Hi everybody!
Welcome back.
I cannot apologise enough for the extensive delay, but many things have been happening over the past year. I won't bore you with the details, which can be found on my profile page, as I am sure that you are as anxious to get on with the story as I am. Before we get underway though, I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for bearing with me, especially AssassinUK for encouraging me to carry on and offering their assistance, and Ryuuchi for my first comment this year.
As you may have read on my profile page, I have completed the first draft of what was originally going to be the next instalment of this FanFiction story. I am currently fine-tuning the remainder of it but thought that this section didn't really fit in with the rest of the chapter. Hence, I am publishing it separately, similar to what I did in Gunray's Disposition with Chapter 1.5.
Hopefully, this comparatively short chapter will set the tone for what is to come.
Fingers crossed.
Anyway, to avoid any confusion, this chapter is told from Iwasawa's perspective, and the key below illustrates what the various types of text mean: -
Key:-
[Word] - a detailed description of a person's actions/surroundings.
"Word" - is somebody talking.
Word - represents Iwasawa's recollection.
With that out of the way, here is the ...
Disclaimer: I do not own Angel Beats or any of its associating characters, quotes, titles etc. Full credit goes to their rightful owners. This is a FanFiction!
With that, I present to you the next instalment of this Angel Beat FanFiction.
As promised, some familiar faces will be introduced in this chapter, or should I say reintroduced alongside Iwasawa and Otonashi.
Ok then, I've kept you all waiting long enough, on with the story!
Updated: 26th June 2021
Chapter 3 – Foreshadowing our Future!
[A classroom door opens. In walks a petite woman with long black hair and shining blue eyes].
"Ok everyone that's enough now. Take your seats, please" the teacher called as she entered the classroom, prompting the students to return to their desks. A customary silence fell, as she placed her books down. "Right, good morning everybody. I hope you are all feeling well" she greeted her students in the usual manner and received a polite response.
[The students replied enthusiastically, with smiles on their faces. They all really liked this teacher].
"Now, as some of you may have heard we have some new transfer students joining us today. I am pleased to inform you that one of them shall be with us for the rest of the year. Please make him feel welcome."
Not long after Yuzuru moved in with me, he enrolled at the same school as well. As luck would have it, we ended up in the same class.
[Otonashi stood in front of the blackboard, the letters of his name written behind him].
"I'm Otonashi Yuzuru," he announced before bowing to his new classmates. "Nice to meet you!"
[Iwasawa has a small smile on her face, watching Otonashi silently. The boys simply stared, friendly smiles on their faces, but some of the girls were already looking at him with more than a little interest!]
A number of girls were immediately taken with him and almost everyone was keen to discover his backstory.
[At break time a large crowd, made up mostly of girls, gathered around Otonashi's desk. Iwasawa however, remained seated making no move to intervene. No one paid her the slightest bit of attention].
Needless to say, more than a few people were surprised to discover that he and I not only knew each other, but were actually living together.
"WHAT?" everyone gasped when Otonashi told them.
"You're actually living together with Iwasawa-kun?" one of the boys exclaimed, slamming his palms down on the table.
"You and that low-life?" a girl cried, sounding completely shocked.
"Hmmm," breathed another girl in an exaggerated tone. She was an editor for the school newspaper and had already taken out her notebook. "What an interesting development," she said tapping her pen upon the blank sheet, before adjusting her glasses and scrutinizing him closely. "You have piqued my interest. Tell me what is the exact nature of your relationship with our resident outcast musician-san? I want all the information you can offer, so please do tell!"
[Iwasawa paused at the comment. Halfway through turning over the page of her textbook, she glanced over in Otonashi's direction. Amidst the commotion, Yuzuru Otonashi laughed nervously, one hand on the back of his head].
"There's not much to say really" he said as seriously as possible. "We're just ... old acquaintances that's all!"
[The girl scribbled down a few notes and several people started muttering amongst themselves. His answer wasn't really a lie, but still, he had the feeling that these people knew it wasn't the whole truth. From her desk, Iwasawa stared at him in an unassertive manner, then went back to her reading].
[All in all, she wasn't to bothered ... it was not as if he could tell the truth now could he?]
Outcast musician-san, that was the classes nickname for me. I wasn't exactly a sociable person. Even with my new life and all of its opportunities, I was still a bit of an outcast. Ever since rediscovering my memories, I'd dedicated myself towards fulfilling my life's ambition of becoming a successful musician. I wanted to achieve what I had been unable to accomplish previously, but since I couldn't really tell anyone the reason behind this, people started thinking of me as an oddity and generally avoided me.
To make up for this, I emersed myself further into my music career and that just seemed to push even more people away. Otonashi was one of the few that managed to see past all of that and accepted me for who I was. Probably because he was the only one to have 'lived' through a similar situation. His arrival was nothing short of a miracle.
Over the next few months, he became my best friend and closest confidant, as well as my roommate.
[The end of the school day. As the other students start filing out, (several saying goodbye to Yuzuru) Otonashi approaches Iwasawa's desk with a small wave and is met with a warm smile].
On top of school, we both worked part-time at a small restaurant and supermarket respectively...
[Otonashi is wearing casual clothes and an apron, carrying a heavy box of fruit at a local supermarket]
... that way, we could afford to pay for our apartment and education, alongside other necessities and essentials ...
[Iwasawa is wearing a maids outfit and taking an order, whilst working at a café].
Any of our free time was dedicated to our hobbies and interests. After-school, I usually went to the music room to practice my songs and avoid disturbing the neighbours. Composing songs, however, was reserved for when I was at home.
[It is raining outside. Iwasawa is in the music room, guitar in hand, standing behind a microphone. She has taken off her jacket and is rocking from side to side as she sings. Out of breath, she reaches the end of the song].
Otonashi was always with me though ...
[A bottle of water appears in front of her. Otonashi has stood up from the desk. In front of him are several books and stationery. He has also taken off his tie and blazer. Smiling appreciatively, Iwasawa takes the bottle from him, her hand brushing against his].
... finishing his homework, reading from a textbook or listening to my completed numbers. He studied hard, having told me of his ambitions to become a doctor, which I fully supported him.
[They are back at the apartment, in casual clothes, sitting opposite each other on the sofa].
As promised Yuzuru told me everything that happened in the afterlife following my departure. When it was over, I expressed my gratitude in helping the others find peace within themselves. I also contemplated how lucky they were to have escaped from a fate that some might consider to be worse than death.
[Iwasawa is lying in bed, coughing heavily, her cheeks slightly red. A wet flannel is resting upon her forehead and she has a thermometer in her mouth].
As promised, when I ended up sick, Otonashi took care of me.
[The young man takes the thermometer out of her mouth and reads the results. He smiles down at her guiltily, as she glares up at him].
Those first few months were probably some of the hardest for both of us. Neither of our families supported us and there was little time for anything besides work or studying. I wasn't accustomed to having somebody else around the house and in the early days, there were quite a few, shall we say, hit-and-miss incidents.
[Otonashi is sorting through the washing, folding up his uniform when he picks up something that Iwasawa accidentally left in the previous load. He drops it immediately, his face bright red!]
[Iwasawa is brushing her teeth vigorously, when ... EEP! ... her face turns pale as she suddenly realises that the toothbrush she's using isn't hers!]
[The two teenagers are in the kitchen. Otonashi is trying to make some coffee, whilst Iwasawa is preparing a curry for their dinner. Unfortunately, the kitchen with its long counter/table running down one side and the storage cabinets on the other, isn't big enough for both of them. This leads to an awkward situation when Otonashi tries to get the kettle and accidentally knocks into Iwasawa, almost causing her to burn her hand on the hot stove. He apologises profusely].
[Moments later, a glowering Iwasawa realises that some of the ingredients she needs are in one of the higher cabinets. Without thinking, she turns around to get them and collides (albeit rather gently) with Otonashi jarring him forwards. With one hand still stretched above their heads, Otonashi and Iwasawa freeze as they realise that Iwasawa's front is pressing into Otonashi's back. The pair can't break apart quick enough and Iwasawa's has her hands across her chest. The pair look at each other awkwardly, then avert their eyes].
[Lastly, ...]
[After a particularly long half-day at school, followed by six hours at work, an exhausted Otonashi has just finished running a hot bath for himself. Having already rinsed himself he was just about to climb into the tub - when the door suddenly opens and an equally weary Iwasawa walks into the bathroom, wrapped only in a towel of her own. There are bags under her eyes as well, but the fatigue evaporates almost instantly!]
[Amidst a lot of steam and condensation, the two practically naked teenagers stare at each other. Then with a small gasp Iwasawa practically jumps out of the room, clutching her towel firmly around herself and slamming the door shut behind her. Eyes wide, hearts hammering in their chests the man and woman both stare off into space, struggling to come to terms with what they just witnessed. Needless to say, they were both skittish around each other for the rest of the evening].
I think once the others showed up though, things started to get easier!
[Otonashi and Iwasawa are in the school library, walking down one of the isles discussing a topic related to their history assignment. Iwasawa says that she doesn't know much about it, but Otonashi tells her not to worry. He remembers reading something about this in one of their textbooks and that finding the relevant volume would help them a lot. After much searching he spots it on one of the higher shelves, but as he reaches out to grab it, a smaller hand latches onto it at the exact same moment!]
"Hey what are you doing? I saw this first, I need it for my history assignment!" the owner of that hand shrieks angrily despite their surroundings, causing everyone to look round at them.
[The girl is standing on a stool in order to reach the said book and glares down at both Otonashi and Iwasawa. A second later however, she froze up at the sight of them. It was Yuri. She was another one of the transfer students and had joined the school one term after Otonashi without even realising it!]
[A few weeks later ...]
[Iwasawa is sitting in a long corridor, guitar next to her, along with several people both younger and older than herself. They are getting ready to take part in a music audition. Otonashi and Yuri sit on either side of her offering support].
[As with the previous contestants, those still waiting could hear the current auditionee's playing, but not the results that followed. Otonashi and Yuri soon discovered that Iwasawa had a knack for determining which musicians made it through and those that didn't. More than a few people had already left in tears].
[Judging from the extended wait, the most recent contender - a guitarist, had been very good. Several additional minutes dragged by before the door finally opened and the said contestant emerged. A massive guitar-case slung across her back, the young woman walked down the aisle, her expression neutral. She gave the others fleeting glances betraying no emotion].
[That was until she spotted Iwasawa – whereupon she froze and spun around. Iwasawa and the others looked up too – straight into Hisako's eyes!]
[Later still …]
[Otonashi was assisting in the science lab, with one of the school open days. His group had just finished one of the demonstrations and potential students were asking them questions. Then suddenly two people stepped forwards and gasped "Otonashi-Senpai!?" He turned around to find Irie and Sekine staring at him. Irie's hands were over her mouth and both of the girls had tears in their eyes].
[Following this …]
[With the sun peaking through the clouds and with Otonashi and Yuri watching in the background, Iwasawa, Hisako, Irie and Sekine stood together in Iwasawa's apartment, forming a square, (Hisako is wearing a different uniform to the others). Grinning knowingly, the four girls put their hands together, one on top of the other and gave an affirmative nod. After many long years, Girl's Dead Monster was finally reunited and reformed!]
[Finally …]
[At one of their school's baseball games, the 'newly formed band' was given the opportunity to perform during the intermission. The group had not been together for long, but their debut performance - Crow Song - was one of the highlights of the event].
[Shortly afterwards, as the band members were packing away their instruments, a player from the opposing team approached them. Hinata's appearance was a surprise to everyone but, to everyone's astonishment, he pointed into the crowd and revealed that he was not alone. Hidden amongst the spectators, Yui was watching them as well].
[Naturally, of course, these reunions involved many tears, handshakes and hugs all round!]
[Yuri initially grabbed Otonashi and Iwasawa by the scruff of their shirts and lectured the pair for almost a minute on not making their presence known to her sooner. This got them all kicked out of the library without the reference book, but once outside Yuri threw her arms around them and sobbed uncontrollably, thus preventing the duo from lecturing her in turn].
[Hisako and Iwasawa's true reunion had to wait until after the latter's audition. Few words were exchanged between any of them, but the two musicians reached a unanimous decision almost instantly].
[In contrast, Irie had burst into tears and thrown her arms around Otonashi, sobbing hysterically. She was so overcome at seeing another familiar face that she did not seem to care that she was embarrassing him in front of all the spectators. Sekine initially managed to pry her companion off and said they would talk later. Unfortunately, when the said time came and Otonashi revealed that he was acquainted with Iwasawa, Hisako and Yuri, both of the girls started crying and threw their arms around their soon to be senpai. Otonashi was grateful when a teacher came to his rescue].
[The two boys smiled and said how happy they were to see each other alive, before Yuri interrupted ruining the moment. She started scolding the bluenette for not letting them know that he was alive, whilst the members of Girls Dead Monster watch on silently. Unlike Otonashi and Yuri they had not been particularly well acquainted with Hinata. The boy himself, rubbed the back of his neck laughing off the embarrassment, before saying how happy he was to see her too. Yuri, of course, threw a fit just to save face].
[The group had to wait until after the match to see Yui again, who was being tended to by her mother. The pink haired girl wasted no time in declaring that a certain member of Hinata's team was a fool for letting the match end in a tie, even though the weather played a larger role in that fact. Never the less, she was ecstatic to see the members of Girls Dead Monster again, especially Iwasawa, much to her poor mothers' confusion].
[As a result of this, one day, after-school …]
[Girls Dead Monster is holding another rehearsal. Hisako is scolding Sekine for messing up their practice session, again, whilst Irie tries desperately to restrain the taller brunette. Yui and Yuri, with identical expressions and mirrored postures, are laughing in the background, the latter sitting on the edge of the table next to all the books, drinks and snacks that the group have brought along with them. Hinata smirks at Otonashi in amusement, who chortles and shakes his head].
[Close up to Iwasawa, followed by the relevant people mentioned].
Words cannot describe what I was feeling that day. It was great to have us all back together again, ... well some of us anyway. It was a real gift from heaven.
In a sense, the Battlefront had been reunited, even if things were slightly different:-
Hisako and Irie had different last names, but aside from that, not much else had changed. Sekine, God bless her, came from a long line of musicians and was proving to be much more gifted than when she first joined us. Hinata, the sports-master, had managed to avoid his drug problem, was proving to be very dedicated to his friends and was quite the talented baseball player. When I saw his interactions with Otonashi, sometimes I wondered, but he seemed to have developed quite a deep attachment to Yui.
[Iwasawa looks sympathetically at the smaller girl].
Personally, I think that was a real blessing. Poor thing ... as much as she wanted to participate, the injuries from her car accident had left her paralyzed from the waist down. She barely had enough strength in her arms to hold them up for an extended period, let alone carry an instrument. As such, she was delegated towards helping us from the sidelines, which I think was a big comfort anyway, since it got her out of the house and socialising with people.
Yuri it transpired, was from a slightly more affluential family this time. Lucky thing. Not only did she manage to keep her siblings safe from any outside influence, but she was able to afford her own apartment, without any outside help. (Chuckle) That still didn't stop her calling home twenty times a week to make sure everything was ok.
[The smile fades from Iwasawa's face ...]
Throughout all of this though ... something still troubled me.
[She glanced sideways].
[High school cafeteria. Yuzuru, Yuri and Masami are all sitting together. Otonashi and Yuri are sitting next to each other, having an animated conversation about something or other. Meanwhile, Iwasawa who is sitting across from them continues chewing on her food, her eyes fixed upon Otonashi].
Yuzuru had mentioned that he had regained his memories from his past life, but for some reason, he refused to talk about it!
[The surviving members of the Battlefront were gathered around a table at Yuri's apartment. No music this time, they're just chilling out, enjoying themselves and each other's company].
We exchanged stories with one another concerning our experiences. Both past and present!
[Everybody leans in close, deeply interested. Irie looks nervous, however, as Yuri tells them about something spooky that 'allegedly' happened to her].
[Yui, proudly explains how she and Hinata came to be reunited, which seemed to amuse Otonashi for some reason. Of course, she threw in a few extra comments about her love interest, making everyone laugh at the poor man].
[Hisako, arm propped up vertically on the table, told them about this one time a boy tried to make a fool out of her after she had refused his advances. Lips forming into a circular shape, her arm fell flat with a loud smack, to the sound of raucous laughter and applause!]
[When Hinata turned towards Otonashi however and asked what his life story was, the latter's smile disappeared instantly. Much to everyone's astonishment, he refused to comment or tell them anything about what happened to him. Several people, mainly Hinata and Yuri, tried to persuade him, but Otonashi could not be persuaded. All he said was that it was a delicate subject right now and he did not intend to comment on it!]
[There was a pause, but the others took the hint and dropped the subject. Even so, Otonashi could tell that his unwillingness to connect with the others had left a bitter aftertaste. Iwasawa was the last one to look away].
[Back in the cafeteria ...]
It was something that intrigued and puzzled me.
[She lifts her fork to her mouth and eats a bit more food, still staring at Otonashi].
Still, I could not fault him.
[Absentmindedly, Masami glances at the fourth finger of her left hand, causing butterflies to form in her stomach].
After all, there were things that he and I had yet to bring up and talk about!
TO BE CONTINUED …
End of Chapter 3
Well!
There you are then, hope you enjoyed this chapter everyone.
Please feel free to let me know what you all thought about this segment. Constructive criticism is of course welcome.
Sorry, it's probably not what you were all expecting, but hey at least this FanFiction is not dead!
I will do my best to publish the next chapter as soon as possible and hope to see you all again at the next instalment.
Quick spoiler; Chapter 4 will feature some pretty dark stuff, so be prepared.
Also, Otonashi and Iwasawa will finally talk about that thing they have been avoiding!
See you all then!