towards their coach with a challenge in their eyes. "You don't think we'll be able to do it?"

Hinata's father chuckled slightly and winked at them both. "Now, I didn't exactly say that did I?"

The two boys smiled at his remark. It was still undetermined which team they would go against for the semis, but among the contesting teams Tengoku High was undoubtedly one of the top schools in the district, sports wise.

Alerted by deep gasps of breaths, the trio turned to see another one of Hinata's friends, Ooyama, running towards them.

"Otonashi! Hinata!" cried the small brown haired boy. "The rest of us are going to the convenience store to grab some ice-cream as celebration and then head to the park! You coming?"

Hinata looked at his dad who waved him on. "Yeah, wait for us!" The two boys quickly gathered their stuff and ran over to the rest of the team, waving to Hinata's dad in goodbye.

Hinata exited the park bathroom, drying his hands in the warm air. He had long since finished his ice cream and had excused himself to the toilet. When he walked out, he took a look at his surroundings. Not wanting to go back to the team just yet, he set out on the trail that circled the park.

This park most certainly wasn't a terribly large one, but it did take a good 10 or 15 minutes to complete a lap around it, dependent on the walker's speed. Normally, Hinata was a pretty fast walker but decided to take his time and leisurely stroll around. The foliage was thick and green, thanks to the town's constant supervision over the wildlife, with patches of wildflowers scattered throughout his walk. Having taken this route many times before, Hinata recognized when he was nearing the picnic area. He had frequented this area many times as a kid, but rarely anymore now that he was older.

He neared the worn picnic table, complete with scratch marks of those who have come by (he would never admit it to anyone else, but he himself had etched on some messages of his own when he was younger). The table had actually grown to be somewhat of an urban legend among the townspeople, with people saying that if you scratched your wish onto the wood and if it was found to have been graced by the white/black stain of that which is bird poop, it would come true.

Hinata was so absorbed in his thoughts that when he caught sight of the yellow flash just beyond the picnic area, he was startled. He walked closer to it, curious of what it was. He turned around a nearby tree to find a lone bench by itself with a single inhabitant. It was a girl, probably not much younger than him, nodding off. What struck him most was her pink hair. It was the color of cotton candy, definitely not a color one would see normally. Upon closer inspection, he saw that her eccentric hair was free save for some clipped at the sides, framing her sleeping face.

Maybe she dyed it… Oh.

What had interrupted in his train of thought was the wheelchair that had been securely tied to the bench. He walked closer, careful not to disturb anything nearby in fear of her waking.

It seemed as if she was fine, but the wheelchair worried him somewhat. He didn't want to disturb her sleep, but Hinata didn't know if he should leave her there by herself. As he was about to shake her shoulder, he heard a feminine voice call out.

"..ui! I'm back!"

Startled, Hinata jolted away from the girl and immediately walked in the opposite direction he had heard the voice. Normally he would have stayed to make sure everything was alright, but he had realized how unusual it would've been to come across a scene for whoever was approaching.

Putting the girl out of his mind for the time being, he finally went back to the rest of his team where he was greeted by questions of where he had been.

"Oh, nothing. Just felt like taking a walk." Hinata smiled at his friends, and before they left the park, spared a glance to the area where the bench - and the girl - was.

Hinata was irritated.

"Practice may help, but it's important that you know when to take a break so you don't tire out." Those words were what Hinata's father had said during their next practice after the win right before he had let them off the week.

His father, being the coach, made sure that Hinata had been getting the proper rest he needed which meant no extensive practice during the week. Itching to get out on the field again to prepare for their next game, Hinata couldn't wait till practice resumed.

He raced through the morning before practice, breakfast partially eaten and his mind wandering to the field during his classes. Luckily he didn't miss anything important as the class was preparing for their school's annual cultural festival. School had finally ended and he rushed out of the building towards the baseball field, not bothering to wait for his friends to catch up.

His dad was already there, setting up any equipment needed for the day's practice.

"Hey Dad, need any help?" Hinata offered as he neared his father.

"Nah, I'm almost done here. When the rest of the team gets here tell them to pair up into threes and grab a bat for one and a ball and mitts for the others." He had just finished filling up the water bottles. "We're gonna be practicing batting and catching for today."

"Alright, Coach." Hinata could already see Otonashi nearing with some of the other teammates, all changed and ready to practice. "Hey guys! Pair up and do some batting and catching!" He grabbed his own stuff that he needed and headed towards Otonashi who he always paired with. Offering both hands, Hinata said, "Batting or catching? Also is Ooyama here yet?"

Otonashi grabbed the mitt and ball, "I'll throw for now, okay? And he should be here soon, he had to talk to one of his teachers about something." He then walked a considerable number of paces before pitching the ball at Hinata.

Knowing there wasn't another person to catch a far ball, the blue haired boy gently lobbed it in the air with his friend on the receiving end. After five or so minutes of this, they both heard the greetings of the late member.

Ooyama ran up to them and grabbed the mitt Otonashi offered him. "Sorry I'm late! What are we doing?"

"One batter and two catchers. Since you were late, you can be the catcher in the back." Otonashi smirked as Ooyama groaned internally. "Have fun running after Hinata's hits."

Grunting, Ooyama ran far ahead and waited for the hit. He had been playing with Hinata for a couple years now, so he knew how well his friend could hit, but even so it took him by surprise at how far he could hit a ball.

"Alright, here I go." shouted Otonashi as he wound up his arm.

Hinata swung the bat a couple times to warm up and when the ball came flying near him, he swung hard as the two objects came in contact with a harsh crack.

Ooyama simply stared at the ball as it flew over his head and the field's fence. Heck, they all stared at it as it crashed into the window of one of the nearby houses.

"Oh shit." whispered Otonashi. Hinata mentally thought the same exact thing as he stared at the jagged glass. However, another stray thought danced into his mind.

Huh... That house's color reminds me of something...

So I decided to split this chapter into two. It was originally going to end with Yui and Hinata meeting, but I felt like it was getting a little long and I honestly didn't know how long their meeting would take. I do hope my stamina for writing longer chapters will increase as this continues on. What do you guys think? Do you prefer more lengthy chapters?

Writing this has gotten me back to listening to all of the GirlDeMo songs and I've been consumed with nostalgia for this series. Highly considering a rewatch just for the songs XD (Shine Days is my all time favorite)

Please excuse my baseball terminology lol I have no experience in that field (no pun intended)

Please do review, likes, dislikes, suggestions, criticism, constructive criticism I can take it all!

As always, I'll be

Writing-in-Colors