Chapter 2: Chapter 2
Starting story, my ass!
I'm not in some cool afterlife in Angel Beats! or reincarnated with cheat powers.
No, I'm stuck in my miserable mortal days, slaving away—working myself to the bone and juggling endless university assignments—for a dream that doesn't even feel like it's mine.
Becoming a doctor? Yeah, right. Let's not kid ourselves. I never gave a single damn about becoming a doctor.
If I had my way, I'd be designing games, creating the kind of virtual reality that makes people forget about their shitty lives for a while.
But here I am, forcing myself down this path for one reason: my sister.
She was hit with some dangerous, unknown disease, something no one could explain, and it left her frail and fighting for her life.
I didn't have a choice. Not with how medicine is in this time period—2001.
It's nothing compared to the advances of the 2024 world I knew. Doctors here couldn't even figure out what was wrong with her.
Test after test, scan after scan, and all I ever got were blank stares and shrugged shoulders. No diagnoses. No answers. Nothing.
So, I decided to take matters into my own hands.
I don't know if this world has it out for me or if the God who reincarnated me here is just laughing his ass off at my expense.
He said he wanted to save a tragedy—well, where the hell is the part where my life gets easier?
Day after day, no matter how hard I worked, my sister only got worse.
Watching her deteriorate, knowing I was powerless to stop it, ate away at me.
I've already spent everything I had—my money, my energy, my future—just to get her into the best hospitals I could find.
And what did I get in return? Jack shit.
Those so-called doctors, those greedy vampires in white coats, drained me dry without giving a damn about her.
They took my money, my time, my trust, and handed me nothing but empty promises in return.
Why didn't they try harder? Why didn't they care? They asked for more money, and I gave it. They demanded more tests, more treatments, more sacrifices, and I gave them all of that too.
But in the end, all I got was this result: nothing.
"Brother... sorry..."
Her voice was soft, almost trembling, as if even apologizing took effort.
I looked at her and saw guilt written all over her pale face, and it hit me like a punch to the gut.
"Why apologize?" I asked, my voice heavy.
Yeah, why? Why should she feel sorry? None of this was her fault. It never was.
She deserved to be happy like any other girl her age, running around with her friends, shopping, going to school, enjoying life.
Instead, she was trapped here, locked in this hospital room, wasting away in silence and loneliness.
And for what? Because the world decided to screw her over? Because life thought it'd be funny to throw her into this nightmare?
Our parents didn't give a damn about us either.
When my sister was first diagnosed and the medical bills started piling up, they didn't fight for her—they bailed.
They called her a burden. A burden!
The people who brought us into this world couldn't even be bothered to stick around when things got tough.
They left us on the doorstep of some orphanage, like a trash.
Oh, and they didn't forget to make me an offer, though. They wanted me to come with them, leave her behind, abandon her like they did.
But no!
I'm not like them, and I'll never be like them. I don't care what it costs. I'll never abandon my sister, or anyone else I care about.
Never.
"Brother… You've got that sad face again… Is it because of me?" she asked, her voice tinged with guilt, her red eyes glistening as they met mine.
"No, it's never been you, Hatsune," I said softly, trying to reassure her.
"I'm just tired from work and studying, that's all." I reached out and gently stroked her soft, crimson hair, the strands slipping through my fingers like silk.
I could feel her trembling slightly, but whether it was from her fragile health or her emotions, I couldn't tell.
Hatsune Otonashi. She was my sister in this life.
Yeah, the God didn't lie. He really reincarnated me into Angel Beats.
But not into the afterlife version—the one with all the quirky characters and heartfelt stories.
No, I was stuck in the mortal world, in the time before all of that, as none other than Yuzuru Otonashi, the protagonist of the story himself.
I didn't even know what the requirements were to make it to the afterlife version of this world.
They said tragedy and regret were the key.
But then there was Hatsune…
Why didn't she come? Why wasn't she there in the canon version of this story? How was that fair? Why didn't she get a chance to experience happiness, even in the afterlife?
I had no answers. I didn't know how to change things or what I'd do if life tore us apart in the future.
For now, all I could do was keep working, keep studying, and hope—hope for a better future.
But deep down, I knew better. That hope was nothing more than a fragile, fleeting pipe dream.
Time was ruthless, an unstoppable force that cared for no one.
It wouldn't wait for me, and it certainly wouldn't wait for Hatsune.
Her condition was worsening day by day, no matter how much I tried to pretend otherwise.
"Don't lie, brother…" Hatsune's voice broke through my thoughts, soft but insistent.
"Your eyes… When you're quiet, when you say nothing, they betray you. It means you're hiding something. You're hiding your sadness and locking your emotions away from everyone else. You think I don't notice, but I do." Her self-deprecating smile made my chest ache.
"I want you to be free, at least, brother. To think about yourself, your happiness… Please. I'll be sad too if you keep living only for me. I don't want you stuck in this kind of future…"
Her words cut deep, but I forced myself to stay composed.
I reached out and gently grabbed her hand, holding it as though it might slip away if I let go. "I am living for myself, Hatsune. I made this choice."
She pouted, her lips pressing into a small, defiant line.
"Liar," she said bluntly, shaking her head.
Then she sighed and shifted her gaze toward the hospital window, staring at the distant sky and the world beyond the glass.
The light of the setting sun reflected in her eyes, making them shimmer like molten ruby.
"I know myself better than you think, brother," she said quietly, her voice carrying a heavy truth.
"The truth is… my time isn't much. I can feel it. I feel it every day, creeping closer. I just… I just want to enjoy what little time I have left."
"I want to go outside before it's too late. I want to go on a date, like the ones in those manga you share with me. I want to see the fireworks and walk through a festival, like in the stories we read together."
"It sounds so romantic, doesn't it?"
Her words hung in the air like a heavy weight pressing down on my chest.
I stayed silent, the thoughts swirling in my mind like a storm.
Would I grant her wish, knowing it might cost her health?
Would taking her outside, letting her taste freedom, speed up the inevitable?
But if I kept her locked up here, in this sterile hospital room, would I regret it forever?
Would she?
Her time was slipping away.
That much was clear.
No matter how much I tried to cling to the illusion that she had more time, I knew better.
Time was cruel, and it wouldn't give me a second chance.
I tightened my grip on her hand, my resolve hardening.
"I will, sister," I said firmly. "I'll take you outside."
Her eyes widened, then softened with relief.
She smiled sweetly, leaning forward to wrap her arms around me in a gentle hug.
Her embrace felt fragile, like she might break if I held her too tightly.
"Thank you, brother," she whispered, her voice warm against my ear.
"You're the best."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone