A/N: Happy anniversary, you guys!

In case you don't know what the heck I'm talking about, today's June 26, the tenth anniversary of the airing of the finale episode for "Angel Beats!". Yes, THAT finale episode. The one that made all of us bawl our eyes out. The one that got us all confused about the ending. The one that made us realize "Angel Beats!" is never coming back and left us with a great craving for more.

The one that inspired this fic.

Now, what does this ten-year anniversary have to do with this chapter? Well, as you can see, it's another interlude in the same vein as Chapter 20. Now, I know you gals and guys are DYING to find out what happens to Kimiko's siblings and if history is going to repeat itself, or if some divine intervention will take place. But unfortunately, just like with Chapter 20, I'm afraid I'm gonna have to take you out of the action for this one chapter. This chapter is meant to commemorate this ten-year anniversary above all else, and I was sure I had no other way of inserting it into the main story without making it feel forced or awkward. So, here goes, you guys.

On with the chapter! ENJOY!

P.S.: Due to the ever-worsening situation regarding the coronavirus outbreak, I'm going to have to remind you all about the basic steps you should take if you want to stay healthy, courtesy of my university's reminder emails:

-Wash hands often with soap and water for 20-30 seconds at a time, and/or use hand sanitizer
-Avoid close contact with people who are sick
-Keep your hands away from nose, eyes, and mouth (I can't imagine how difficult this part is probably going to be)
-Eat well, get adequate rest, and exercise regularly
-Get a flu shot if you haven't already and are able to

And if you ARE sick (I hope you get better if you are), please be a good sport and save other folks the trouble of getting sick. You can do this by:

-Covering your mouth and nose with your sleeve, elbow, or a tissue whenever you sneeze or cough
-Not sharing food and drinks with others
-Avoiding touching your mouth, nose, and eyes (Again, I understand this is probably going to be difficult)
-Avoiding close contact with others
-Cleaning and disinfecting surfaces and objects
-Staying at home if you're unwell (PRIORITY NUMBER ONE!)
-Staying calm and keeping yourself well-informed (My personal advice)

If you already know this, then great! If you didn't know any of this beforehand, please keep that information in mind as we all go through this trying time. It's a realm of unknowns at this point, and I wish myself and all of humanity well.

"Thank you for loving me."

"Please don't pass on, Kanade! Kanade!"

"Truly, deeply...thank you for giving...my life to me."

"...Kanade... KANADEEEEEEEEEE!"

Otonashi's eyelids flew open. For a quick moment, he expected himself to be staring up at the cloudless, star-dotted sky. But once reality caught up with him, the redhead realized that he was back in his office, lying on the futon he set up for himself. The place he always found himself back in, one time or another.

Sitting up, Otonashi buried his face in his palms, the ringing of his desperate, harrowing cry still reverberating in his ears like it was a fresh memory. ...Then again, who knew? Given how time worked in the Afterlife, for all he knew, a week had passed by and his temporal perception just translated it into something entirely different.

For all he knew, a week had gone by and he never knew it.

Or perhaps a month.

Or perhaps a year.

Or perhaps even ten years.

Perhaps what he believed to be a day turned out to be ten years from another's perspective.

It didn't matter. All that Otonashi knew was that he was trapped in a never-ending vortex of time, with no way out.

Trapped, and all alone.

"You're not alone."

Otonashi cracked a small smile. "Great." He glanced across his shoulder. "It's you."

Her hair was just as silver as he remembered it.

"You sound so surprised," Kanade greeted flatly. She was seated next to Otonashi's futon, her face empty and her legs in a crisscrossed position that the redhead couldn't help but find adorable.

"And you sound...like you," Otonashi replied.

"Is that supposed to be a compliment?"

"Of course." Otonashi looked down at his lap. "Why would I ever lie? I told you I loved you."

Kanade sighed softly and quickly. "You shouldn't have, Yuzuru."

"And live with the guilt over what could've been? I don't think so."

She lifted a hand and used it to stroke his right cheek. Otonashi almost cooed and brought her hand closer to his cheek, desperately wanting to feel the sensation of her very skin against his own.

"I meant..." Kanade briefly paused. "I meant you shouldn't have gone down this path of loving me in the first place..."

"How could I not?"

Otonashi felt a tear develop in the corner of his eye. The dam then cracked, allowing the tear to slide down his cheek and touch Kanade's finger.

"You and I are one. We always have been. If I can't accept that, then how could I ever live with myself?"

Kanade's face contorted into her signature expression. "Being selfish now, are we? I am very disappointed in you, Yuzuru Otonashi. I expected more from you."

"When it comes to you, I think I can afford one moment of selfishness." Otonashi's smile faded away, and then he took a deep, heavy breath as he removed her hand from his cheek. "Well, it doesn't matter now. I did it, you're gone, and I'm-" His voice choked a little. "I'm still here, picking up where you left off. There's nothing you and I can do about it now."

"Nothing, except probably hallucinate about me during your downtime."

"I'm not hallucinating you." Otonashi looked at her again. "You know you're a hallucination, which means that I know this as well. How could I be hallucinating you if I know I'm hallucinating you in the first place? That sorta defeats the purpose of hallucinating, now does it? How could I-? OW! Hey!"

Kanade lowered her thumb and index finger as Otonashi clutched his prickly nose.

"I'm just making fun of you, Yuzuru," she said. "I know you're still hurting about me, but I need you to look on the bright side of things. There are people who need you."

Otonashi rested his chin on his elbows. "More like there are people who I need to have them need me."

"That doesn't make sense."

"You know what I'm talking about, though..." Otonashi's eyes darkened. "I tried to help Kenji again, last night, but..." He held a hand over his heart. "He just shot me again. He's been getting more angry lately, Kanade. More angry...and a lot more violent. His own version of the SSS is growing. At this rate, he's reminding me of..."

His voice trailed off, prompting Kanade to say, "Like Yuri?"

"Yeah. Except...he's more aggressive."

Kanade blinked slowly and idly. "That sounds like Yuri."

"N-No! L-Like an assertive, independent kind of- Yeah, I guess that sounds like Yuri."

"I thought so." Kanade sighed again and stood up. "Well then, I'd say it's a good opportunity for you to be nostalgic."

"Well, if you'd call being shot at constantly a nostalgic moment..."

"But isn't that what you and the SSS were doing to me?" she asked.

Otonashi didn't respond. Instead, he stood up from his futon and looked down at Kanade. It was only after she moved on that he realized how tall he was compared to her.

"I suppose so," he said. "Then again, I was kinda half-assing it."

"I could tell." She paused for a moment. "So...how'd you enjoy your latest studying session?"

"It was fine. I'm pretty sure I got a new ability down, actually."

"Really? Which one?"

Otonashi's eye twinkled teasingly. "Ohhhhh, you'll see."

Kanade puffed her cheeks defiantly. "You know I don't like surprises, Otonashi."

"No, you do. I don't know what the real Kanade would think of surprises."

Kanade deflated her cheeks. "That's true."

Otonashi's lips twitched into a small smile. Then, he watched as Kanade approached a vase of flowers that he had on the other end of the table. It was not just any vase of flowers, though: it was the same kind of sunflowers Kanade had liked and cherished.

Prompted by the memory, Otonashi strolled across the room and towards Kanade. He could never have hoped to restrain himself; emotions were the only thing guiding him. Before Kanade could react, he embraced her in a tight hug.

"Yuzuru..." she whispered softly.

"I know I'm only hugging air," he said, his voice breaking. "I know you're not here. But please, Kanade...please...just let me have this..."

He heard Kanade take a deep breath...before feeling her arms snake around his hips and return the hug. They stayed in that position for the longest time. Minutes, maybe hours. Who knew? But Otonashi no longer cared about his perception of time in the Afterlife. All he needed now was this moment.

Eventually, Kanade's voice pierced the silence, cutting through it like one of her Hand Sonic blades.

"Do you really think...you can wait for me?"

"If that's what it takes, then yes, Kanade."

He felt Kanade's grip tighten around his waist. "But Yuzuru...you know the odds of that..."

"I know." Tears began flowing down Otonashi's cheeks, unrestrained this time, as he nuzzled his face against the top of her head. "I know. But the chances of it happening aren't zero. And if they aren't zero, then it'll happen."

"But Yuzuru-" she began.

"It will happen, Kanade. And until it does, I will wait for you."

"But even if I return here-"

"And you will."

"I won't be me. I'll just be...someone else..."

Otonashi tightened his grip around her. "But I know it'll be you. Our hearts are the same, remember?"

All of a sudden, Kanade tore herself away from him. Otonashi gasped and tried to stubbornly bring her back into the hug, but the moment he blinked, she was gone.

"GAH! NO!"

Otonashi fell over in his haste and then began grasping at the air wildly, hoping he could catch some sort of hint that she was there. Then, the horrible feeling of déjà vu swept over him, and he realized how utterly futile his endeavor was, and how ridiculous he must've looked. The redhead ceased his movements and simply remained in a sitting position, panting and red-faced.

"You can't keep this up, Yuzuru," Kanade's voice...or rather, his replication of it, echoed in his mind. "You're in pain and in denial, and you know it. But what happens when you can't wait any longer? What happens when you refuse to acknowledge it? What then? How are you going to help these people if a part of your mind is going to remain latched onto my memory...? You need to move on, Yuzuru. You need to find your own beat, or you will never be able to do what you were meant to do."

"Kanade..." he thought.

With that, Otonashi hugged himself, trying his best to hold back tears of immeasurable grief. He couldn't afford to show weakness, lest he wanted the weight of the situation to come falling down upon him.

"Kanade...why?"

"Whoa! So cool!"

"Why do you have to be right?"

"I've never seen anything like that!"

"I know I can't keep this up, but..."

"His name's Otonashi-san, right?"

"But..."

"I wonder if he's got a girlfriend!"

"How can I keep going on in this place..."

"There's a rumor that he's waiting for someone."

"Without you?"

"Really?"

"DAMN IT!"

Overcome with frustration, Otonashi slammed a clenched fist into the floor as the tears continued to flow.

"DAMN IT!"

He slammed another fist.

"DAMN IT!"

He slammed both fists down again so hard that he threatened to shatter his knuckles.

After spending a minute in simmering silence, Otonashi winced and stood up, his hands dangling uselessly. He glanced to his left on impulse and saw the whiteboard, pinned from left to right with photos of the SSS.

Not Kenji's SSS. His SSS.

"I'm sorry, you guys," Otonashi whispered fondly. Warmth and relief filled his heart as he shot the nostalgic photos a tiny and embarrassed smile. "I...I must look like a total idiot, huh...?"

"Ne, ne, there he is! The student council president!"

"Wooooow... He looks even more awesome in person!"

"Ohhhhh, not to mention cute!"

"H-Hey!"

"What?"

Otonashi smiled and chuckled under his breath. With a steady, purposeful stroll, he passed one NPC after another in one of the school's many winding hallways. He knew there was no way he could strike up a meaningful friendship with any of these NPCs. They adhered to certain pre-programmed mannerisms and habits and were incapable of feeling any complex emotions that betrayed that coding. They could comprehend the specific likes and dislikes of someone who was thrust in the Afterlife, but never understand the nuances of them, the why.

From his observations, it made the whole thing daunting for any newcomer to the Afterlife. He couldn't help but wonder why the Programmer even bothered to design this place in such a complex, intricate, nostalgic manner.

A small clicking noise interrupted Otonashi's thoughts, and the redhead froze in his tracks. No matter how infinitesimal it sounded, he knew that sound from anywhere.

"Shit."

A relentless hail of gunfire suddenly flew down the hallway, forcing Otonashi to kick the nearest classroom door open and jump inside for shelter.

"Just in the nick of time," he muttered with a smirk.

Upon procuring his Glock 17, Otonashi waited for the gunfire to stop, and the clattering noises of footsteps to fill the hall. Thinking quickly, the redhead closed the classroom door and kicked the nearest desk over, using it as a barricade. Then, he scrambled to the farthest corner of the class, kicked three desks over, and used them to make a makeshift protective barrier.

Once he took shelter behind the overturned desks, he heard the doorknob turning and wobbling, but the sturdy wooden desk barred it from opening.

"It ain't openin', Kenji!" a high-pitched male voice cried.

"Alright, then!" a familiar voice replied. "If that's how he wants to play it... Akane, bring over the grenades!"

"Aye, aye, leader!" a playful feminine voice chirped.

Otonashi simply rolled his eyes.

Several seconds passed, and then, he heard the door window break open...followed by the sounds of metal bouncing on the hard floor. Otonashi covered his ears and braced himself behind his improvised barrier. Before long, a loud explosion rocked the room, and the redhead felt the desks buckle from the shock-wave and hit him. Ashy smoke sprayed the room, the smell of charcoal filled Otonashi's nostrils almost immediately, and the fire alarm activated almost immediately. In a matter of seconds afterward, water began spraying from the ceiling.

"Right," he thought. "As if they hadn't done this a million times before."

Once he heard footsteps storming the classroom, Otonashi shielded his nose with his elbow and aimed his Glock with his free right arm. He fired a shot high in the air, striking the metal pipe overhead and causing more water to gush out of it. The first SSS member to enter the room, a stunning, voluptuous girl with black hair styled in a ponytail, was drenched by the downpour in an instant.

"AGH!" she squealed while covering herself.

"YES!" A youthful-looking, brown-haired boy (who reminded Otonashi of Ōyama) became starry-eyed as he watched and admired the girl in her soaked glory. "SEE-THROUGH CLOTHES, SEE-THROUGH CLOTHES, SEE-THROUGH-"

"Get a move on, Tatsuya, goddamn it!"

A bespectacled boy with black hair pushed the brown-haired boy forward, but they both wound up slipping on the watery floor. Otonashi watched with a flat expression as the two subsequently slid across the classroom and wound up crashing through the window ahead.

And they just so happened to be in a classroom on the uppermost floor of the school building.

"NOOOOO!" Tatsuya's voice echoed tragically as he and his ally continued plummeting. "I DIDN'T EVEN GET TO SEE AI'S BRAAAAA!"

"Shun!" a rotund, squinting boy called in horror while sticking his head through the doorway. "Tatsuya!"

"They're dead, Daigo!" the same familiar voice snapped. "Now move, move, MOVE! Use the desks!"

The rest of the SSS dashed into the room and began jumping across the desks to circumvent the slippery floor. However, they too were slippery from the water pouring from above, and many of them slipped and fell to the floor. Otonashi could not help but wince as one unlucky boy, scrawny and deathly pale like he was on his deathbed, fell headfirst and snapped his neck on the floor.

Finally, only one SSS member was able to reach Otonashi's position. The redhead didn't flee or even flinch at the arrival; instead, he waited patiently until the boy did finally reach him. Before long, he was staring into a pair of burning crimson eyes, topped with a mat of blond hair.

"Kenji," Otonashi greeted with a friendly smile while crossing his arms. "It's good to see you again."

"Cut the crap and DIE, ya bastard!" Kenji roared.

He aimed his .40-caliber SIG Sauer P226 pistol at Otonashi's face. But before he could pull the trigger, Otonashi used his Glock to swat it out of the other boy's hand. Then, Kenji cocked his unoccupied fist and propelled it at Otonashi, but the redhead simply caught it with his palm and held on tight without breaking a sweat.

"You know this isn't going to change anything," Otonashi said consolingly.

"SHUT UP, YOU HACK!"

Kenji then used his other fist to punch the redhead in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. This gave the blond an opportunity to break free from Otonashi's grasp and bend down to pick up his dropped pistol. But Otonashi saw his own opportunity, running towards the broken window with his gun in hand.

"Don't let him get away!" Kenji hollered.

He aimed and began firing at the redhead, with his fellow SSS members quickly following suit. Their bullets peppered the wall, all of them coming just inches of striking their intended target. Picking up the pace, Otonashi reached the shattered window and used the butt of his gun to break out any remaining glass shards that were still intact.

Just then, all of the SSS members, Kenji included, ran out of bullets and had begun to reload their weapons as quickly as they could. However, one member, a delinquent girl with tattoos covering her arms and upper torso, charged at Otonashi with a dagger in hand, her green eyes wild, her short forest-green hair flying, and her lips curled into a feral grin.

"RARGH!"

She took a swing at Otonashi, but he idly leaned backward to avoid the blade. Then, she tried to thrust the dagger down into his chest, but he caught her wrist in the nick of time.

"Hey, new girl," he said. "That anger isn't going to help matters-"

"Shut the fuck up, you damn phony!" the delinquent growled before kneeing him in the crotch. "The name's Asuka, and I've got ya NOW!"

Despite the unfortunate counterattack, Otonashi maintained his resolve and kept his grip steady on Asuka's wrist. When she tore herself free, the redhead seized his chance to do what he sought to do in the first place: jump out of the broken window.

"NO!" Kenji's voice roared.

Otonashi continued plummeting towards the cobblestone ground, where he saw Tatsuya and Shun's bodies lying beneath him, atop one another. Thinking quickly, he braced his body and used theirs as a makeshift cushion.

Unfortunately, once he landed on them, Shun let out a gurgled scream before lying still again. Otonashi blinked in shock, realizing Shun had survived the landing.

"Crap." The redhead dismounted their bodies and looked at Shun, noticing the blood now pouring out of the corner of the hapless boy's mouth. "S-Sorry about that-"

"THERE HE IS!"

Otonashi looked up and saw Kenji and a couple other SSS members peering out of the broken window. They aimed their guns and fired at him, forcing him to make a run for the track field.

"Jesus frigging Christ!" he thought. Even though the gunfire stopped after a few seconds, he refused to stop running, for he knew full well from experience that the teens were either reloading or finding a more advantageous position...or both. "These guys... They sure don't know when to give up, do they?! I've said it before, and I'll say it again, this has gotta be how Kanade felt whenever Yuri and the others picked on her- WHOA!"

He had blinked, and once his eyelids flew open after that infinitesimal millisecond, there was a motionless body resting in the middle of the track field, directly in front of him, fully illuminated by the shining sun. Otonashi instinctively skidded to a stop and carefully observed the body; it was lying on its side, its back facing him.

"A new arrival," Otonashi thought with realization. "And on record time too."

Glancing over his shoulder to check on the SSS's movements, Otonashi slowly advanced towards the body, knowing how a sudden, brutally honest approach to the situation was not always ideal. As he neared, the redhead came to realize the body belonged to that of a female...that is, unless he was dealing with a cross-dresser. He had an unfortunate experience with one of the current SSS members on their first day, so he was determined not to make the same mistake twice.

Then, Otonashi froze dead. The body had long, sleek silver hair flowing from the head.

"No," he thought with disbelief. "No way... Could...Could it be...?"

Fueled by a strengthened drive, Otonashi knelt before the still body and carefully laid it on its back. Once he took a good look at the girl's face, Otonashi couldn't stop his heart from falling.

The angle of the sunlight shining on her dazzling hair had made it look silver from his perspective. Or perhaps his early morning "conversation" with Kanade had unnecessarily raised his hopes up high. Either way, once he laid the body over, the silver transformed into a more natural sunflower-blonde color. And then there was the way it was styled: cute bows of blue with gray polka dots kept locks of it arranged into twin pigtails. He could never imagine Kanade willingly wearing a hairstyle such as that.

Holding back a grimace, Otonashi leaned his head towards her chest and angled it so his eardrum could detect even the faintest presence of a heartbeat. Soon, he heard one, a strong one at that. Out of relief, he straightened himself back out and continued kneeling beside her, not wanting to disturb her slumber.

It didn't take long for the girl's eyelids to open, revealing dazzling sapphire-blue pupils that would put others to shame.

Once those pupils met Otonashi's burgundy ones, he smiled at her. "Hey there."

...

...

...

...

...

The girl closed her eyes and rolled over on her side, exasperatedly moaning, "Not now, honey..."

...

...

...

Otonashi's eye twitched. "Wait...whaaaaa...?"

At that moment, he heard the girl hiccup in horror, the reality of her situation catching up to her. She sat up with a gasp and looked around frantically, her twin pigtails whipping to and fro with every jerk of her head. A reddening hue already started to blossom on her cheeks.

"UWAAAAAHHHHH?!" she squealed. "Wh-Wh-Where am I?!"

"Hey, hey, calm down," Otonashi said, attempting to sound consoling.

She shot him a defensive glare. "Calm down?! Calm down?! I...I dunno who you even are!"

"Just a friend." Otonashi stood up and held out a hand. "Here, lemme help you up."

The girl eyed Otonashi's hand warily, before puffing her cheeks a few seconds later.

"I-I can stand up on my own, th-thank you very much!" With that, she shot up on her feet. "So...wh-where am I?"

"Before I answer that question, I need you to answer one of my own." Otonashi's expression hardened slightly. "What is the last thing you remember?"

"Th-The last thing I remember?! Waking up to you and your st-st-stupid face, o-of course!"

"Wait, stupid face?!" Then, Otonashi shook his head and cleared his throat. "N-No, I meant the last thing you remember before you woke up."

The girl gasped with realization, and Otonashi could literally see the lightbulb going off at the top of her head.

"Ohhhhh, so that's what you meant!" she exclaimed.

Otonashi was left absolutely befuddled. "What else did you think I meant by that?!"

But the new girl didn't answer. Instead, she started thinking long and hard about her response. She cupped her chin with her right index finger and thumb, and she began tapping her right foot against the rough, hard ground of the track field. Otonashi waited patiently for the girl to produce a memory of her last day alive on Earth...

But a couple of minutes passed, and he still hadn't received a response from her.

"Dooooo...Do you have something for me...?" he asked.

"Still thinking," the girl replied, her eyes now closed and her head softly bobbing up and down.

Another minute of awkward silence passed, and Otonashi's patience was starting to become tested.

"I dunno about you," he said, "but it didn't take too long for the others to give me a straight answer."

She shot him an annoyed, blushing look. "L-Look, I've...I've got nothing, alright!"

The words reached Otonashi's understanding in an instant, and he froze with shock.

"You...You don't remember...anything from your previous life...?" he asked.

The girl shook her head while still thinking hard. "Nope. Not at all."

A horrible feeling of déjà vu swept over him, accompanied by a sensation of solidarity. Otonashi carefully took a couple of steps closer to the girl.

"Do you at least have a name for me?"

The girl was silent for a moment. Then...

"...Hana."

"Hana?"

"Yeah. Hana. I believe that's my name."

Otonashi couldn't help but scan Hana's form from head to toe, his gaze almost scientific.

"I don't believe it," he thought. "This girl... She's...She's just like me..."

Just then, his thoughts were dispelled by a horrified gasp. When he found himself back in reality, he realized Hana's eyes were transfixed upon his.

"Wait a minute, you said 'previous life'!" she cried. "Wh-Wh-Whaddaya mean 'previous life'?!"

Otonashi gulped as he continued to stare into Hana's eyes. For the briefest moment, he thought they were as blue as the oceans of Japan.

"Shit. I was hoping I could take this smooth and steady, but I guess-"

"HEY!" a familiar voice hollered. "YOU! NEW GIRL! GET AWAY FROM HIM! GET AWAY FROM HIM RIGHT NOW!"

Otonashi shook his head disbelievingly. "Aw, crap..."

Perking up at the voice, Hana looked over his shoulder in surprise. Upon following her gaze, Otonashi saw Kenji and the SSS several yards away from them, their guns trained on him. The redhead rolled his eyes.

"Kenji," he said calmly, "you really should-"

"WHOA, WHOA, WHOA!" Hana squeaked in horror while her legs began to buckle. "W-WH-WHY THE H-H-HECK DO THEY HAVE G-G-GU-GU-GUNS?!"

Otonashi gave her a side-glance. "There's a lot to the Afterlife that you have yet to learn, Hana."

"Th-The Afterlife?! Whaddaya mean the-?!" Hana let out a hiccup of a gasp. "Wait... Does...Does that mean I'm...I'm...?"

"Hate to break it to you, sweetie," Kenji called, "but yes, you are indeed dead. And that guy, right there-" He pointed his gun at Otonashi. "He's the devil."

"The devil?" Otonashi replied, affronted. "Now hold on a sec-"

"NO!"

Otonashi watched as Hana took a few steps away from him, but she didn't appear to be scared of him, nor did she make a conscious effort to join the SSS's side. Instead, she was still absorbing the impact of the revelation, her sapphire-blue eyes blankly transfixed to the ground.

"No, no, no, no, NO!" She then collapsed to her knees and clutched her face. "No, this CAN'T be! I...I can't be dead! This is... This is all one big nightmare, isn't it?! Yes, it's a nightmare, and I'm gonna wake up, and I'm gonna know who I am when I do, and I'm-"

"I'm sorry, whoever you are..." said a girl from the SSS, her navy-blue eyes glimmering with sympathy. "I know it's hard for you to accept, but-"

"You're dead," Kenji interrupted, his eyes still trained on Otonashi. "You're dead and there's no other explanation behind this. It's the reality you're living in right now. But, if you join us, the SSS, then you can change that reality. You can defy God and help pave the way to a brighter future for all those who have suffered under His wrath and sadism."

"Don't listen to them, Hana," Otonashi whispered to the sunflower-blonde urgently. "They mean well, but what they want to do is counterproductive. It won't solve anyone's problems-"

"Oh, and you're the one with the solution to everyone's problems?!" Kenji roared, his red eyes burning with rage. "You're just God's right hand, trying to inflict more suffering on us! Don't you DARE seduce her with your phony words of advice and consolation-"

"I am no one's right hand, Kenji." Otonashi's thoughts became filled with memories of Kanade. "I'm just someone who's here to help. Death is hard on all of us-"

"And you just expect us to lie down and...and accept it...when none of us did anything frigging worthwhile in our lives?!" Kenji's grip tightened around his pistol. "When none of us amounted to less than zero by the time we died?! BULLSHIT!"

"Kenji-" Otonashi began.

"SHUT THE HELL UP! I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU AND YOUR BS, PREZ! SSS, LET'S FINISH THIS! OPEN FIRE!"

"NO! WAIT A MINUTE!"

But it wasn't Otonashi who had spoken in protest. Time slowed to a painful crawl as a concerned Hana scrambled to her feet and hurled herself between the redhead and the SSS. But it was too late: every last member opened fire. Otonashi felt his heart stop as the bullets raced toward Hana, and he did something he hoped he'd never do.

"HANA!" Acting on instinct, Otonashi got in-between the girl and the hail of gunfire and hollered, "DISTORTION!"

An invisible barrier shot up in front of its user, and the bullets bounced harmlessly away from him. Kenji and the rest of the SSS gasped in shock and stopped firing almost immediately, watching as the ripples of bright, fire-red energy pulsed through the barrier and faded away. Even Hana gawked on in disbelief as she watched the bullets clattered uselessly to the ground, reduced to nothing more than pellets, the last proof she needed to know that she was indeed in some brand-new reality and not living a terrible, unusual nightmare.

Eventually, the barrier faded away from view, leaving Otonashi unprotected. With a hardened gaze of determination, the redhead stared down his seemingly lifelong enemies.

A/N: And that marks the end of this interlude! I know, crazy huh?

Just in case any of you do not know the context behind this, this was a follow-up to the previous interlude, which bridged the events of the "Another Epilogue" short released with the "Angel Beats!" DVD, and the epilogue at the end of Episode 13. Basically, a genderbent version of "Angel Beats!" occurred up in the Afterlife before Otonashi was finally reincarnated into Takahashi, wherein Kenji, the red-eyed, blond boy seen in "Another Epilogue", founded a new SSS and tried to lead a rebellion against Otonashi, who filled in Kanade's role following her passing on. Hana, the girl that Otonashi finds near the end of this chapter, fills in Otonashi's old role as the average everyman and new SSS recruit who gets roped along in the rebellion. At the end of the previous interlude, we saw exactly how Otonashi finally got reincarnated into Takahashi, and therefore how the normal epilogue and the "Another Epilogue" short are linked, in my personal opinion.

In this interlude, we basically see the genderbent version of Episode 1, only from Otonashi's point-of-view as he realizes what Kanade went through when she was constantly harassed by Yuri's SSS. And also...we learn that Otonashi took the time to learn Kanade's Guard Skill abilities on this chapter! I figured that since Kanade once took the time to learn those abilities from the Angel Player program, Otonashi would find the time to do the same as well once she passed on. But the real question is if these abilities were passed on to the real world like with Kanade/Chouko? ;D

Also, I hope you enjoyed the Otonashi/Kanade moment in this chapter! I know Kanade wasn't actually there, but I hoped to make it dramatic. I feel like my efforts left a lot to be desired, but I hope you guys think otherwise. I know everyone's been wanting to see another Otonashi/Kanade moment from me, but I wasn't entirely sure how else I would deliver on it in such a timely manner. There was no way I could make an excuse to write an Otonashi/Kanade moment in the middle of the main story as it is (not especially with the last chapter's cliffhanger), so this brand-new interlude was the only way I could deliver on your expectations.

Finally, this will be the last time we will be visiting this side-story that the interludes set up. I feel like I have told enough of it, and I'm simply going to leave the task of filling in the blanks to all your imaginations. It's not going to have a major impact on the main story, anyway. At least not overall. After this chapter, we're going to be closing out the adventures of the SSS and their reincarnated counterparts. We only have about four chapters left, so keep your fingers crossed!

Now, I'd like to thank the following for reviewing:

-WoodenStarfish: Indeed I am. Wouldn't you like to see what happens next? It's quite a doozy! ;)

-Anime-ted Life116:

1) I'm glad I could deliver on what you needed! :D

2) I'm so sorry to hear about your favorite manga. I am assuming it ended and there was nothing you could do about it. Endings sting, do they?

3) You've got a great point there! Plus, it's 2026, so you'd assume a lot of medical and technological breakthroughs have been made since Yui's old self died.

4) Indeed, shippings are the best. And don't worry, you'll see how everyone gets their happy ending. There will be a lot of pain to go through first, though... ;)

5) Sorry, I have yet to read your fic. I didn't have much of a chance to go through your complete review and learn what you were asking of me. But don't worry! I'll get to it right away, once I'm done posting this chapter! You said it's going to be a one-shot after all, so it should be easy pickings for me. :D

-qwerty19:

1) Maybe a little bit of both wouldn't hurt anyone too much. It's accurate, after all. XP XP XP

2) Thank you so much! I truly do appreciate it. :D :D :D

Well, hope you enjoyed this chapter! TheCartoonFanatic01 is out. PEACE!