Angel Beats! エンジェルビーツ!

Our Beats Incarnate

Book II: The Beachfront

Epilogue

-o-O-o-

Upon first opening his eyes, the sensation that Yuzuru became immediately aware of was a feeling of pure and complete serenity. Warm summer sunshine embraced him in its radiant glow, and off to his right not too far into the distance he could hear the gentle sound of waves crashing against the sandy shore. Carefully, he sat up, looking around and finding himself on a very familiar beach.

The second sensation was a momentary flood of memories, strikingly distant and yet somehow familiar.

In the few moments it took him to fully process them, to take them in and assimilate precisely what they meant, Yuzuru also realised one very important point.

He was dead. And it wasn't for the first time.

With an almost dejected sigh he allowed that simple fact to sink in for at least a little while, gazing out to sea all the while. He sat there, doing nothing more than thinking, until well after the sun had sunk below the clear, distant horizon.

By the time the stars were making themselves known, and an unnaturally large moon announced its presence by lifting itself gracefully into the sky, Yuzuru decided it was time to shake off the last of his reverie. There were some things he needed to do. And he only had a couple of decades in which to do them.

-o-O-o-

Truth be told, time had little to no real meaning in this place. Although Yuzuru was vaguely aware of its passing, he remained untouched by its unending march forwards. With enough willpower he found that he could actually call upon it directly in order to shape the world around him almost entirely to his whim. But there were some limits.

Still, as time moved on, he urged a few features here and there to change at his request, and others he allowed to develop entirely of their own accord. Just a few tweaks here and there, and at his behest the scenery became much more comfortable to him, something much more familiar and recognisable.

And, when he slept at night, he even found that his dreams could serve as a window back into the corporeal realm of the living. Of course, all he ever saw was Kanade.

It wasn't every night that he could see her. But it was often enough. And he noticed that, unlike him, she remained very much bound to the vagary of time as it drew her through her life.

Yuzuru caught glimpses of Kanade as her vibrant youth progressed into demure maturity, waning after her middle ages and onwards into the beyond. Innocence gave way to wisdom. Beauty yielded to the gentle graces of age. Everything about her changed, and yet nothing changed at all.

From a distance, he watched as Kanade built a life for herself. Yuzuru felt a certain measure sorrow as he watched her age, never finding or even seemingly seeking out another to fill the hole in her life that he had obviously left. But not once did he get any sense from Kanade that she felt her life was anything less than contented.

Quite the contrary, in fact, as Yuzuru witnessed her become an integral part of Hatsune's family. She obviously felt love, and she gave and shared it in return without ever actually being in love. And from the looks of things, that seemed as if it were more than enough for her.

As he watched over her, a content and fulfilled old lady slowly took the younger Kanade's place. And, watching on all the while, Yuzuru knew that it wouldn't be long until her deepest wish – the one she kept mostly to herself, shielded from the world – would be granted, and the pair of them would be together again.

It was only a matter of time.

-o-O-o-

Night had long-since descended by the time Kanade opened her eyes. The air was comfortably fresh without being cold, and the stars twinkled silently down at her from high above. As her memories returned to her, lifetimes all in all, she became aware of somebody gently stroking her hair. Her head was resting in somebody's lap.

"It's nice to see you're finally awake." A welcoming silhouette leaned over her from above.

Kanade blinked, looking up into familiar copper-hued eyes and a warm, affectionate smile. She moved to sit up, turning to face him.

"Yuzuru?"

He simply smiled back at her.

Without warning, Kanade flung herself into his arms, wrapping her own around his neck and tacking Yuzuru to the sand in a tight embrace. He pulled his arms tight around her in turn, holding her close as she nuzzled into the crook of his neck.

"I've missed you so much." She whimpered softly into the collar of his shirt, her grip on him firm and unyielding.

"I've missed you too," he whispered into her ear, "I've been waiting for a while."

"A lifetime." Kanade spoke back, loosening her arms a little bit and moving away without getting up, just enough so that they could look one-another in the eye as they spoke without surrendering the embrace.

"I saw bits and pieces." Yuzuru confessed to her, meeting her deep auric gaze, "You seemed happy, but you never…" he trailed off, leaving the ending unspoken and hanging between them.

Kanade's eyes danced, overflowing with affection, "Your love was more than enough for me. It always will be."

Yuzuru couldn't resist. The kiss his lips brushed across Kanade's own, though brief and fleeting, said everything that words simply couldn't. But Kanade didn't let it end there. Recapturing his lips, she replied with the fervour of a lifetime of unexpressed love and adoration.

A lifetime, expressed in that simple tender gesture.

That night, beneath the stars, the couple made love.

-o-O-o-

"You know," Kanade began, sitting contentedly on the sand, nuzzled closely into Yuzuru's side as he held her close with an arm around her shoulder, "This beach bears a striking resemblance to the one where we had our first date."

Yuzuru gave her a knowing chuckle and a light squeeze, "No fooling you, huh?"

"Nope."

Looking down at the petite silver-haired girl beside him, Yuzuru noticed that she had her eyes closed, as if she were thinking of something.

"Mixed feelings?" he asked quietly.

Kanade shook her head slowly before reopening her eyes and returning his gaze, "Fond memories, mostly. I loved it here. Well… There."

Yuzuru simply nodded and looked back out across the shimmering sea, "And I don't suppose you want to stay here for a while? You know, catch up on the time we missed?"

It was a pretty redundant question. He already knew what the answer would be, just as he had the last time around. This place could be their own personal utopia, and they could enjoy it for all of eternity, just the two of them. But then again, that wasn't really living in quite the same way.

Although he wasn't looking at her, Yuzuru could hear the smile upon Kanade's lips when she spoke, "I'd like to share a lifetime with you, Yuzuru. After the last time, I think we deserve it."

"Well, then…" Yuzuru shifted, rising to his feet as Kanade turned to regard him. Brushing off the sand that still clung to his trouser legs as he straightened up, Yuzuru then extended a hand down to her, one which she was more than happy to accept. Carefully, he pulled Kanade to her feet, "Let's see what we can do about that."

Looking up at him, their eyes meeting and feeling the joy and eagerness that only came with the prospect of what lay ahead, Kanade lightly touched her fingertips lovingly to the soft skin of Yuzuru's cheek. Seeking out his lips a final time, a tenderly chaste kiss was all that was needed.

He smiled down upon her.

She smiled back up at him.

An instant later, the beachfront was empty, save for the gentle song of the ocean breaking against the shore.

-o-O-o-

Epilogue

Author's Notes: And there lies the end of Book 2. I wanted that one to be something of a bittersweet tragedy, and I hope that at some point it struck a chord with you, or perhaps even left a little lump in your throat. I must admit, it was a difficult one to write. And I struggled with some of it for quite a bit. But hey, we got through it, and here we are now. I truly hope you enjoyed it.

Work on the third book begins after this. My plan is for a bit more light-hearted comedy, a stronger appearance of the original cast, and a less fluff-oriented plot. So watch this space, and I hope to see you there.

Thanks for reading!

NKC