"Nakamura-san, is it ?"
"Just Yuri is fine by me"
"So...what is this place ?"
They're finally getting into the serious business.
"First, I want to ask you something...do you have any memories aside from your name ? Just to make sure"
All around was silence.
"N-No, am I having an amnesia or something ?"
"Sort of, but don't worry, some of us were also like that when we first came here. Maybe your memories will eventually return sooner or later"
Though i'd rather not having them back
"So, this place is what you could call the afterlife."
"Afterlife ? You mean, I'm already dead ?"
Natsume showed a little bit of confusion
"You might not like it, but there's no other explanation of why you end up being here"
"That means, Yuri-san and the others too..."
"That means me and the others as well, were already dead"
"I'm sorry, that was how insensitive of me..."
"It's okay, don't worry. Oh, in this world, death is not such a big issue"
"Eh ?"
Natsume looked even more confused.
"In this world, there's no such thing as 'death'. If you feel like you're dying anyway, you'll only lose consciousness for a brief moment and will be revived shortly after, alive and well."
Natsume still doesn't seem to fully understand how this 'afterworld' works, but now her curiousity grows when she finds out that she's currently in a world where everyone around her is a dead guy and everyone is said to be immortal, or so she thought. Maybe her Onmyoji instinct still remains after all.
"So, would you join us ?"
Yurippe invited Natsume to the battlefront out of the blue, but apparently this is also to lure her into asking what the goal of living in the afterlife is.
"Join Yuri-san ?"
"Right."
The girl looked confused with this invitation thing.
"You know, Natsume-san..if you just live in this world naturally and following all the rules obediently, you'll disappear."
"Disappear ? Like, vanished completely ?"
"Right."
"To prevent that, we put up resistance against the Angel to take over this world and lure Him out."
"Angel ? Him ?"
"God. That is"
"..."
Natsume was speechless, maybe this topic is a little bit too much for a bedtime story.
"I know you're still confused and need some time to absorb all of those things I just said. If you're interested, you can come to the principal's office tomorrow. You could ask Hisako, Yusa, or anyone you'd like to accompany you. Just make sure you don't go by yourself for the first time."
Natsume looked like she's considering whether to accept Yurippe's invitation.
"I'll be in my room in the girls' dorm. I'm the only Hisako in the dormitory so it wouldn't be so difficult to find my room."
Hisako smiled gently as she offered her help.
"..."
Natsume still lost in thought. It's not that she's doubting Yurippe & co.'s kindness, it's just that she's still shocked knowing that she's dead without even remembering what she had left behind.
Who am I in my previous life ?
What did I do ?
Who's my parents and what do they look like?
...
What caused me...to die ?
"Natsume ?"
Hisako breaks her silence.
"Eh ? Oh, thank you. That'd help me a lot. So, if you don't mind, I'll come to see you tomorrow"
Natsume finally decided to join Yurippe and her cohorts, returning their invitation with a smile.
"So, then. Have a pleasant rest."
Yurippe finally stood from her chair.
"See ya tomorow, Natsume"
"We're leaving, Natsume-san"
"Good night, Natsumecchi!"
As Yurippe and the others left, Natsume bows her head.
"Thank you, everyone. Good night"
Now it returns to a quiet night, or finally be a quiet night. Natsume leaned to her side, whispering something.
"Geez, I forgot to ask where the girls' dormitory is..."
The following day, Natsume woke up and prepared to go to the girls' dorm. She's still with her boys uniform.
"I wish i could at least take a bath first."
Of course she could use the school's shower room, if she knew where it is. Even if she finds one, she won't be content wearing the same clothing and moreover keeps Hisako waiting. Thus, she get out of the room quickly and looking for some help.
Maybe the students are too lazy to wake their ass up early in the morning so the school still looks quiet, or it's just Natsume that woke up 2 hours earlier than the class starting time. She walks across each classrooms and corridors but still can't find anyone. Until she reaches the main entrance.
There were a guy carrying a wooden sword, followed by a giant man and a short brown-haired guy.
"Geez, who the hell came up with the stupid idea of spending the night together playing card games after we eat but then returns to the dorm after everyone fell asleep ?"
The wooden-sword guy muttered.
"But, it's also Fujimaki-san's fault for eating too much and being unable to move, right ?"
The short guy replied.
"But that damn Naoi is the one with the idea right !? And he just left like that when Otonashi left to visit the new guy"
"W-Well, it's because the three of us fell asleep first. And after 5-6 games apparently everyone went back."
The three continued to argue among themselves. Actually it's just two of them, since the giant guy is just plain walking, looking dizzy. Natsume encountered those big guys.
"U-Um, excuse me."
Natsume initiated the conversation, looking for some help from those strangers.
"Eh ? It's rare to see someone so early in the morning."
The wooden-sword guy replied her just like that.
"Fujimaki-san, it's the new guy!"
The short guy explained the situation a little.
"Oh, so it's you! I'm Fujimaki, nice to meet you, new guy!"
Thus, the wooden-sword guy introduced himself as Fujimaki. The short guy Ooyama and the big guy Matsushita followed shortly after.
"My name is Natsume, nice to meet you."
The girl bowed as she introduced herself
"Some girly name that is. So, do you need something ? You must be since you're new here, right ?"
Fujimaki acted as the spokeperson.
"Um, do you know where the girls' dorm is ?"
"Wha-? Don't tell me the first thing you want to do is to peek at the girls' bath !?"
"N-No! You got the wrong idea. I go to meet up with Hisako-san."
"You already had that Hisako invite you to her room!? Man, you're nuts!"
Nothing does Fujimaki knew that the person he's accussing for being a pervert is actually a sweet girl, let alone a pervert. Can't blame him though, even Ooyama who were there last night can't tell.
On the other hand, Natsume also didn't seem to be aware that everyone still thinks that she's a he. Believing that Yurippe already cleared things up, she'd be shocked to know that Yurippe headed to her room directly after she visited Natsume.
"Eh !? N-No! I'm not into that kind of thing!"
Seems like she's getting a different idea from what Fujimaki means.
"What ? Oh, so you're just like that guy...I see."
Fujimaki said that while thinking of a certain green-haired man, a misunderstood green-haired man to be exact.
"Eh, so...just go to that large bridge, and there will be six buildings. The girls' dorm is in the left. I don't know what business you have with Hisako, but..see you later in the office."
"Thank you for your help."
She bowed down as the guys heading to the stairs.
Some of the students were seen going their way to school with their friends as Natsume crossed the large bridge.
I wonder if i were like that too when i was alive.
Natsume checked the occupant lists per building in the lobby, one by one. There she found Hisako's room on the 2nd building, 3rd floor.
"Excuse me."
Good girl always knocks before they enter someone's room.
"Oh, Natsume...please come in"
Hisako opened the door and let her in. She reached for something in her wardrobe and gives it to Natsume, a towel.
"You haven't take a bath since yesterday, don't you ? You can use my bathroom if you want."
Natsume smiled cheerfully, subconsciously telling herself that Hisako is the first sane person she had met today.
"Thank you, Hisako-san. So, then...if you excuse me"
"Don't mention it, soon enough you'll also have your own room. I already checked it. We'd go there after we went to the office."
"Eh ? Sorry for all the trouble."
"No need to thank me. Speaking of which, there's your new uniform."
Hisako handed her a uniform that looks strangely familiar.
"The truth is the jacket belongs to the boys uniform, but I managed to get some skirt for you."
Now Natsume's eyes are sparkling and looked like she's about to cry, she just encountered a goddess that have all she needs. Tears of happiness has never been this sweet.
Now, she's ready to go. With her new uniform, and a skirt to show what she really is.
"Are we going to attend the class ?'
There are still more things unkown to Natsume, and she choosed Hisako to be her guide for today's 'tour'.
"No, we the SSS normally doesn't attend classes."
"Why ? Everyone looks like they're attending classes"
"Those are NPCs, if you compare this world to a game. Well, Yurippe has better explanation on this than me, though. But i think you've got the idea."
"Hmm, I see. So if we attend the classes we'll be erased just like Yuri-san said back then ?"
"Right. But sometimes we do attend the classes for operation purposes, but we never pay attention to the lessons and just get busy with ourselves."
Natsume is quick to understand that by 'operation', that means the aforementioned resistance against the Tenshi.
"But, why does everyone went as far as challenging the God ?"
"Um, how should i say it..."
Hisako smiled a little.
"You could say that we're a bunch of sorry guys that wants to confront the God for giving us such unlucky life."
Natsume silenced by Hisako's word.
"...but I also think that it's better than just play along with His scenario."
Both of them fell silent.
"I'm sorry, Hisako-san. For asking such insensitive question again."
"It's alright, Natsume."
Hisako's smile embraced Natsume.
"Do you want your memories back ?"
"Yes..."
"Even if it would hurt ?"
"It's alright. Somehow I think i can take it, when i see how tough Hisako-san and everyone are."
Hisako was stunned by Natsume's answer, and can only smiling back at the girl.
Now then, finally they arrived at the principal's office. Hisako said the password and come in. There they found everyone waiting. Not exactly waiting like when the villain is waiting for the hero to break through his underlings defense. Rather, just fooling around as usual. Just more crowded.
"Oh, here they are. Everyone, attention!"
Yurippe broke the noise with even louder voice, as expected of the SSS leader.
"This girl is our new member, Tsuchimikado Natsume-san."
Natsume moved forward, bowing and introducing herself properly.
"My name is Tsuchimikado Natsume, I'll be on your guidance from now on. Please treat me kindly."
"Ehh !?"
Fujimaki couldn't believe that the person he accussed just a few hours ago is the very same pretty creature that stands in front of everyone.
"So, let me introduce the core members, the guy standing with glasses is Takamatsu-kun, don't be fooled by his glasses. He's an idiot"
"Nice to meet you."
"The big guy on his side is Matsushita-kun. He was a 5th dan in Judo, everyone calls him Matsushita-godan."
"Nice to meet you again."
"What ? The two of you have know each other already ?"
Yurippe came with the tsukkomi-like line.
"Well, I happened to bumped into her along with Fujimaki and Ooyama this morning."
"Good, I won't bother introducing Fujimaki and Ooyama then."
"Wha-? That's cruel, Yurippe!"
Fujimaki objected, but looks like it doesn't matter.
"How shallow minded."
The blue-haired girl in the corner revealing her presence.
"The girl in the corner is Shiina-san, this is Naoi-kun, Takeyama-kun, and this is TK"
"There goes my baby!"
TK greeted her.
"Eh ? W-What ?"
Natsume looked confused.
"That's his way of saying hello."
Yurippe explained the behavior of the bizarre man. Suddenly the door opened.
"Yurippe! Sorry I'm late! How's the new g-"
BONG!
"Uwaaaaaahhhh!"
"Oh, that idiot who's just got hammered is Noda-kun."
"What a cruel deja vu"
Otonashi whispered.
"So, welcome to the Afterlife Battelfront !"
The introduction went smoothly. Looks like there's no upcoming mission in the near future. Through today's event, Natsume gets to know her comrade better. She got some quick shooting tutorial, and given a USP .45 Tactical as a 'present'.
She was accompanied by Hisako to her room in the 3rd building, 4th floor.
"Whoa! This is amazing, Hisako-san!"
Natsume looked so excited about her new room. Hisako can only smile to the adorkable thing in front of her.
"So, I'll be going back. If you need something, Yurippe's, Miyuki's, and Yui's room is on the 2nd floor."
"Thank you for today, Hisako-san. I owe you a lot."
"You can call me for help anytime, Natsume. See ya tomorrow."
"Good night."
Natsume went to the balcony to get some fresh air. She took a glance at the balcony next to her. There was a girl enjoying some night tea.
"I wonder if I can befriend her too."
Befriending 1 or 2 NPCs is not such a bad idea, if you think about it.
"OK, I'll try and talk to her tomorrow !"
Saying that in her mind, she threw her body to the bed. Today was quite tiring for her. Well, experiencing your first day with the SSS must be tiring for any normal person. And with that, she planned to befriend the girl in the room next to her.
The room occupied by Tachibana Kanade.
to the next chapter
