Promise

-Chapter Two-
~Rose Petals on the Floor~

Disclaimer:I do not own Angel Beats, nor am I gaining any profit from this fanfiction.

Author's Note- Before I start I'd like to thank Chaoscrazy. Sixth Candle, Rk. zeph, and a Guest for reviewing~! Thank you guys so much for the feedback, I greatly appreciate it!

'Finally, my shift is over.' Haruka Kumori ran her forearm over her forehead as she walked down the hallway filled with sleeping patients. The young woman had been working so hard lately; it seemed as if she never got a break. She wondered briefly if her son and husband had already gone to bed; lately her boy had taken to staying up to wait for her. It was kind of him, but he was a high schooler now, and with all of that work, it wasn't good for him to be staying up so late. Yet still, he wanted to wait and hear her stories about work. Though he was only in tenth grade, he seemed to have a passion for the medical field already.

A smile crossed her features as she thought fondly of her family; so kind and understanding. Her hand was reaching out towards the steel door that separated the waiting rooms for the patients' families when someone grabbed her shoulder.

Haruka let out a scream as she whipped around, her orange-dyed locks slipping from the clip she always wore it in. A figure stood behind her; a tall, black enigma that seemed featureless in the deep darkness of the hallway behind it. "W-who-..."

"Forgive me. You are the nurse in charge here? I came to pick up my daughter." A deep voice rumbled as Haruka's heart slowly began to fall into its regular pace. Now that she wasn't so frightened, she could see him clearly. Before her stood a tall man with short, chestnut colored hair. His sharp features led her to pin his nationality as North-American Indian or perhaps Greek; either way, his face was sharp, almost shocking at first sight. He wore a neat suit, and had a briefcase clasped in his right hand. The A-typical businessman.

"Your... daughter?" Haruka blinked, feeling quite stupid. But the patients here were inpatients, they couldn't just leave. And she couldn't think of any patient that looked anything like him.

He heaved an exasperated sigh, rubbing his temples as if dealing with someone so simple gave him a headache. Haruka was quite offended by this; after all, he was the one who had startled her out of her wits!

"My daughter, Yui was in an accident. My wife called and said that my youngest kid was staying here with her. Kait. Last name Takamura?"

"Oh!" She had forgotten that young Kait had been with her sister. Last she had seen them, Kait was asleep in the hospital bed, pressed against her sister's side. Haruka had offered to move her, but Yui protested, saying that she wasn't hurting her injured body. "Yes, excuse me. If you'll follow me, I'll go get h-..."

His voice interrupted, so cold and deep. "No. I am perfectly capable of walking down the hall and retrieving her myself. Which room is it?"

"Fourteen, sir." Haruka's eyes narrowed; this man was beginning to get on her bad side. "Please, no visitors are allowed at this hour, so you might want to get her as quickly and quietly as possible."

"That shouldn't be a problem. After all, if everyone else here has an attention span similar to yours, I'll be perfectly fine stomping down the halls as loud as I can. I walked right by you, didn't I?" His empty hand fell on his hip as he wore a mocking smirk.

'Is this man serious? His daughter was in a life threatening accident and yet here he is trying to irritate me! What a bastard!' Haruka thought as she resisted the urge to snap at him. She would most certainly get in trouble for that; however, and simply turned away. "If you'll excuse me. My shift is over and the doctor will be coming in only a few seconds. I'm sure he'll want to talk to you, so perhaps you -should- stick around. Maybe you need to hear the severity of the situation first hand."

"I believe I know the situation better than anyone else, ma'am." His smirk melted into a frown. He also turned away, taking quiet steps down the hallway whilst peering into each open door with curious eyes. As a lawyer, he saw cases like this all the time. People hit by cars, people hurt during war overseas, people just born unfortunate. He had to represent them and point the blame at the defendant. And he was damn good at it. As a matter of fact, blaming someone else seemed to be his calling in life. It was always the other person's wrong-doing. Someone screwed up somewhere. There was no such thing as an accident in Brutus Takamura's eyes.

He was teased lightly when he first started working. A Latin first name, but a Japanese last name? Regardless of his lineage, most thought his first name didn't suit him. He wasn't simple or slow or violent like his name suggested. Brutus was a kind and caring man who listened to his clients' cases and sincerely worked to help them. At work, at least.

He eased open the door to Room Fourteen. There were his children, curled up in the hospital bed. Kait was sleeping heavily, but Yui seemed to be simply dozing. He sat his briefcase down, crossing his arms.

"Kait. Let's go." He spoke from across the room. At the sound of her father's voice, the young female nearly jumped awake. Kait's sudden movement elicited a moan of pain from the drowsy Yui, which caused Kait to hop to the floor and grab her sister's petite hand.

"Yui! Yui, I'm so sorry! Are you okay? Please don't be mad at me!" Already the pink-haired youngster was on the verge of tears, yet no one had even scolded her.

"Don't worry, it's fine. My medicine's wearing off, okay? Don't worry, you didn't do anything!" Yui patted her sister's head, calming the girl instantly.

"Clumsy." Mr. Takamura spoke, growing more impatient by the second. "Damn it, Kait, let's go!" His voice had taken on a dangerous edge.

"Oh, sorry Daddy!" Kait whimpered, turning back to her sister and throwing her small arms around her. "Bye Yui. I promise I'll be back RIGHT after school tomorrow, okay? I'll be here every day and I'll tell you about everything I hear!"

"I said let's go, you're wasting time and we need to get the hell out of here before we miss the bus; you know damn well my car is in the-..."

As Yui watched, the world around her seemed to freeze. 'No,' she realized, 'not frozen, but slowed down.'

Her father had reached forward and grabbed Kait by the arm, pulling on her. Then came the crash; a loud crash that echoed in her head; surely it was breaking glass! Surely it was 'him'! Yui's head whipped towards the window, expecting to see a baseball. Finally, finally! He had kept his promise! She was free!

But there was no baseball. There was a frame where the glass had been, but no white sphere. Glass shimmered as it seemed to float in the air, slowly approaching her face. She glanced towards her father and sister, wondering if they had seen such a phenomenon. They were both flying backwards, as if a strong punch to the gut had effected them both. Yui cocked her head; what was going on?

And then droplets of red splashed across her features, and she understood. Yui had experienced this slowing of time twice, both times when she had been hit. It was that moment in one's life when an event was taking place so awful; so horrible that the cruel world nearly stopped on its axis just to let one linger in the agony for a few moments. But now, time had caught up.

"Dad? Kait?" Yui began to panic as her sister crumpled to the ground. She looked up to her father for answers, only to see him clasp a hand over a spreading red spot on his white-pressed shirt. He staggered against the far wall, trying to hold his balance.

"S-shot?" His voice was high and whispery. It was the last thing he said before slumping to the floor, leaving a streak of rose-colored liquid on the wall behind him.

"KAIT!" Yui screeched, her voice cracking as she used her weak arms to pull herself out of the bed. She hit the cold floor, sending a wave of pain throughout her entire body. But Kait didn't respond; her back was to her sister, who was soaking the floor with blood through a shredded hole in the fabric of her little hot-pink sundress; her favorite color. Her favorite dress. It was the same color as Yui's hair.

"Kait, please, please, you're gonna be okay, I'm right here!" Yui stretched out her hand, trying to drag herself over towards her little sister. But her broken body was too heavy, despite her small size. She was just too weak; too incapable; but she couldn't give up. She managed to pull herself closer, close enough to grab her sister's bloody hand.

And look into her fading eyes, one last time.

A/N- ;-; Sadness.