Author's note: Hello everyone! Here is another monthly chapter. We will see a new situation in Afterlife.

I will explain some important information at the end of this chapter, please read it if you are interested.

Enjoys!

Qwqs

Another Important meeting

It has been a while since the time they looked into The Angel Player's origin. Now they have already gone back to their normal everyday life. Well, as normal as the Afterlife can be anyway.

Today, as usual, Yuzuru continues his duty as a student council president: doing paperwork. The day is supposed to be a normal day like this until Haruka comes to see him.

"Otonashi-san, a new soul has arrived," She says seriously with a stern face, meaning business.

"Oh, is that so? What's wrong? Why don't you just take care of them like usual?" Yuzuru asks.

He knows her ability full well. She will normally just take care of it herself and then report to him later. Or even in the cases that the souls still don't move on and it needs some time, she will just report it to him casually. He has never seen her make that stern face when reporting to him about the new souls before.

"This soul is quite… unique," Haruka answers with a dry smile.

"Unique?" Yuzuru repeats. This is the first time that he has heard her say that.

"Yes, unique," She confirms.

"Details?"

Shaking her head, Haruka replies, "You will understand it when you talk to him yourself, Otonashi-san."

This answer of hers really makes him curious about what sort of person the soul is.

Well, he will soon find out …and not in a good way.

-o-O-o-

"Thank you, Apipu-san! What you have told us is really interesting!"

"You're welcome, Satsuki-san. I hope that as many people as possible can make use of these advices and be able to lead a better life," the boy just smiles back in response.

The boy is surrounded by all the students in the class. He is preaching to them about ways to live a better and virtuous life.

The NPCs never had any real humans preaching to them before so now that they are getting preached by the boy, they can't help but admire his profound wisdom.

More and more students from other classes are coming to listen to the boy's preaching to the point that the hallway is literally filled with people.

'Ah, what a bliss! There had never been this many people listening to my preaching like this back then,' The boy thinks so as he continues to preach to his fellow students who come to listen.

His preaching has continued until a certain student council president and his second-in-command come to put a stop to it.

-o-O-o-

"So what do you guys want from me?" The boy says after he has been escorted out of the classroom during his preaching to the student council's room.

"Before we talk about that, I think we should start by introducing ourselves."

"…" the boy nods once and gestures for Yuzuru to begin.

"My name is Otonashi Yuzuru, the student council president," He begins and then gestures at Haruka and says, "And she is the vice student council president, Saigusa Haruka."

"I guess it is now my turn, I am Apipu Dhammasatian, a Thai person," the boy casually says.

"Thai person?" Yuzuru repeats; surprised at the information.

"Yes, that's right,' the boy confirms, "though in the last memories I remembered before coming here I was involved in an accident in Japan. You see, I was studying abroad," The boy explains.

"…From your words, it sounds like you have an idea of where this place is. What do you know?" Haruka finally says something.

"This place is an Afterlife right?" the boy just casually replies.

"…" Haruka just eyes the boy suspiciously without saying anything.

"H-how do you know that?" Instead, Yuzuru asks the boy a question.

"So I was right after all?" The boy just nods to himself, satisfied.

"And how did you reach that conclusion?" Yuzuru asks again when it becomes apparent that he will not get an answer.

"I just kind of guess it from the circumstances."

"You can guess it from just the circumstances alone?" Yuzuru says, shocked.

"Well, it might be because I have already believed in the concept of Afterlife since I am a Buddhist," The boy shrugs.

"You are a Buddhist?" Yuzuru tries to confirm.

"Yes, I am," The boy nods.

'Buddhism again? Why is it so popular, I wonder? Even Saigusa-san seems interested in it,' Yuzuru groans mentally.

From his dealings with Haruka so far, it can't be helped that Yuzuru thinks of Buddhism as a pain in the ass.

'I meant, aren't the people related to Buddhism are all kind of weird?'

Although he is kind of biased to only conclude it from only his interactions with one person (Haruka) but the fact that this boy also started preaching to NPCs out of nowhere doesn't help in giving Yuzuru a favorable impression of Buddhism either.

While Yuzuru is lost in thought, the boy says, "Anyway, we have already introduced ourselves. Now it is the time for you to finally tell me what you want from me; you called me here after all."

"Ah, that's right. Then I will start by explaining how this place works for you," saying so, Yuzuru begins his explanation.

-o-O-o-

"I see. So that is how it is," the boy nods to himself as he comprehends the information he was given.

"Well, it is the same as I thought for the most part," The boy murmurs to himself.

"So what are you going to do?" Yuzuru finally begins after giving the boy some quiet time for comprehension.

"Hmm… I will move on obviously," the boy answers instantly.

"Ah, is that so! What is your regret then? How can I help you?" Yuzuru asks.

Yuzuru did not think that it would be this easy. The boy seems like a troublesome dude after all.

…Well, Yuzuru was not wrong though. He will understand it in the next few minutes.

"However, before I move on, I want to know the reason why you two are still here and have not moved on yet?" The boy begins.

This will become one of the most annoying conversations Yuzuru will have had here in the Afterlife. But as of now, Yuzuru has not known that yet.

"Oh, I just want to help other souls like you move on from this world," Yuzuru also easily answers.

"…" Haruka remains silent.

"…What about you then, Ms. vice president?" The boy asks when he sees that Haruka remains silent.

"…No comment," Haruka finally mutters after seeing that she has no other choice but to speak.

"No comment?" The boy repeats, a little puzzled.

"It means I don't want to tell you," Haruka says as she is still eyeing at the boy cautiously.

"Why not?"

"I have no obligation to answer you that question, Apipu-san," Haruka glares sharply at the boy, her eyes saying, "Quit it already. No matter what, I won't tell you."

"Oh, well, okay then," the boy sighs and backs off when he sees Haruka's unfriendly manners.

"…"

"…"

"…"
The silence continues for a while as Yuzuru and Haruka waits for the boy to begin speaking again.

"…If I may be so presumptuous…" The boy begins again.

"…If there is something you want to say, just say it," Haruka responds harshly.

"Okay then," The boy nods.

He takes a deep breath before begins again, "I think you two should also move on from this place."

"…"

"…"

After hearing the words, Haruka narrows her eyes in caution while Yuzuru is puzzled.

"Why do you say that, Apipu-san?" Yuzuru asks.

"If this place is as you said it is, I think everyone who comes here should all move on to the future and don't stick around here thinking about the past. Is there any wish you two want fulfilled in order for you two to be able to move on? I would be happy to help."

"So nosy," Yuzuru barely hears Haruka's soft whisper. It seems like Haruka is really pissed off.

"Before that, I think you should say what your regret is so that we will be able to help you move on," Haruka is the first person to begin. Her meaning is, "Just tell us what your regret is and then move on already. You are an eyesore."

"Oh, I guess that's true. How rude was I? My only regret is that I wasn't able to become a monk even once when I was alive," The boy responds casually, seemingly doesn't understand the meaning behind Haruka's words.

"Become a monk?" Haruka is surprised.

"Yes, I want to become a monk. I planned to ordinate after I have finished my Bachelor's degree. Though I still didn't decide yet whether the ordination will be temporary or permanently," the boy explains.

"Hmm…" Haruka stares at the boy as if to evaluate him but with a scornful look on her face.

The boy does not care about Haruka's rude behavior and continues his speech, "Now I have told you my regret. It is the time for you to tell me yours."

"Nah, I have no obligation to tell you that," Haruka responds immediately.

"But didn't you ask me to tell you my regret?" the boy asks back, finally feels the effect of Haruka's enmity towards him.

"You are the one who answered me yourself, aren't you?" Haruka still doesn't stop her offensive behavior.

"Oh, whatever! What about you, Otonashi-san? Can you tell me?" The boy turns to ask Yuzuru when he is fed up with Haruka's aggressive words.

Feeling amused by their conversation, Yuzuru decides to answer honestly to humor him, "If you ask about a wish I want fulfilled, I guess it would be for me to meet with Kanade here again."

"Kanade?" The boy repeats.

"She is the girl I like, but she has already moved on."

"…Do you mean to tell me that the girl you like has already started a new life but you still want to see her again and that you are waiting for her here?" the boy's expression changes to a dark one as he asks Yuzuru.

Scratching his right cheek in embarrassment, Yuzuru replies, "Well, if you put it that way, I guess I will have to say, "Yes.""

"…You shouldn't do that, Otonashi-san," the boy says with a grim face.

"Eh?" Yuzuru yelps in surprise.

"Once a person's life ends or their next life begins, you should forget all about the former bonds you have with that person. Else you would unnecessary bind them to you and restrict that person's choice and freedom," the boy says with a serious face.

"…" Yuzuru goes silent as he is shocked that the boy said the words right to his face. But when he recovers from the shock, Yuzuru says angrily, "What do you understand anyway?! It is none of your business that I still love Kanade!"

"…I understand full well what it means, Otonashi-san. Such a situation is mentioned in one of the Buddhism scriptures and I have studied it," the boy responds calmly to the angry Yuzuru.

"How does Buddhism related to this conversation? You just abruptly tell me that my love for Kanade is wrong! You are the one in the wrong here! My love for Kanade is not even your business!"

"It is related to Buddhism's teachings by the fact that what you are doing will bind her to you and make her suffer, Otonashi-san."

"How would my love for her make her suffer?!" Yuzuru is in fury. His love for her will make her suffer?! What a ridiculous thing is that?!

"Your feeling will restrict her from finding new things including new love, and that shouldn't happen. Do you really think she will be happy if she always has you in her heart but isn't able to meet you all her life? Especially with your feeling for her still intact, I imagine it would be quite a painful thing to her if she remembered your love and still desperately trying to fulfill it knowing that you are still in love with her," the boy begins his rhetoric speech. He is a preacher after all.

"…" To the boy preaching, Yuzuru remains silent; he is very confused and does not know how to rebuke the boy's words.

"Instead, if you let go of that love, even though, by chance, she still remembers the love the both of you have for each other, she wouldn't feel as much obliged to fulfill it because she worries about your intact love or in another words: your feeling. If you let go of your love, she is more likely to be able to move on from it and finding new, precious things instead of being stuck to the past that she will never be able to get back again. And you too, Otonashi-san, you will be able to move on from this love that will never be fulfilled and stop the needless suffering."

"5 Centimeters per Second," Haruka murmurs to herself. The conversation makes her think of that animation she watched when she was still alive. It is a story of a girl who was able to move on and a boy who was still stuck in the past. The reason for that is the love the both of them had for each other when they were young. The girl was able to move on from it and found new love while the boy was still stuck in that love and continued suffering. Although the current situation is a little different from that situation, Haruka has to admit that the words the boy that made her feel so uneasy and cautious said have their merits.

"…That is one of the things that Buddha has taught us," the boy ends his speech with that sentence.

"…You are taking our love lightly, Apipu-san! Our love is much more important than what you said! So what if we suffer a little?! If it was for our love, I'm sure we would gladly agree to accept those drawbacks!" Yuzuru counters powerfully.

The reason for that is because Yuzuru is feeling uneasy that he can't completely deny the boy's words and reasons. This is his attempt to desperate protect what he holds dear to him even if he knows that he is in the wrong. He can't accept it! There is no way he can accept the boy's words! Else, that would mean his feeling for Kanade right now is a wrong thing! And that is the one thing he will never accept!

"…"

"…"

They stare at each other for a while with neither side giving in until finally a sigh escapes from Apipu's mouth, "Well, whatever, I only wanted to advice you. If you still don't agree with me after that, it is all your choice."

"Yes, it is my choice! What do you know about love anyway?! For a person who wanted to become a monk and remained virgin all his life, have you ever loved a girl before?! Are you really qualified to preach to me about love?!" Yuzuru still does not relent. If he did, he would think about the boy's words and has no choice but to accept the one thing that he never wants to accept.

"In fact, I had. I once loved a girl," the boy replies to Yuzuru with that unexpected words.

"You did?" Yuzuru repeats; too stunted at the unexpected response.

"Yes, I certainly did. I did love this one girl so much that just by seeing her make me very happy. And it seemed like she was also in love with me too," The boy says softly; feeling nostalgic.

"It sounds like you didn't date her. Why not?" Haruka asks.

Shaking his head, the boy replies, "Unfortunately, being with her was not my goal. I had a greater goal."

"But you did love her at the time, right?" Yuzuru also asks.

The boy easily replies, "While I did love the girl, I didn't want her to bind me and for me to bind her with commitments and obligations. Love may be tempting but in the end you will lose the one you love one day so I chose not to commit myself to have that type of love in the first place. Life and love are both ephemeral and are nothing one should strive for; you will lose both your life and your love one day. My goal is the thing that is everlasting."

"What do you want then?" Haruka inquires.

"Nirvana, the highest goal in Buddhism that the Buddha has told us," the boy replies solemnly.

"!" Haruka is shocked when hearing that word coming out of the boy's mouth.

"Nirvana?" on the other hand, Yuzuru remains puzzled.

The reason is because Yuzuru does not know what Nirvana is.

Seemingly understands Yuzuru's thought, the boy explains, "Nirvana is the cessation of greed, hatred, and delusion which leads to the end of suffering and rebirth, the only one thing that will eternally end the sufferings and rebirth and make it possible for the eternality to be achieved."

"…Why would you want such eternality though, Apipu-san?" The one who asks this question is not Yuzuru who knows next to nothing about Nirvana but Haruka who has some knowledge about Buddhism.

She knows full well what Nirvana is so she is terrified that the boy wants it.

"Hmm… It seems like you know something about Nirvana, Ms. Vice president. What do you know?" the boy replies to her question with a question.

"…While it is true that by reaching Nirvana, you will achieve a cessation of suffering, you will not be reborn anymore and nothingness is what is waiting for you. That is what I understand. …Do you really want that nothingness as the eternality?" Haruka asks again after she explains what she knows.

"Hmm… it seems like you are misunderstanding something, Ms. Vice president," The boy smirks as he replies.

"…What is the thing I am misunderstanding?"

"It is not the eternal nothingness that is waiting at the end, but eternal peace, Ms. Vice president. Our lives are full of sufferings because we have our desires, attachments, and body. With the cessation of those desires, attachments, and the vessel that creates those things, our sufferings cease. Eternal peace is our goal. It is peace and not happiness that we seek, Ms. Vice president. Everlasting happiness does not exist; there is only everlasting peace."

"But still, if you did not reborn anymore, what would be the point of that eternal peace, Apipu-san?"

"There is no point in it, Ms. Vice president. It is fine as long as the sufferings cease, we can't ask for anything more."

"…"

"…"

Both Haruka and the boy stare at each other in silent leaving Yuzuru in a sideline.

"…I guess that is where we differ, Apipu-san. I don't want such eternality if there is no point in it."

"I have no choice but to agree with you there, Ms. Vice president. Our values are just different."

"Umm… sorry if I interrupt you guys, but in short, that cessation of sufferings is the reason you denied yourself from being with that girl?" Yuzuru interrupts when he sees that their long, confusing conversation ends.

"Yes, that's right, Otonashi-san," the boy nods.

"I see,' Yuzuru also nods in understanding.

"…"

"…"

"…"

The three remains silent for a while as they comprehend the information each of them got from this meeting. In the end though, the preacher is the first one to begin the conversation anew.

"Anyway, I guess I will move on now since I couldn't persuade you guys. It has been a fun experience preaching to people who listen to you and having this meeting with you guys," the boy says softly, "But now it is the time for me to go. I want to reach my goal as soon as possible after all. It is a pity that I wasn't able to achieve it in this life but I will try hard again in my next life," the boy smiles at the both of them before saying his last words, "Goodbye and I hope you two can overcome all the obstacles in your way."

And in the next moment, there is no one where the boy was.

"…He was able to leave without solving his regret first, eh?" That is the only comment Haruka says in this situation

-o-O-o-

"…Are you okay, Otonashi-san?" Haruka asks Yuzuru, who was sitting in his seat depressingly, softly.

"I am fine, Saigusa-san. But please give me some time alone."

"If you say so, Otonashi-san," saying that, she goes out of the room.

When Yuzuru are finally alone, he recalls the conversation he just had with that irritating guy.

"Your feeling will restrict her from finding new things including new love, and that shouldn't happen. Do you really think she will be happy if she always has you in her heart but isn't able to meet you all her life? Especially with your feeling for her still intact, I imagine it would be quite a painful thing to her if she remembered your love and still desperately trying to fulfill it knowing that you are still in love with her,"

The painful words ring in his heart again. As much as he would like to, he can't deny the words of that boy. Yuzuru was the one who lost the argument in terms of logic. Is his love really a right thing if it means that it will make both him and Kanade suffer? Is it really right of him to restrict her from something better than the love that will never come true?

The words the boy said continues to haunt Yuzuru as if a curse is placed on him.

Those words have become another addition of his sufferings along with the ring and dream he is having.

And no matter how much he doesn't want to, they are the things that he has to eventually solve appropriately.

But for now, groaning in frustration is the only thing that Yuzuru can do.

-o-O-o-

A girl is walking down the school hallway with various thought in her mind.

'So that is his philosophy of life, huh? It is really irritating but I can't really say he is wrong in his beliefs. I wonder if Otonashi-san will really be alright? And most importantly, is it really right of me to stay here in this place and not move on like the boy said?'

She has her reasons for staying here of course. But like the boy said, should she really be stuck here in the past and abandon the future that she can have?

'No, staying here is the right choice if I want to achieve that wish I had when I was alive. I have all the time in the world here after all,' convincing herself so, Haruka stops thinking about it.

Like she has said before, she wants to know the truth of life. And there is nothing that will be able to change her mind from this goal she has had for a long time.

The reason why she was so cautious against the boy in the first place is because his beliefs would contrast with hers. He has already accepted Buddha's words as the truth of life already while Haruka still remains doubtful about those words. She doesn't want to be persuaded to believe in those words and abandoning her dream of finding the answer she can accept herself.

…Well, that doesn't matter anymore after the boy has already moved on.

'And finally, one more important thing…what was that?' She changes her thought to think about another important thing she noticed. She believes that thing is the most important thing that she should be thinking about for now after all.

-o-O-o-

"I have decided my loyal servant," the sacred voice says to his loyal servant.

"Yes, my lord?" The servant responds.

"I will continue watching them without intervening for the time being as it is getting interesting and if I intervene now, things will not be so interesting anymore. However, I promise that I will help them in the end."

"You made that decision after seeing their conversation, my lord?"

"That's right, my loyal servant. That boy is such an interesting boy. He is aloof and smart. Although I guess most people will think he is a weird guy but in fact that boy is a rare diamond who desires the highest possible goal that anyone can hope for. It is a pity that I might not be able to pay respect to him on the day he has succeeded in his goal. But with the profound words the boy has left to those two, I want to see what will happen next. This is getting more and more interesting," the sacred voice replies in a good mood.

"I have to agree with you, my lord. That boy is so interesting. It is a pity that he is out of the picture now. But I guess the gift he has left for us will make this more and more interesting. I hope for the best of your amusement, my lord."

"Let's watch over them for now, my loyal servant. Their efforts so far have already made them deserve my help. That help will begin at a right time when I will have the most amusement."

"As you wish, my lord!" The servant cheerfully replies so


Appendix 1: Explanation of beliefs and characters

If you read carefully, you will see that the son's and the father's values are slightly different even though they are both a Buddhist. This space here will explain about that difference along with a difficult concept that I couldn't fully explain in the story.

For starter, I'm sure that you all understand Buddhism's teachings a little better now after you have read the story this far. You should all understand by now that Buddhism teaches you to "develop yourself" and become self-sufficient. That teaching is how Buddhism differs from other religions that preach to you about how to earn god's favor and to rely on them.

The father is the one who utilizes this concept in everyday life and put it to use in secular world. Whereas, the son is the one who uses this concept to achieve its original purpose in spiritual world: Nirvana.

The Buddha told his believers to develop themselves in order to reach Nirvana and end all of their sufferings. While this concept can also be used generally in everyday life, Buddha's real goal for teaching this is for his believers to achieve Nirvana eventually.

So if I have to explain the difference between the two, I will say that the son is more of a Buddhism maniac than the father. While the father utilizes it for general goals, the son utilizes it for the specialized goal. While both of them are not wrong in the viewpoint of the teachings, they differ greatly in how they utilize it and the goals they want to achieve.

It is hard to say whether the son or the father is the better one of the two in their beliefs; it can't be compared. It is like you try to compare how the birds fly and the fishes swim and conclude that either the birds or the fishes are the better one of the two; it is just not possible.

As for Nirvana, it is a hard-to-explain concept. Even Buddha himself said that the concept is beyond words and can't be clearly explained. Nevertheless, I will try my best to explain the gist of the concept here.

Buddhism believes that suffering comes from our desires and attachments and it requires an appropriate vessel for us to have those desires and attachments. Buddha said there are 6 channels in which we receive those desires and attachments. It is by our vision, our hearing, our smelling, our tasting, our touch, and finally our feelings (in short, the five senses and the mind).

If we want to end all of those sufferings then we have to solve them at the roots: ridding ourselves of desires and attachments. And thus the concept of Nirvana comes into play. When we get rid of the 3 flames (greed, hatred, and delusion) which are the causes of rebirth, after we die we will be able to get rid of the 6 channels since we will not be reborn and have those 6 channels anymore. And when there are no 6 channels, the sufferings come to an end.

There is a famous saying "If you don't want to die then don't be born." The saying should explain very well the fact that if there is no cause, there will be no consequence. What Nirvana does is exactly that. Get rid of the cause then the consequence will not happen.

As for whether Nirvana is the path that leads to happiness or not, it is up to debate like how Haruka did with Apipu in this chapter. But at the very least, it is the path that leads to the cessation of sufferings which should be considered happiness.


Done!

I guess now you guys finally understand the reason why the expert said those words in the previous chapter now eh? Like father like son, I guess.

As you should understand from the explanation above, both of them are representatives of what true Buddhists are like. The father focuses more on utilize the teachings in everyday's life while the son focuses more on reaching the highest possible goal (spiritual goal) of Buddhism. It can be said that they are two sides of the same coin but are both a serious practitioner of Buddhism nonetheless.

The reason why I use Buddhism in this story is because I believe it should be refreshing and entertaining experience for you westerners as most of you probably have already dealt with a lot of types of fictions already. Stories related to Buddhism should be a rare metal compared to the typical stories you all have read.

So it should not be wrong for me to assume that you should get some novelty from it and that's why I do hope that you leave some of your opinions of this novelty experience in the review or PM me. It would help me a lot. Or if there is any question, feel free to ask me about it; I will try my best to answer.

What are you thought after you have read my unique story this far? I really want to hear about it. So I really hope some of you would be so kind as to fulfill this little wish of mine.

Finally, 5 Centimeters per Second is my recommended animation for you all. The story is very good, so feel free to look it up if you are interested.

Next chapter we will see the continuation of the talk on Kanade's side.