A/N: Ah, flamers... they never cease to amaze me with their inability to read warnings and labels. It was stated in the summary that i was writing about the SSS2, so if you don't like that idea, don't click on it. Then again, i do admire their ability to come up with of the most creative ways to insult writers. There is something that i have told to many people on multiple occasions, if you don't find it interesting or you don't like to read it, close the window or page and walk away. If you don't have anything productive to say, don't say anything at all. You're wasting both my time, and your own.

Now that i have more or less awoken the hornet's nest of trolls, let's continue on.

Angel Beats!

What We Die For

Chapter 35

Unearned Happiness

Part 11

Days were usually boring. Such days were usually the result of lazing around Fort and doing nothing. There was nothing to do, really. The strange bit about this entire situation was that the number of Shadow attacks were slowly dwindling. Most of the SSS2 members took this as a sign that things were finally turning in their favour. Of course, Yuki remained the ever sceptic who believes that there will be a return of the Shadows. The lax state of the members was inevitable with the decrease amount of enemies to fight. Now the Shadows only came twice a week at night. Their numbers were now in the single digits.

It would not even take half of the Assault forces to deal with such numbers. Even Ein had decided to relax a little, as can be observed by his loud and rowdy laughter from the cafeteria. The assault members were really being too relaxed. Yuki would not allow Fort to be the same, though you could say that her efforts were somewhat in vain. I took a patrol around the perimeter last week as per Yuki's orders and found that more than half of the machine gun nests were littered with personal things and snacks. The elite members of Fort, once the shining soldiers under Yuki, were now a bunch of laid-back slackers who can even forget to load the machine gun before firing it.

Yuki was obviously not pleased with my report, so she went off to try to shape them back in order. Needless to say, she failed rather miserably. Today, Yuki is once more off the rails. Peering over my manga, i saw Yuki throw a fit again for the third time this day. I was rather relaxed though, reading manga while lying down on the couch of the principal office.

"Gah! This is too much!"

Yuki screamed, throwing the whole bunch of reports off her table. Probably more news that the members were slacking. It had been the same for the past few weeks. Maybe that hot springs project was too effective. It had been about seven months since the Diversion division's grand revival operation, and things seemed to go on smoothly after that. Kinoji Awase was the new leader of the Diversion division, but due to her carefree nature and lack of focus on anything in particular, Yuki placed a guy named Jinnai as her 'assistant'. In other words, this 'Jinnai' person is the one keeping the division together. Awase gets good ideas from time to time, but those were rare so it was up to Jinnai to plan the operations and execute them.

"... I give up."

Yuki sighed, getting up from her chair and throwing herself onto the couch opposite mine. I tilt my gaze slightly to her, before going back to my manga. Yuki grabbed a potato chip from the packet that was on the table, which was mine by-the-way, and threw it in her mouth.

"... Do you still think about him, Kou?"

Yuki asked, licking her fingers of the salt from the chips.

"... Ryuuji? Not really."

I flip the page of my manga. It was getting interesting now. For your information, i'm reading a shounen manga, since it was what Yuuko lent me. Apparently that was all she had. Shounen manga.

"Is that so? Well, it's been several months. Though you did cry non-stop for the first two months."

Yuki sighed, reaching out for another chip.

"I don't need you to remind me. It's over now."

That's right, it had been over for some time already. Ryuuji was gone and there was nothing i could do about it. The journal logs of Nakamura Yuri, the previous leader of the SSS, had stated that it was possible to disappear once you have fulfilled your lingering regrets. A side log made by someone called 'Otonashi' stated that this World was actually a place for teenagers who lived unfulfilled or unhappy lives to try to fulfill their desires. I'm sure most of the SSS2 members had already fulfilled their desires. But they still want more. They still linger on. Perhaps it was like Yuki said before, no one wants to disappear into the unknown.

Afraid of taking that step into the beyond when they would not know what lay ahead. Afraid to lose their memories, their sense of self, their lives. As for me, i do not know what i want. I can't think of any desire i have left unfulfilled, or anything that was missing in my life. At least not yet. Thanks to Ryuuji, i remembered most of my life, except for the bit about dying. That part of my life was still missing. However, just from the parts i do remember, my character had slowly changed.

"... You're dull, you know that? You used to be more shout back at me when i stole your chips."

Yuki muttered, grabbing another chip. I'm not sure about what Yuki said, but it was true that my character did change. I did not feel as energetic as i did before. It's like my entire self was slowly changing in a way i could not control. My life, one that had no direction, no possible cause to live for, was hollow and empty. I lived for no one, not even myself. As such i would not know why i came here. My life was a blank state. I close the manga and got up from the sofa.

"Hm? What, are you going to shout at me now?"

Yuki asked in a nonchalant manner. I tossed the manga onto the table before heading for the door.

"No, i'm heading down to Big Site."

"Hmm~... i see. Going to see your lover again? Well, give him my regards."

It was pointless to say anything more to her, or to get angry or embarrassed. I close the door behind me once i got out of the office. Lover? Akira wasn't something like that. Certainly, i may harbour certain feelings about the young head of Big Site, but i wasn't sure about them. As such, i could not act upon them.

Poking my head inside, i half expected to see him sitting there. But to my dismay, he was absent from his office. This wouldn't be the first time he disappeared from his desk. The last time he did that was when Yuuko decided to come down here with a bang. And i mean a bang. The boss of Guild had decided to test out one of her experimental tanks. Needless to say, it didn't go very far and created a giant hole in the ground. Yuuko's entrance did more than scare away some members of Guild, it effectively shut down operations for a week.

"Oh, if it isn't Kurogane. If you're looking for Fudou-san, he went to inspect the pipe lines to the hot springs."

One of the other guys in the same office said after spotting me.

"I see."

I replied, though my words were directed to no one in particular. It was more like a response that came automatically.

"Did you bring him another bento? Sheesh! I'm so jealous of him! Having a pretty girl like you as his girlfriend!"

Another worker shouted from the back.

"From the way they act, i'd say she's more like a wife! Ha ha ha ha! It's the 'Love Wife Bento'!"

This conversation was something that i did not like to take part in, and so i left the office to head over to the pipelines. Besides, 'Love Wife'? Why in English? And no, i don't make bento for Akira. I just stopped by the cafeteria to get the tonkatsu set meal to go. Thought Akira might be hungry. He's the type that usually concentrates so much on work that he forgets to eat. The same can be said that when he relaxes, he relaxes so much that it would be nearly impossible to get him back to work though that happens rarely since Big Site is a place that needs his attention almost all of the time.

The factory had begun full operations three months back, after being set back due to several mysterious explosions. Since they were similar to the explosion back then when i was tracking down the supply leak, Yuuko just wrote it off as being the same thing. Malfunctioning equipment. Akira had his doubts though there was nothing he could say against Yuuko. No one could say anything against her.

I took the elevator from the main square to the pipelines, a level in-between the main square and the rail-car terminal above. There were other levels as well, most were digging floors used to mine for particular quality of dirt. Big Site had certainly become a well organized mining town on its own. Strange to call it a 'town' since it was located under the school. But it was certainly a town, with housing, shops, food stalls and the hot springs. If it wasn't a 'town' i don't know what is.

"Eh? Fudou-san? He's further down the tunnel."

One of the mining members replied when i asked where Akira was. I look further down the tunnel, where the tapped pipe line that supplies the onsen with water ran along the walls. This tunnel was only one of the five that brought water from the water supply under the school to the onsen below and this was the newest one. That also meant it was the least lit tunnel there is.

"... Thanks."

I continued on down the tunnel, careful about where i stepped in this damp tunnel. The muddy ground gave little traction and falling over can be an often occurrence. I can't understand why Akira wants to continue to work here. Well, not that i can understand what most guys were thinking. Carefully making my way through the tunnel, i came across a few other members who were reinforcing the pipeline, though the leaks were still very apparent.

"Dammit! Someone hand me the wrench!"

Akira's voice came from further down the tunnel. Making my way there, i saw that Akira was pressing his hand against the pipe to prevent too much water from escaping a leak. Too bad he was being drenched in process.

"Oi! Fudou-san! The repairs up ahead and bursting!"

"I'm busy here! Get Fujisaki over there!"

Akira shouted back. As always, he's too busy focusing on one problem that he doesn't realize that if the pipe ahead is burst, then it would probably be useless repairing this part further down until the leak ahead was fixed.

"Someone get me a wrench!"

Akira shouted once more though once again, he was too focused on this that he didn't realize he just sent the only other member working at the same site over to the damaged pipe up ahead. I sighed, shaking my head in dismay. Picking up the wrench from his tool box, i tapped his shoulder with it.

"Ah, finally!"

He grabbed the wrench without looking my way and tightened the loose bolts that finally closed the leak.

"Good. Now that's done i can-"

"Rest."

I interrupted his sentence, which caused him to turn in surprise.

"K-Kou? S-since when were you behind me?"

"Since just now. You've been working all night again, haven't you?"

I raise an eyebrow at him, seeing as how his eye bags were the size of tea bags. Odd way of saying it.

"Ah ha ha ha, sorry about that. Oh, is that lunch?"

He tried to change the subject again, pointing at the boxed lunch i brought.

"Yeah, but go get changed before you eat. You're dripping wet."

"Hm? It isn't so bad."

"It is bad... Go take a bath while you're at it. You smell like the mud around here."

Akira took a whiff of his own overalls, though he did not seem to smell the same thing as i did.

"I don't smell anything."

"I do. Go take a shower or you won't be getting lunch."

"Eh? That's not fair! Stingy!"

What are you, five years old?

"... I'll go wait at the office for you. Make sure you're clean."

I turn to leave, but Akira would not let me leave with the last word apparently as he shouted with my back to him:

"You're not going to join me in the bath?"

I spotted a nice large rock next to my foot. I picked it up and tested it's weight, before turning around and chucking it at Akira, hitting him square on the nose.

"Gah!"

Akira fell to the ground, causing his overalls to be even more dirtied than before.

"Now you don't have reason not to shower."

The wait for Akira to finish showering took some time, since i guess he really needed to get the dirt out. I waited in his office, sitting back in his chair and toying around with the small screw and nut he always kept in his drawer. Whenever Akira was bored, he would take this screw and nut, constantly screwing the nut then unscrewing it. More like a bad habit which i somehow or rather picked up after hanging around Akira for so long.

"Ah~a, that was sure tough to get all of the dirt out of my hair."

Akira sighed as he stepped into the office with a towl draped around his neck.

"Thanks for your hard work."

I said, putting the screw and nut onto the table as Akira sat down in the chair opposite me. I took the boxed tonkatsu lunch and handed it to him. Like a kid during Christmas, he opened the box with wide eyed anticipation and joy.

"Hmm! Tonkatsu set meal! Just what i needed for a tiring day! Itadakimasu!"

Akira wasted no time and dug into the meal. Simply sitting there and watching him eat some how felt rather soothing for me. This and maybe the Key coffee that i was drinking.

"... Sigh, you're getting food all over the place. Eat slowly and enjoy the food."

I reached out and picked the grain of rice off his cheek. As i tossed the grain away, i could hear some jeering from the others in the office.

"Why don't you eat it? Like a loving wife would?"

A particular jeer shouted over. I reached to my holster and pulled out my pistol. That made the entire room silent in that instant. I placed the pistol on the table and went back to drinking my can of Key coffee.

"... Kou, don't you think you're reacting a little too much?"

Akira asked, though he was already used to how i acted by now. During the first few weeks, he was rather worried about me since the news of Ryuuji's disappearance spread. I would admit that it really weighed heavily upon me, that i believed it to be my fault. However such feeling would eventually pass. We all have to move on sooner or later.

"I react accordingly."

I replied to Akira's statement, crushing the empty can in my hand and tossing it into the bin. My wrist watch suddenly started to blip. A call, from Yuki.

"... Are you going to answer that?"

Akira asked, finishing up his meal and washing it down with a cup of water. I pressed the answer button.

"What is it?"

'"I need you to check on the Intelligence division. I received word that they may have found something but the transmission was cut off mid-sentence. We have been unable to establish contact with them so we need you to check it out."'

Yuki answered back. Another job, that was quick.

"... Alright. I'm on my way."

I cut off the call and got to my feet.

"Wait, shouldn't she send someone else? Why does it always have to be you?"

Akira asked, getting to his feet as well.

"... Because i'm the only one she can trust to be vigilant."

I pick up my pistol and checked the rounds before holstering it.

"... Just be careful. I have a bad feeling about this."

I stared at Akira, slightly surprised since he rarely uses the term 'bad feeling'.

"I'll be fine. I'll see you once i'm done."

Having said that, i left his office and headed straight for the elevators in the main square. If i had known that that would be the last time Akira and i spoke in a casual environment, i would have said something else.

A/N: The 'Love Wife Bento' is reference to Azumanga Daioh, in case you're scratching your heads wondering why it sounds familiar... or not.