Angel Beats! – Track Zero Chapter 1

Chapter 1 of 7 – “A Rocket for Two”

Climbing atop to the roof’s fence, I inspect my surroundings from the highest point of the school.

A field resides just bit away from the foot of this building. To its left, there’s a building that houses an indoor tennis court, and a place that seems to be an auditorium.

What a ridiculous amount of s.p.a.ce this school occupies.

The place I’m looking at though, is the world beyond the school’s premise.

A forest spans on and on, and then ends in a thick mist, blocking anything beyond from view.

“What is with this place…? What happened to the world outside…?”

“Off, you, go!”

A girl’s voice comes from behind.

Bam!

“AAaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!!”

“Haah…”

I wake up to find myself lying in bed.

In a room painted in white.

It’s the infirmary.

There’s a girl standing beside me, with a headband on her head.

“Um…”

“I know what you are gonna say. Yup, it’s exactly what you’re thinking. No need to say it.”

“What the h.e.l.l?! Hey! Weren’t you the a.s.shole that kicked me off the building?! I almost died! Holy c.r.a.p, I survived! From that high! It’s a freaking miracle!”

“Oh? Weren’t you trying to test if you can die or not?”

“Why the h.e.l.l would I wanna test that?!”

“Humph, so you are dumber than I expected. I thought you’d have noticed it by now.”

With her hand holding her chin, she lets out a “hmm” sound from her nose, and then looks away in disgust.

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t you two have cla.s.s?”

A voice from across the headband girl. The school nurse, it seems.

“Ah, we’re going.”

The girl answers.

“Let’s talk somewhere else.”

And then, the school bell rings.

I follow her up to the roof again.

“So, what is it? What am I not noticing?”

“This is the afterlife.”

“Huh? I don’t understand.”

“You should still have memories of dying, and waking up here.”

“Hah…”

I died…?

Calling up the memories of my last moments. There was an accident.

A huge truck was coming.

I was dazed and couldn’t move, let alone dodge away.

An impact followed. The sky and ground alternated in my view quite a few times.

Then it all stopped. I was looking up at the sky, fully aware of how battered my body was. Every part of my body, hurting. My mumbled groans, repeating.

I was going to die… And with that thought, my consciousness drifted away.

When I woke up, I was lying on the ground in a school I didn’t recognize, and wearing a set of uniform I’d never seen before. I didn’t have a scratch on me.

Others in the same uniform were entering the school gates.

While in my state of confusion, a girl came over, introduced herself as the student council president, and took me by my hand. I followed her to into a cla.s.sroom and she led me to my seat.

A teacher came in, and homeroom started.

Despite it being my first time there, my name was called.

“Absent?” I got asked.

“H-here.” I answered.

A couple of girls let out a laugh.

The teacher moved on to call other names.

I was counted as present just like that.

What kind of a system is this school using…

Someone suddenly showed up and there was already a seat a.s.signed, and no one seemed the slightest bit surprised about it.

What the heck is going on in this place…

“Seems like you are getting it now. So, there’s only one thing left to do. Team up with me.”

“Um, no, I still don’t get any of this. I’m so confused. And who are you anyway?”

“Human.”

“Are you making fun of me?”

“Geez, use your head a little. Stop disappointing me. Gah, I can’t believe I have to put up with you from now on.”

“You sure speak whatever’s on your mind…”

“Yeah, now think harder.”

“Alright…”

The girl in front of me definitely looks human.

I’m a human too.

Hmm…?

“Um, there are some non-humans around…”?

“25 points.”

“I didn’t ask for a grade. Gimme an answer.”

“Like I said, stop disappointing me.”

She’s staring at me and getting me all fl.u.s.tered.

What’s with this girl… She’s kinda cute though…

People who aren’t human, hmm…

Indeed, everyone was behaving as if I’d always been here, which did seem kind of eerie.

“Eh? Could it be that… The students aren’t human?”

“80 points.”

“No way… Then what are they?”

“Can’t you reach full points by yourself first?”

“Uh… The teachers, they aren’t human either?”

“90 points.”

Good… Only 10 more.

“I got it! There are also monsters wandering around outside the school!”

“Ah, you’re dumb indeed! What a pity! Guess I’ll go look for someone else. Okay, bye.”

“Wait, wait, wait. I already got this far, so I’m not that dumb. C’mon, tell me.”

“Just give me the correct answer then. I already gave you a gigantic hint back there. If you still don’t get it, it’s bye bye for real.”

I wonder why… Despite getting teased this much, I still don’t want her to give up on me…

She does feel much more human than the others though.

Yeah, this is the first real human I’ve found in this world. I don’t want her to abandon me.

Besides, she also seems to know a lot about this world. She’s been testing to see if I’m qualified to know too.

I carefully rehash all of her words.

Perfect score… Here I come!

“Alright… You said you’re also looking for others, so there are other humans, those who have died, and then came to this world just like us.”

“99 points.”

I feel a bit defeated.

“There are more…?”

“What did I say in the start?”

“I can’t remember.”

“Remember.”

Churning my brains as fast as possible, and finally…

“This is the afterlife…”

“Yes. And who lives here?”

“Those who are dead like us… And…?”

“Oh geez, what a dumba.s.s. Who do you think made this world of the dead possible?”

“Huh… You mean…”

“Yeah, that. Spit it out.”

“G.o.d.”

I give her my crazy hypothesis.

“…Finally, 100. You really are dumb.”

“Wait, wait, G.o.d really exists?! Where? Have you met the guy?”

“Calm down. I haven’t, but it wouldn’t make sense if G.o.d doesn’t exist. This is the afterlife, a world for us to sort out our thoughts, attain Nirvana, and reincarnate. Do you think a world like this would just spring into existence on its own? Who do you think that set this all up?”

“G.o.d…?”

“It might not be an existence as we think, but it must be something like that.”

“So where…? Maybe it’s so far beyond the skies that we can’t really see.”

“We’ll build a rocket then.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“You must be brain-dead. The concept of time doesn’t exist here. Or, in other, easier to understand words, our time here is unlimited.”

“We’re still gonna grow old and die eventually.”

Whack!

“Ow! What?!”

She sure isn’t holding back.

“I had no words for your stupidity, so I had to hit you…”

“What the h.e.l.l.”

“How can dead people grow old and die, you moron?!”

“Oh yeah… So, are we like immortals?”

Bam!

“Ow ow ow… Don’t kick me!”

“What else do you think I was trying to prove, when I put all that effort into kicking you off the roof, huh?!”

She pulls on my neck collar, with her face right up close, speaking with her spit flying at me…

“Ah, yeah… So we are…”

I doubt I’ll ever fall for this girl in my entire life…

Wait, my entire life ended already.

“If they aren’t human, what are they?”

“Props, things to make this place look just like an everyday-life school.”

“So they’ll ignore me if I talk to them?”

“No, you can talk to them. You can even become friends with them if you want. Amateurs like you would never notice the difference.”

“How do I notice the difference then?”

“Those who do strange stuff are human. Like you, when you were climbing the fence trying to jump. The rest are all them.”

“So that’s how you figured out I’m human… By the way, I wasn’t actually gonna jump.”

“Same thing. No one would go up there.”

“Um, so are we a team now?”

This important question pops up in my mind.

“I guess, though I had my doubts back there.”

She says begrudgingly.

“What’s your name? I’m Hinata.”

“Yuri.”

“Ehhh?!”

“What?”

“That’s my mom’s name.”

“So?”

“It’d be like calling my mom by her first name. I’d feel weird. Do you have a nickname?”

“I’ve always been just Yuri.”

“Then… Yurippe.”

“…?! You have horrible tastes.”

“It sounds cute, Yurippe. You can call me Hinacchi. I want you to call me Hinacchi.”

“Like h.e.l.l I will…”

I take a deep breath and stretch for a bit.

“Alright, so you were saying about doing something before?”

I twist my upper body left and right to get my body flexed up.

“Yeah. You are gonna help.”

“With what?”

“Isn’t it obvious? Lure G.o.d out.”

“Really…”

Apparently my brain has adjusted enough already, so I’m not too surprised to hear her say that.

“How?”

“Kill everyone in this school. I bet that’d make G.o.d come out in a rush.”

“You are going to h.e.l.l…”

“Ha! If there were one, this would be it. Seeing as how we’re all exiled here, with painful memories of our past still intact.”

With her arms crossed, she gazes up into the sky.

“Memories of our past life, huh…”

Revolting memories mine are.

Yurippe mentioned it before.

This is the place to sort out our thoughts, the place connecting us to our next lives.

With a life like mine… Can I ever get them all sorted out…

Ah, so that’s why our time here is limitless.

How considerate.

In that case… This might really be h.e.l.l.

“Let’s leave the luring method aside… What are you gonna do when G.o.d does show up?”

“Isn’t it obvious? A fist to the face for making us live such miserable lives. No, a whole beating.”

“The girl that beat up G.o.d… That’d be something… Never seen one before…”

“Right? That’s gotta be a first in history.”

“Yeah, no doubt. They’ll write it into the history books for sure.”

“Alright then, you start with the 3rd years, and I’ll start with the 1st years.”

She’s going ahead with this.

“Hey, wait, wait!”

“What?”

She turns around.

“Isn’t there something else we could do? I mean, don’t you think it’s a bit unrealistic for the two of us to kill a whole school of people?

“This world has no cops. Just get a bat from baseball club. Now off you go.”

“I said wait!”

“What? You’re getting annoying… Are you scared? They aren’t human, you know.”

“Not that. What I’m trying to say is, don’t you think there are too many of them? A whole school! That’s like what, a couple of hundred, no, probably more a thousand people!”

“We’ve got unlimited time.”

“Okay, let me say it this way then. I don’t want to behave like a homicidal maniac.”

Her expression changes a bit.

“Homicidal maniac… I see… I was thinking of such a thing…”

“Yeah. Let’s do it in a more humane way, alright?”

“Yeah…”

I can’t believe her mind can be swayed so easily, despite her imposing att.i.tude.

“Got a plan?”

“You’re asking me…?”

“You rejected it, so now you gotta think of a new one. Something still as shocking as killing everyone in the whole school, enough to lure out G.o.d.”

“Yeah, that is quite shocking…”

But I still gotta think of something. Hmm… I cross my arms and go deep in thought.

“How about, we come at night and smash all the windows?”

“Are you serious? We can’t just commit a common vandalism. Gimme something that’s on par with killing a whole school of people.”

“How can there be anything else on par with that?!”

“Sigh… Why did I even team up with you…?”

Yurippe sighs like she’s truly having regrets.

“You’re asking for too much. Don’t mark me off as ‘useless’ just for that.”

“What can you do?”

“Well…”

I raise my hand and clench it into a fist.

“I’m pretty confident about my reflexes. And pretty strong too. I’m a guy after all. When the time comes, I can protect you even at the cost of my life.”

“I don’t die though.”

“Ah! I forgot about that!”

I hold my head in frustration.

“Wow, flirting already? I didn’t know you were such a skirt-chaser, Hinata.”

“Nah. I’d die before even thinking about flirting with you, so don’t worry.”

“Aren’t you already dead?”

“Ah! I forgot about that too!”

I start to hold my head again.

“You really are dumb.”

“What’s going on here?”

A voice comes from behind.

“Tsk. Here comes one of them.”

Yurippe clicks her tongue.

I turn around to find a familiar figure in front of me… It’s the student council president.

“Cla.s.ses are still in session.”

“Then why are you here?”

“I have the teacher’s permission. Now go back to your cla.s.s.”

No need to ask, she’s probably not human either. She feels even less human than the other students, like a robot. And since she is the student council president, she must be one of the main features that are here to create an illusion of a normal school.

Yurippe comes close and whispers into my ear.

“Hinata, that’s the student council prez. Let’s see you do something.”

“Huh?”

“You know. The head of the student council. The one closest to G.o.d. Now is your chance.”

“Uh, yeah but… What am I supposed to do?”

“I’ll help you think of something if you’ll actually do it.”

“No, I think I’ll pa.s.s…”

She won’t come up with anything other than bloodshed anyway.

“Then think for yourself.”

“Alright. I’ll ask her a bunch of questions first. How’s that?”

“What’s the point of that?”

Ignoring her complaints, I walk up to the silently watching prez.

“Say, Miss Student Council Prez.”

“Yes?”

“Do you think G.o.d exist?”

“Do you think this the time to ask that?”

“Yup, it’s really important. I won’t go back to cla.s.s if you don’t answer.”

“Then, I don’t know.”

…So that’s how you’re gonna play.

“Okay, but let’s say G.o.d does exist, where do you think it’d be?”

“Can’t think of a place.”

…Again. We can’t really hold a conversation if all she says is don’t-knows.

Well then, let’s try something more private.

Come to think of it, maybe these guys can love too.

A question pops up in my head.

“Do you have someone you like?”

“…?”

She seems confused.

“Do you have a boy you like?”

I ask again.

“I have not.”

This time she answers right away without changing her expression.

“So, what would you do, if I were to confess to you right now?”

“I don’t know.”

Let’s try it out then. I can’t wait to see her reaction.

“You are such a cutie, Prez. I’m serious. I’ve been thinking about you from the first moment I saw you. This must be what they call ‘love at first sight’, right? Say, prez, um, do you wanna go-”

Bam!

I’m spinning in midair. What?! Why?!

The last thing I see is the follow-through of Yurippe’s perfect kick.

“Haah…”

I wake up to find myself lying in bed.

It’s the infirmary.

Yurippe is looking down at me coldly.

“Did you come to this world just to hit on girls?”

I spring up.

“You a.s.shole! How many times are you gonna kick me off the d.a.m.n roof?! I might get killed! Good thing I survived! Wow, another miracle!”

“Ah ha ha, I told you no one dies here.”

Yurippe laughs with her hand flinging about.

“That doesn’t mean you should do it all the freaking time!”

“You partnered up with me, yet all you think about is your selfish desires, so it’s really your own fault.”

“I obviously wasn’t serious! I just wanted to know if those guys can love.”

“Oh ho. I didn’t know you were such a romantic, Hinata.”

“I’m no romantic, you just don’t feel any romance at all.”

“Huh? Who need romance in this world? How are we supposed to love, when we’re filled with these gloomy memories?”

I feel kind of sad hearing that from her.

That’s more the reason, is it not…?

“I don’t think it’d be so bad… You’re a bit too impatient. Don’t you get tired of rus.h.i.+ng things all the time? Our time is unlimited, right? So why not try to fall in love, and take things slowly?”

“Argh, this guy’s. .h.i.tting on me again…”

“I’m not… I’m just worried about you…”

She is foregoing even the tiniest bit of happiness, and just charging full speed ahead.

“So, we’ll be partners from now on.”

“I’m fine by myself, you know.”

“Don’t say that…”

“You’re useless anyway.”

“Don’t be so stingy.”

“And it’d be a pain if you really do fall for me.”

“Won’t happen, don’t worry.”

“What if I fall for you?”

“Huh…?”

Words I’d never imagine her say…

I freeze. My eyes are glued to Yurippe’s bewitching lips.

“Then…”

“Yeah right! Like h.e.l.l I will! Ah ha ha! You are such a r.e.t.a.r.d!”

…This is why I worry about you, Yurippe.

I divert my eyes toward the clock ticking on the wall.

Evening already, huh? My stomach lets out a growl.

“Dead people get hungry too…?”

“We still have all of our senses and needs, so we’ll still feel sleepy and hungry.”

Yurippe looks at me suspiciously.

“What…?”

“You’ve got another need too, don’t you? Seeing how you’ve been so far, this is definitely gonna be a problem.”

“Don’t worry. I’d never ask of it from you.”

“Oh, the prez then.”

“Nope.”

“No? Are you gonna be alright like that?”

“Who’s the one that said we don’t need romance?”

“I really don’t. I just don’t wanna see a guy suffering so much under his own desires… I was gonna help you out if you had a thing for me. But guess not. Oh well.”

…!

Should I really consider her as a girl…?

I gaze upon her face.

Eh?!

Where did that pretty face go?!

Odd. She’s supposed to be of a looker too.

But now, this face staring back at me, it can only be described as the smirking face of a Certain Evil.

Why do I feel this s.h.i.+ver going up my spine?

What is this?

My eyes go dark for a sec, and I suddenly get this flashback.

“Ahhhhh!”

“What? Did the memory of your death just pop up? You poor boy…”

“No, I just remembered getting kicked off the roof by you!”

Yurippe just cackles.

Geez… I’ll probably never get bored with her around.

Not a bad companion to have for the afterlife.

Growl.

Once I’ve calmed down, my stomach starts to act up again.

“When did you last eat?”

“I haven’t had anything since I got here. Didn’t have the time to think about that, really.”

“You gotta improve your adaptability. It’s very important.”

“I’m adapting. By the way, where do we get food, and what do we eat at this place?”

“You can order stuff at the school cafeteria.”

“That’s good to hear.”

I reach out for my wallet, but there’s nothing in my pockets.

But of course. I don’t even know how or when I got into these clothes.

“Food here isn’t free, is it?”

“Of course not. You gotta pay.”

Yurippe crosses her arms and looks at me like I’m stupid.

“Are you are thinking of something dangerous again…?”

“Relax. You get bursaries for food and stuff. Just pick it up from the office.”

“Oh, I see.”

But the thought of it being already prepared irks me a bit.

Just like that seat I got, everything’s been set up for the newly deceased.

“Getting it is too much ha.s.sle, so I’ll lend you some this time.”

“Ah, thanks a bunch.”

A bowl of ramen and another bow of pork rice down the stomach.

“Wow, this is amazing… It’s just like when I was still alive!”

The taste, the texture, the satisfied feeling in my stomach, nothing has changed.

“What’s amazing is that you actually finished both of those.”

I put down the empty bowl, and lean back on my chair.

“Haah… That felt d.a.m.n good.”

This is what heaven’s supposed to be like.

“Do you want to disappear?”

Yurippe stops eating her udon and turns toward me.

“Huh? Why?”

“Once you become satisfied in this world, you’ll attain Nirvana. Like I said, this is the place to sort out your thoughts. You’ll disappear right away after you’ve gotten rid of all your lingering regrets.”

“By just filling my stomach?”

“If that’s enough to drive away the pains of your life, then sure.”

“c.r.a.p… I got satisfied without thinking…”

“I thought you were trying to get heartburn just to cancel it out.”

“I wasn’t thinking that far ahead.”

“Yeah. You are a r.e.t.a.r.d after all.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m a r.e.t.a.r.d. You gotta tell me these things beforehand.”

“Can’t you learn from experience? I sure did. If I have to explain everything, we’d talk till sundown.”

“Let’s hope I’ll still be here by sunrise tomorrow.”

“I really don’t care either way.”

“I do! I’m gonna have to study your every move from now on.”

“Hmm? So you do have a thing for me?”

“Don’t misunderstand. That’ll never happen.”

“Yeah, that’d be so disgusting. I’m trying to eat here.”

Yurippe replies harshly.

“Aren’t we a team? Aren’t we going to lure out G.o.d together?”

“You’re pretty smart for a r.e.t.a.r.d.”

Satisfied, Yurippe returns to her udon.

By the time we leave, it’s already dark outside.

“What’s the plan now?”

“Nothing for today. Go do whatever you want?”

“Where do I sleep?”

“There’s a dorm over there.”

I bet my room’s gonna be ready when I arrive.

I start walking with Yurippe.

“I wonder if I’ll get a roommate.”

“I bet you will. There aren’t any one person rooms. I kicked mine out though, so now I live alone.”

“I knew you’d do something like that.”

“What? Don’t you think it’s creepy, sleeping in a room with something that’s not human?”

“You are more of a threat to them than they are to you.”

“That’s the guys’ dorm.”

She stops and points to the left.

A large building stands there. A size fitting for a boarding school.

“Okay. Guess I’ll see you tomorrow. Though I don’t know what’s gonna happen next…”

“Leave that thought till tomorrow. Goodnight.”

She takes her leave.

Alone now, I take a deep sigh.

What an utterly exhausting day.

I fell off the roof twice… Today sure has been disastrous…

And I still have this non-human roommate to meet.

The one I have to live with from now on…

This stinks so much…

Being with Yurippe is way more comforting, even though her words are filled with thorns. After all, she is the only human I know in this world.

I’m already in love with human’s warmth.

I walk along the hallway, scanning the name tags on the doors.

Finally, one with my name on it.

So this is my room…

I stop in front of it.

My roommate’s name is… Ooyama.

Alight, let’s head in.

After a few knocks, I push the door open.

“Hi there. My name is Hinata. I’ll be your roommate from now on.”

I introduce myself.

“h.e.l.lo, I’m Ooyama. Nice to meet you.”

A male student is sitting arch-backed inside, on the bottom level of a double-deck bed.

He appears quite normal. Not too buff, too feeble, too fat, too skinny, too good looking, or too ugly. From my first impression, the only thing special about this guy is that there’s absolutely nothing special about this guy.

His greeting is completely lacking in personality too.

It’s like he’s an RPG NPC, one of those random villagers they have in the starting villages.

His line would be something like “h.e.l.lo, this is Some-Some Village. Enjoy your stay.”

It’s so by the books that it irks me.

Maybe they are all like this… Thank goodness I have Yurippe around.

I come in and shut the door.

“There’s a table there for you, and your bed is the one up top.”

“Oh, thank you.”

I pull out a chair by the desk and sit down.

Then I turn around to face this Ooyama person.

Let’s see if I can get a conversation going.

“So Mr. Ooyama, have you been here long?”

“As you can see, I’m a 3rd year just like you.”

“Oh… I see…”

Guess I’m supposed to be a 3rd year…

Let’s try something else.

“Do you have any hobbies?”

“Reading and listening to music, I suppose.”

Can’t get any duller answers than that…

“What kind of music do you listen to?”

“J-pop.”

And it keeps going!

“What about you? What do you like, Mr. Hinata?”

He asks back.

“Me? Uh, sports…”

“Do you just watch or do you play too?”

“I do both.”

“Ah. I like to watch, but I’m not really very athletic. Ha ha ha.”

Yuck, what a fake laugh.

I feel disgusted.

Ahh, how I yearn for those th.o.r.n.y, and yet humanly words of Yurippe…

Someone scold me please…

“Ah, no need to be so formal. Just call me Ooyama.”

“Can I call you Yamapii?”

“What?”

“Erm, I figured I’d call you something with a bit more personality.”

“Ha ha ha, people always tell me that I lack personality. Even the teachers sometimes get mad at me for it.”

“Ah heh, I’m just kidding. Oh, and you can just call me Hinata too.”

“Alright then, Mr. Hinata.”

Guess there’s a bug in this villager’s programming.

“So what are your plans for the night?”

“What are my choices?”

“Either do homework, bathe, then sleep, or bathe, do homework, then sleep.”

“Either one’s fine…”

“Then, let’s go take a bath first. It should still be empty.”

“Wait, I’m going with you?”

“Hmm? You don’t want to?”

“Nah, I guess we can…”

What a friendly villager.

Since we are going to live together from now on, I can’t avoid him all the time, so I might as well go along with it…

“Okay, let’s go.”

Ooyama gives me a happy nod and we start to prepare.

“Here’s a brand new towel for you.”

“Ah… Thank you.”

Next day, on the roof.

Upon seeing Yurippe, I immediate dash toward her.

“Yurippeeeee!”

I’m so excited to see another human being, my tears are coming out.

I need to have her in my arms so I can confirm her warmth for my refuge.

But Yurippe nimbly dodges aside.

Wham!

My face plants onto the fence.

“Oh boy… This guy’s 3rd desire just erupted… My body’s in danger… Sorry, let’s disband. Okay, bye.”

“Noooooo!”

“What do you want, sicko?”

“I just want you, so much!”

“Holy c.r.a.p! See? You’re beyond saving!”

“Not as a woman! As a human being! My roommate was so fake and creepy, that’s why I want to see another human so much!”

“Oh. That does suck. Why don’t you kick him out like I did?”

“I don’t think they have that programmed in… I’m scared of what might happen if I do…”

“Right now you’re the scariest one here.”

“Ah, anyway, sorry. I apologize. I’m calm now…”

“You better not fling yourself at me when we meet later. Because if you do, I’ll kick you off from here again.”

“Yeah…”

I’d enjoy even that at this point.

“So, what are we gonna do today?”

“We’re gonna try to lure G.o.d out, of course.”

“How?”

“Huh…? You had all night and you didn’t come up with anything?”

“You never told me to come up with anything…”

“Argh! How can you be so dense! Geez! Where’s your brain?! Why did I even partner up with you?!”

“Ha ha… Yeah, sheesh… Ha ha ha.”

Kinda creepy to find myself enjoy being yelled at, but right now, even her flying spit seems lovely to me.

“Then start thinking, right here, right now! Immediately! Say something!”

“Give me some time…”

Just then, a chime starts to play on the PA system.

A panicky voice comes on.

“To all students. Please return to your cla.s.sroom immediately and wait for your homeroom teacher. I repeat…”

“…?!”

Yurippe quickly scans around.

“What?”

“Something special happened. We never had that kind of announcement before.”

“Maybe a biker gang came into the school?”

“Maybe. Whatever it is, this is our chance.”

“Our chance for what?”

“You really are r.e.t.a.r.ded. Something that shouldn’t have happen has happened! We gotta use it to our advantage, so we can…”

“Lure G.o.d out?”

“Let’s go. We gotta find out what’s going on.”

We are running through hallways. Our first goal is the faculty room.

And then.

Bang!

A rather out of place sound resonates in the air.

“Hold on…”

I’ve heard of this sound countless times in TV shows and movies.

“Wasn’t that a gunshot? This is getting kinda dangerous.”

“No freaking way…”

She begins to waver. Her eyes open wide, and she has stopped running too. This is my first time seeing her like this.

“Something that shouldn’t exist in this world has appeared…”

“The gun, you mean?”

“Someone brought it into this world. That’s what we need on our team!”

“And by ‘that’, you don’t mean the gun, you mean the guy that brought it?”

“Yeah. The guy’s definitely gonna be a valuable companion to have.”

She’s back to her usual self now; even has a smile on her face.

“You mean the maniac that just open-fired in the school?! Are you nuts?!”

“How else are we gonna flip this world upside down?”

Yurippe turns around and dashes toward the gunshot.