Chapter 4 (1/2)
Angel Beats Track Zero Chapter 4: Cold Summer
TL note: ”Tens.h.i.+” is ”angel” in j.a.panese. However, in Angel Beats! Tens.h.i.+ is also used as a noun to refer to the student council president.
< cold=”” summer=””>>
The tennis courts were empty when we met in the afternoon.
“Let's kill Tens.h.i.+,” said the armed man.
“There'll be retribution!”
“What did you say?!”
Ooyama flinched as the man gave a cold, hard stare.
“I believe the enemy cannot die. Aren't both sides clear on this?”
“If the injury sustained is supposed to be fatal, she'll be paralysed for a moment. That was why she had to sit on me before she stabbed me; I wouldn't be able to escape even if she was paralyzed.”
“Wow, you're actually quite smart.”
“Do I look like an idiot to you?”
The gunman faced Yurippe.
“What I meant is that you seem to be pretty reliable.”
“It seems that you haven't noticed the gravity of the situation.”
The man drew closer, and pointed his gun straight in Yurippe's face.
“Don't worry. I understand. I'll carry out your orders.”
Yurippe stood there, with no fear in her eyes.
”You have quite a bit of guts.”
The man lowered his gun.
“What do we do after immobilizing her?”
“We'll just bury her alive.”
“She's unbelievably strong. Quite befitting of an angel.”
”We'll just have to dig a hole deep enough then, with as heavy a load as possible placed on top - that'll keep her down. It's best if we build a house on top and live there; that way, if there's anything wrong, we'll know immediately.”
”How would I be able to sleep peacefully knowing that there's someone alive under my feet?” Ooyama protested weakly.
”Good, then I won't let you sleep!”
“How can you do that?! I'll die of exhaustion!”
h.e.l.lo? News flash: you're already dead…
Whoops. It seems I have the habit of interrupting people now. All thanks to people doing the same to me.
”Quit yapping and start digging! Ten metres deep at the very least. I won't let you sleep until you've finished the work!”
”Te... Ten meters, that's too much...”
I can't agree more.
”Don't worry about how long it'll take.”
Right, of course... Time is infinitely abundant.
”So I have to get involved in this too?” Yurippe pointed at herself.
”What, you want me to treat you as a lady? Too bad. You're not my type.”
”Oh, that's a pity! Let's go then. Come on people; let's finish it in one day!”
”Ho... how is that even possible...”
With a gun pointed at our backs, Yurippe looked half-resigned as she led the way.
The sounds of spades invading the mud underneath our feet had been continuing for an hour, as we dug deeper and deeper. The land was harder than I imagined it to be, probably because students had been stepping on it frequently; we’ve barely dug a metre.
”Hey Ooyama, whatcha doing?” I turned around and asked.
”Gah... I can't do it, I can't even lift a feather now!” replied Ooyama, as he rested with the spade acting as a makes.h.i.+ft cane.
“Hahaha! I'm the fastest!”
Yurippe was digging vigorously.
“Holy...”
”I can't believe I'm losing to a girl. Am I that weak--- hey, wait a second!”
”What?”
Yurippe stood up and looked at me questioningly.
”Why are we digging one hole each?”
”I thought you wanted to have a contest on who the fastest digger is!”
”But I didn't say we had to dig a 10-metre hole each! It's pointless to have the other two holes!”
”Oh, you've just realised?”
”If you already did, why didn't you tell us?”
”Seems like you're quite an idiot too...”
”Never crossed my mind,” Yurippe blurted. ”Whose fault do you think this is, huh? Everyone looked so gloomy and annoyed, as a leader I was only trying to raise everybody's spirits, don't you see?”
”Yes, I finally understand why after your explanation.”
”Fine then, come over here. Let's start working on this one.” Yurippe pointed at her feet with spade. I had no choice but to put up with it.
“Let’s go, Ooyama!”
”Wait, so I've just wasted my energy? Just like that?”
”Just like that!”
”That's not for you to say.”
”But it's your fault! You reap what you sow!”
”How can this be happening?!”
Grudgingly, Ooyama and I dragged our bodies over to Yurippe.
The whole she dug was definitely deeper, but the diameter was only the size of a basketball.
”It's too small... I think we should continue working on mine to increase efficiency.”
”Excuse me?”
”Why’re you looking at me like that? Are you saying we should continue working on yours even if it's going to take us forever?”
”Of course!”
”Still, we should make the hole larger first,” Ooyama said.
”Don't worry about the width. As long as it's enough to stuff the council president inside, it should be okay.”
”Is this some kind of a breakthrough for burying people alive? Whatever it is, how is this supposed to fit the three of us if we want to dig 10 metres deep?”
”Of course I know that! I just wanted to test how much energy you guys have left. Okay, let’s proceed with Project Hole Enlargement! One, two, three, go!”
Bonk!
Our heads collided.
”Ouch! Stop getting in my way!”
”It's your fault. It's obvious this is going to be a problem if three spades are used to dig one hole at the same time.”
”Fine then, I'll watch for now, you guys go ahead and dig!”
”And who was the person responsible for this in the first place?”
”Whatever, go on Hinata-kun!”
”Darn it...”
As I was complaining, it suddenly hit me that the man was still nearby.
I was surprised the man didn't say a word as we were doing such a sloppy job digging.
He was walking around a cliff, admiring the sunset.
I couldn't see his face as the sun was too bright.
Even from this distance, one thing’s for sure: the gun, gleaming from the sunlight, was still gripped tightly in his hand.
It was not long before the sun completely set. Ooyama was already on his knees, groaning: ”I'm out of energy... I'm so darn hungry!”
The hole was already as deep as my height.
”At the very least, we should be allowed to eat, right?”
”Shhhh...”
Yurippe was standing on top. She put her index finger at her lips, signalling silence.
Hey wait, when did Ooyama and I become her slaves anyway? Come over and help us too! Darnit!
On a slightly unrelated note, because of the wind blowing in my direction from her side, I could just slightly see that she was wearing white panties underneath her skirt. It was something not worth mentioning anyway, so I kept quiet.
”What's up?” I whispered.
”He dozed off.”
”Oh... Perfect.”
I put down the spade and climbed out of the hole.
”I'll go steal the gun from him.”
”Good idea.”
”How 'bout me?” whispered Ooyama.
”Just stay here.”
As we left him behind, Yurippe and I carefully climbed up the hill. Maybe it's just me, but even stepping on the gra.s.s made loud noises.
In the silence, the guy was sleeping soundly, leaning against the tree.
It seems that he was completely exhausted himself.
His grip on the gun has loosened too. So light, in fact, that Yurippe only needed very small nudges to get the gun.
Yurippe spun the gun and hit the man's head with its b.u.t.t.
”Hey you, wake up. We’ve just turned the tables.”
The man opened his eyes slightly, apparently still a bit light-headed.
”... That was a wonderful dream...”
”Really? Too bad for you then, I'm kicking you to h.e.l.l.”
”... Can I meet her there in her utopia...”
Did the wires in his brain get entangled when he was sleeping?
”What are you talking about? Utopias are created by people, with their bare hands!”
”Right... Nicely said...”
”I'm the leader around here. From now on you'll listen to what I say and obey my orders.”
”How is that a threat? We won't die here.”
”Then I'll let you have a taste of death. You've tried it once before, no? Would you want another go at it?”
”Nah, you be my guest. Let me teach you a lesson so that you will never try this again.”
I was wondering why the guy had a weird sense of serenity, just before I noticed what was going on.
He was aiming at Yurippe with another gun.
He had a gun in his hand once more, as if he cloned it from out of nowhere.
He’s going to shoot!
I ran quickly at Yurippe, praying I was fast enough...
BAM!--
The sound was dull. The bullet was already on its way.
And it hit me.
BAM!--
Another sound of a gunshot came from my side.
”Hinata! Run! Retreat!”
I felt my hand being tugged, but the pain in the shoulder was excruciating.
The pain made my body tremble, but instinct kept me standing, and soon after, running.
”Ooyama! Retreat!”
”Waaaa! Wait for me!”
We ran towards the forests.
Only when we were under a large tree where the moonlight couldn't even reach, did the three of us heave a sigh of relief.
”Don't worry, it's just a slight scratch wound.”
Yurippe said as she looked at the wound on my shoulder.
SLAP!
”OUCHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”
That slap on the shoulder was totally unnecessary.
”What in the world happened...” Ooyama asked with concern.
I also wanted to understand the situation, so I quietly waited for Yurippe to speak.
”I got the gun...”
In the darkness, we could barely see the gun that was once wielded by the man.
”... but that reprobate had another one hidden. He then fired at me, but Hinata ran in front of me...”
”Yep, I took the shot.”
”And then...?”
”I returned the favour in kind, and then...”
She looked at the foreign object she was holding with a tense and nervous look.
This must be her first time firing with a gun, not to mention firing at a person.
”I had to pull the trigger; otherwise he would fire even more shots...”
Yurippe was explaining more to herself than to either of us. n.o.body questioned her for opening fire, and n.o.body was blaming her for it.
”Where did you shoot him?”
”His waist.”
”Well then, he's paralyzed for the moment. From the looks of it, I bought us some time, and I guess it could justify my shooting.”
”Yeah...”
”But why must it come to this? We're all human yet we're trying to kill each other...”
”Maybe because things like these exist...” I explained, looking at the gun.
”Great. Now we have two more guns. How was this here in the first place? I don't understand...”
”Maybe he's from a yakuza!”
”And where can you find yakuzas here, huh?”
”Whatever the case is, he's even more of a problem now than Tens.h.i.+. What should we do, Yurippe?”
”......”
If this was the usual her, she would definitely shoot back with a this-is-what-you-should-be-thinking-about reply. But she was just staring at the ground, as though she didn't hear me.
”If the guy was shot, then he should be out of action for a while. Want to go interrogate him about the guns?” I suggested.
”And what can that solve?”
”We'll know where the gun originated.”
”Hinata, you're getting this all wrong.”
”What?”
”Currently, the problem is not the threat that the guns pose, or even their existence.”
”Then what?”
”What we should be worrying about is how to get him to ally with us in this worst-case scenario.”
I was extremely surprised.
We're talking about a person who will shoot without hesitation. What's she thinking?
”That's a bit hard, no?”
Congratulations Ooyama, you've just said something completely redundant. OF COURSE IT'S HARD. You can probably even say it’s almost impossible.
However, this is indeed a challenge. The strategy would be hard to pull off.
”Okay... I want to challenge him to a cla.s.sic duel. Man on man.”
”... HUH?!” echoed Ooyama and I, completely dumbstruck.
”Are you a man?”
THUD! She kicked me.
”Who are you calling a man, huh?” was all I heard before she grabbed me by the collar and stared straight at me face to face.
”When you looked up from the trench this morning, did the area you were secretly looking at have the same dirty body part that you have? HUH?”
She found out?!
”I wasn't peeking! You were the one who stood there in the first place!”
”Hey, hey, I don't know what's going on, but quarrelling now isn't exactly the best thing to do right now,” Ooyama interrupted.
”Look, Ooyama-san didn't even notice the opportunity even though he was in the same place as you were.”
”Do you really want to argue? Seriously, don't try to flatter yourself. That's not exactly an opportunity. It's an unfortunate incident that you're using to frame me!”
”Hmph, I'm just saying. Is your guilty conscience acting on you now?”
“What did you say?!”
”Hey, hey, I don't know what's going on, but quarrelling now isn't exactly the best thing to do right now.”
Ooyama's natural unchanging speech #2 has appeared!
”Hey, you'd better give up if you’re thinking of becoming a writer.”
”What, you mean he didn't repeat it by chance?”
”Nah, he's just the usual dope.”
”Are you for real?” asked Yurippe with a tinge of surprise and exhaustion.
”What, did I say something that surprised you guys so much?”
”You've just repeated your words exactly. This is what you call a copy-paste. This will never occur in real life; it's just impossible, especially in an interruption.”
”Oh. I see. So what's the problem?”
I give up.
I'm guessing Sir Ooyama will continue to unknowingly act as the mediator between Yurippe and me. We can call it Ooyamagic! Now I understand why he's a sage.
”Speaking of which, what did Yurippe mean when she said she wanted to challenge him to a cla.s.sic duel?” I asked after calming down.
”It's a fight between two guys with guns.”
Hmm, is this fella trying to make me retort with a copy-paste too?
”But, Yurippe is female right?”
Good job, Ooyama. Plainly asking questions to which the answer is obvious, that is where your value lies in.
“That's the point. If a female challenges him, he definitely won't refuse.”
“That guy isn't dumb, he'll have something up his sleeves.”
“You really are a moron.”
Excuse me?
“Guys all think so similarly. I'll beat him at his own game and improvise if needed.”
“You have an idea?”
“Yep.”
“What is it?”
“Let Tens.h.i.+ be the judge.”
“…… HUH?!”
Once again I echoed together with Ooyama. c.r.a.p, seems like I'm in no position to call him a dope…
“Aren't you hoping for too much?”
“With my verbal skills, of course not!”
Is it really possible?
Yurippe challenging the man, and appointing Tens.h.i.+ as the judge...
At dinner time, I sneaked into the canteen alone and grabbed as many pieces of bread as possible and stuffed it into my uniform. I brought it back to Yurippe and Ooyama after that.
”I bet you went to get some really nice food!”
All I could feel in the darkness was the cold stare that Yurippe was giving me.
”Of course not! I thought about it, though...” I replied, before tearing a piece of bread for eating.
“This feels exactly like camping.”
Ooyama's speech of peace soothed me, and we were all completely relaxed.
Not forgetting the fact that there might be someone c.o.c.king the gun in our direction in the darkness.
A sudden spike of fear forced me to check for people behind me. The darkness was so complete and engulfing that I wouldn't see an elephant at all if it were there.
”Just relax, you coward! You can't die anyway.”
”I'd rather not be buried alive.”
”Why do you think we're partners, huh? We've got to believe in each other!”
”I really want to.”
”I wouldn't trust you.”
”Are you kidding?”
”Doesn't matter anyway. Our friends.h.i.+p will last through everything, just like the stars above us.”