P.S - The funeral proctor to be mentioned in the story is what I call whoever leads the funeral. If you know how is it called just comment, and the song I put in the story is from the Requiem in D minor by W.A. Mozart. The lyrics I used were the original.
TW: Character death, arson
It was a cold morning on September 11, 20XX. The sky was a palette of grey with white clouds spread on it. It looked like it would rain anytime soon, however this fact was not noticed by those gathered on the large and spacious lot where It was placed. Why was this so? Well, it was because...
*flashback*
It was a sunny summer (assumption) season that was mostly autumn by the time the FFIV2 Tournament ended, along with the Grand Celesta Galaxy. The members of Earth Eleven had long reached Earth by the time it happened. Because of their most recent victory, the chairman of the Japanese Youth Soccer Association (JYSA), Gouenji Shuuya, decided to host a celebratory dinner in their honor. All the Raimon soccer club and Earth Eleven was there, even Resistance Japan for their part in Earth Eleven's history.
In the Inazuma Caravan, the Raimon soccer club was packed in nicely, the team in tuxedos with matching neckties and shoes, coach included. Their advisor didn't come as she preferred to drive alone.
They were talking amongst themselves about the upcoming dinner, with Kariya thinking about the various pranks he would pull on the other guests. Some of his "prank dreams" were pretty large, like coloring the swimming pool blood red and slipping chili powder in the drinks. He even brought a full canister of the stuff and intended to use up all of it by the time the party was over - however, Tsurugi quickly swiped it out of his hands, saying "Kariya, have some shame! Do you know what kind of people we'll be encountering in the party? The chairman, among others, for goodness sake!"
"Ok, ok! Since when did Tsurugi become this concerned..." he [Kariya] muttered to himself. "Perhaps it's because he's going to meet some of his old friends there." Hamano whispered to Hayami, but just loud enough for everyone to hear. "They are NOT my friends, Hamano-san!"
The rest of the passengers laughed. Their coach was laughing along with them, so they didn't notice when a vehicle was speeding into them. What's more was that it wasn't any ordinary vehicle... it was a company truck that contained extremely flammable gas in it and it was heading straight for the caravan. It was too late until - it crashed directly into the caravan, setting the van - and it's contents - on fire.
*back to the present*
The day of the funeral was a sad one. A sea of black shirts, shoes, pants and dresses flooded the place where the funeral was being held. Family members, close friends and relatives attended the funeral, with some members from former opposing teams invited by the funeral committee.
The ladies, namely Natsumi, Aki, Fuyuka, Hitomiko, Reina, Touko and Rika were hugging each other and crying, the managers following suit. The boys and the rest of the attendees were silently crying as the funeral proctor read the notations and Haruna, selected to play the piano at the event, continued playing a soft and sad tune. The only sounds that could be heard from the funeral were the sobs of people crying, the piano, and the proctor's loud and booming voice reading the order of the funeral out loud.
When he finished the full order, he said, "You may now pay your last respects," and somberly stepped down from the platform he was standing on. One by one, the visitors paid their last respects, with Natsumi lingering over her husband's grave for quite a long time. She was crying, and her tears splattered on the headstone. After a while the adults stood back to let the youths pay their respects. Compared to the adults, their number was much smaller, so there were no lines. Most of them brought flowers, some brought cards, and few brought coins for the dead to take to the afterlife. But among them, Aoi was the one who stayed the longest. The other managers consoled her. When the funeral was over and the guests were about to leave, without anyone noticing her, Haruna lingered on her seat and played a song on the piano while singing it. It went like this...
Dies irae, dies illa
Solvet saeclum in favilla,
Teste David cum Sibylla.
Quantus tremor est futurus
Quando judex est venturus
Cuncta stricte discussurus.
Tuba mirum spargens sonum
Per sepulcra regionum
Coget omnes ante thronum.
Mors slopebit et natora
Cum resurget creatura
Judicanti responsura.
Liber scriptus proferetur
In quo totum continetur,
Unde mundus judicetur.
Judex ergo cum sedebit
Quidquid latet apparebit,
Nil inultum remanebit.
Quid sum miser tunc dicturus,
Quem patronum togaturus,
Cum vix justus sit securus?
Rex tremendae majestatis,
Qui salvandos salvas gratis,
Salve me, fons pietatis.
Recordare, Jesu pie,
Quod sum causa tuae viae,
Ne me perdas ilia die.
Quaerens me sedisti lassus,
Redemisti crucem passus,
Tamus labor non sit cassus.
Juste judex ultionis
Donum fac remissionis
Ante diem rationis.
lngemisco tamquam reus,
Culpa rubet vultus meus,
Supplicanti parce, Deus.
Qui Mariam absolvisti
Et latronem exaudisti,
Mihi quoque spem dedisti.
Preces meae non sum dignae,
Sed tu bonus fac benigne,
Ne perenni cremet igne.
Inter oves locurn praesta,
Et ab haedis me sequestra,
Statuens in parle dextra.
Confutatis maledictis
Flammis acribus addictis,
Voca me cum benedictis.
Oro supplex et acclinis,
Cor contritum quasi cinis,
Gere curam mei finis.
Lacrimosa dies ilia
Qua resurget ex favilla
Judicandus homo reus.
Huic ergo parce, Deus,
Pie Jesu Domine,
Dona els requiem
Most of them nodded, signaling that they understood this, and after that they slowly left - except for three first-year students: Taiyou Amemiya, Yukimura Hyouga, and Miyabino Reiichi. Instead of going to their individual vehicles, they decided to stay back a bit.
She noticed and said, "Oh, why didn't you guys leave along with the other students?" Taiyou replied, "Because we wanted to ask you a few questions about the fuel tanker that crashed into Endou-san, Tenma and the other Raimon members." She stopped what she was doing and said, "Fire away." He nodded to Miyabino, and he asked, "Ma'am, why weren't you in the caravan along with the others?" "Because I chose to ride alone."
He seemed satisfied with the answer, then looked at Yukimura. "Ok, Otonashi-sensei. Next question. Why didn't you cry today at the funeral? I didn't see your face look sad or anything." "Because I was listening to the proctor and playing the piano at the same time."
The three students looked at each other, and Taiyou said, "Last and final question. Did you dream about anything last night?" At this she paled and retorted, "Who told you that?"
"Shuu-san casually mentioned that his sister came to him in a dream the night before the tragedy and said that 'one person was having a peculiar vision about Raimon tonight'."
"And what makes you think it was me?"
"Because you're the first person to refuse the trip in the caravan." He narrowed his eyes and said, "So please tell us what you dreamt about, Otonashi-sensei." She laughed softly. "Alright, I'll tell you. That night, while I was sleeping...
"I was standing on a sidewalk facing the road. The caravan was coming from my far right. A few feet ahead, the fuel tanker made a mistake and swerved toward the other lane. This did not go unnoticed among citizens and pedestrians hurriedly made their way to the other side, while other cars switched lanes, therefore causing chaos on the street.
When I saw the caravan about to collide with the fuel tanker, I tried to run towards it and stop it, but something held me back. I couldn't run, scream, or move past the sidewalk. I couldn't save them. The vehicles collided with each other and the caravan was set... on fire. The whole car and the surrounding shops were set ablaze. The tank exploded, killing some more people who tried to escape. Somehow I was protected from the flames and the metal pieces. I wished I could tell you that they survived.
They did not. Hurriedly I called the police, paramedics and firemen, but sadly the road commotion a few feet ahead stopped them from making it here fast. I silently watched, helpless and afraid, as the fires engulfed anything and everything that was in their way. People, buildings, animals... they all died and suffered. The gas was everywhere. Glass in the shops broke because of the explosion.
The people who were hit by the flaming objects died instantly, flames engulfing them. To add fuel to the fire, an oil tanker and a dynamite & weaponry shop collided behind the car after the caravan. Thousands of explosions thundered and I had to cover my ears to the deafening noise. Thousands of people died that day. I was wondering if I'd make it out alive as a flaming piece of dynamite was hurled towards me. Before it came into contact, a deep, booming voice said aloud 'YOU SHALL NOT AND WILL NEVER CHEAT FATE WITH THIS VISION. CHEAT IT AND THE WHOLE WORLD WILL COLLAPSE!'"
The students kept silent, shocked by the whole thing. They could not believe that that was what really happened. The only thing they heard was that an explosive accident had occurred and that many people had died. They did not know it went like this. "D-did you wake up after you heard it?"
"Of course I did."
"...So, are you going to tell them what happened?" At this she smiled. "I think I'll wait... for Fate's further instructions." With that she said goodbye, got in her car and drove off. She was far from the place by the time she heard the sound of gunshots. She chuckled. "Sadly I didn't tell them about that part too."