Chapter 2

So this is what being dead felt like, I was just stuck in this void, nothing but pure white could be seen for miles, and I did nothing but wander around.

"I guess this is what purgatory is, have to say it isn't as bad as I thought it would be..."

"Well obviously it won't be too bad, I made it that way after all."

I stopped in my tracks, I hadn't heard that voice in years, but I never forgot it. I turned around, my jaw wide open as I saw someone who I never thought I'd ever meet again, my deceased mother.

She smiled and walked towards me, "Surprised to see me? I guess with this form its to be expected after all. It's a shame I had to take her away from you at such a young age"

The last comment made me back away, the initial shock already disappearing. "You aren't my mother, aren't you?"

"Right on the money, Mister Uesugi! Would you like to make a guess on as to who I am? I believe someone of your intellect wouldn't have much difficulty on figuring out."

"I could care less about who you are, what I do want to know is what you plan on doing with me and why you took the form of my mother."

A confused look showed on her face "E-eh? Do you really mean that? I-I suppose with an attitude like yours this was bound to be your answer regardless. Anyway..." Suddenly my mother disappeared and reappeared right beside me. "I'm what you would call an Angel of Death, I collect the souls of the newly deceased and bring them to the afterlife."

"I expected as much, but you still haven't answered the other half of my question. Why take the form of my mother?"

"I had to choose a form where you'd be most comfortable with, my true form is rather... discomforting to say the least." She then transformed into Raiha, "Or would you rather have me look like your adorable little sister?" then her form changed into Miku. "Or maybe your lover's form would be better?"

"Do what you want, I could care less knowing that I'm not really talking with them at all, so why don't you just do your thing and guide me to the afterlife now? I mean that is your job after all, or are you as incompetent as the quints when I first met them?"

A smirk formed on her face, "Well, that's the thing. I'm not here to guide you to the afterlife at all, Mister Uesugi. You see, I've been watching you ever since I took your mother, and I've gotten rather interested in you. So I came to offer you a deal. One I'm sure you won't refuse."

She brought up her hand and suddenly dozens of videos started showing. One video was showing Miku crying as she held my dead body in her arms, another was showing Raiha and Pops mourning at my grave, another showed everyone from class 3-A setting up a small tribute in front of our classroom. One video showed how depressed each of the Nakano quints were,

how they were barely eating and constantly holed up in their rooms.

I felt my body go numb as I saw countless other videos of my friends and family suffering. "This... can't be real... I... I never knew my death would cause all of this!"

"Miku" couldn't help but chuckle, "Oh but it is all true, Mister Uesugi. You may not have noticed it, but you left quite the impact on the people you've met, especially the quintuplets. And if you hadn't decided to go to the park, you would have lived a wonderful life..."

The videos suddenly changed, one of the videos showed me and Miku at the aquarium, another one showed all the quintuplets in wedding dresses, then... there was one with me holding Miku's hand as she gave birth to two identical twins."

A tear flowed down my face, "So that would have been me if I didn't die today? All of this went down the drain because of that drunk driver? I can't believe it!"

"You could prevent that from happening, Mister Uesugi, that is if you accept my offer. I'll bring you back to life, but you won't be brought back at the same time you died, some relationships may differ by the time you return, and some may remain the same, so are you willing to take my offer? This is your one and only chance to see your loved ones again."

"I... I want to take it, but why are you doing this? You must have an ulterior motive; you're doing the exact opposite of what you're supposed to do! There's no way I'd accept a deal as sketchy as this!"

"As I said earlier, I've taken an interest in you, Mister Uesugi. I just wanted to give my favorite character a second chance, and also, I dont think you wanna see what your poor lover would do when she's reached the peak of her depression now, do we? I won't show you a video for your sake, but trust me, in the many futures I have seen, most of them have her going down a dark path..."

I sigh, "... Fine. I accept your deal, I don't trust you, but I'd rather be with Miku and the others than be here with you. So how do we do this? Do I just shake your hand or something or—" and with a snap of her fingers everything went to black yet again.

It felt like I was coming out of a weird dream when reality suddenly came back to me "...lo? Hellooooo! Sir, are you okay? You've been staring at the menu for quite a while now, what will your order be?"

I blinked a couple of times and saw myself at my school's cafeteria, with an empty food tray in front of me. I realized that I was about to order something and instinctively said "One yakiniku meal without the yakiniku please."

After I paid for my meal, I started wandering through the cafeteria, "The angel did say I wouldn't be brought back to when I died... but the least she could have done was tell when I'd be brought back..." I murmured to myself as I spotted a familiar red-headed woman, who was oddly looking a little different today.

"Hey Itsuki! Wait up! Would you mind telling me what date it is today?"

She gave me a confused look and said, "It's April 2nd, 2018. And I'm sorry... but do I know you?"