Angel Beats! – Track Zero

Angel Beats Track Zero Chapter 6: By My Side

"What now!? Have you got some secret martial arts ability?"
"There's no way there'll be a pause for that like some shonen manga!"
Right now, we had descended to the very bottom 30-somethingth underground level of this dungeon, and the Boss there had just closed in on us.
Under her cloak, I saw the dull glimmer reflection of light from something that looked like a katana.
"Are you an ally of Tenshi, no, the student council president also?  What are you doing in a place like this?  Just to attack passers-by?  How do you tell between friend and foe?"
I didn't give our opponent a chance to respond between my questions.  I had no choice, if I wanted to survive.
"I know what you want to say.  That's right, exactly as you think.  Join with us."
"Wait, don't give up while others are trying to prolong the dialog!"
Whoosh!
I thought my nose had flown off.
However, with great difficulty I had managed to barely dodge.
Yurippe and I were shocked into retreating.
"No way… Looks like there's no chance for a peaceful resolution… we'll have to beat her."
"How?"
"Use some skill or other."
"This isn't a game battle, what skills are you talking about?"
"Anything will do."
"Then I'll intimidate her with my yell.  Listen, WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH----!!"
"AH! My ears will go deaf!"
Yurippe recovered from her paralysis!
"Though perhaps she was just bluffing, and maybe she's actually pretty weak.  Let's test her out with a surprise attack."
"No, did you not see her speed? That's already unreachable by humans!"
"Ha!"
Yurippe, paying no attention to me, charged forward to strike.  All she wielded was a flashlight.  A bare-handed attack is too heedless!
The woman's cloak swayed a little.  The blade glimmered.
Just before her attack struck, I decided to trip Yurippe.
Pow!  Yurippe tumbled head over heels.
Several strands of her bangs fluttered down, cut along a straight line.
That was no hesitation at all… if Yurippe had continued her attack, her stomach surely would have been sliced open….
"What are you doing, don't attack your allies!"
Yurippe received 100 points of damage!
I raised my head and saw that woman's blade raised high in the air.
This is bad!
So I kicked Yurippe aside (another 100 points of damage!), then quickly retracted my leg.
A thrust.
The blade pierced the tip of my shoe.
Nearly had my toe cut off there.
I abandoned the shoe and leapt backwards.
However, the distance between Yurippe and me had increased further.
The woman stood now in the space between Yurippe and me.
"Over here!  Look over here!  I'm the one who's got business with you!" I yelled, as I regained my posture.
"What, I'm the leader, the one with business ought to be me!"
"Hey! Can't you see I'm trying to be the bait?"
"Well then don't speak as if you're the leader, can't you talk a bit more pathetically?"
"How am I supposed to do that?"
"For instance, 'Please attack me, I once impulsively spied on you changing your underwear', etc."
"I got it!"
I repeated the sentence I'd just heard again in my heart.
OK, time to say…
"Hey, hurry and come attack me, I once spied on you - you changing your underwear!"
What kind of role have I taken?
However, she turned and faced me.
"OK, <come on>."
"Say something even more vulgar!"
"That angry face of yours is really wonderful… quite great… get even angrier… haha…," I said as I backed up.
"That's right.  Come to think of it, how do you bathe in a place like this?"
"Did you wash yourself well?  Ah, I think I smell something…. haha…."
"Oh no… we can't have such a perverted member of our group.  When we go back, I'm going to have to fire you…."
"And who told me to act this way!?"
Actually, this was having quite an effect.  The woman's face brimmed with a killing intent and she had fully locked onto me.
Good.  I'll attract her attention and retreat just like this, and this way, Yurippe should come to no harm.
But, what happens after?
That's right… we'll wait for our allies to arrive.
We're not in this as individuals, but as a team.
If this were fiction, at this moment, the perspective would fly out, and describe Ooyama and everyone hurrying over and bringing Noda, equipped with his weapon.
With the five of us, we cannot lose.
The strongest five in this world.
I just need to keep running away until then.
Crash!
…. eh?  What just happened?
Though the woman was still standing facing over here, her outstretched blade was dripping with blood.
The right side of my body started to get heavy… what's going on with this feeling?
My right leg started to become drenched in something warm.
The woman turned her back on me.
Hey, wait a sec….
Yurippe's over there….
I need to incite her… need to keep her attack focused on me….
But my brain was starting to get fuzzy.  I couldn't think of anything good to say.
Hurry and say something… what should I say….
"It… it's not… over…."
The woman turned back around.
I bent over based on an intuition of mine.
I dodged it.  She must have only hit clothing.
Why is my body so heavy though?  I felt like my body is about to fall over, but I stood up with all my effort.
Again!
I dodged it.  She must have only hit clothing.
She struck again and again at me.
Again and again I dodged.
She must have only hit clothing.
I'm completely fine.  Totally fine.
"…. How shallow-minded."
Huh, what's shallow-minded….?
Maybe that's her way of expressing praise?
Or perhaps that's all she can say when faced with a challenging enemy who has decoded out her every attack?
"Don't you know that you don't even look like a human anymore!!??  Hurry and fall down already!!"
What are you talking about, Yurippe?
I'm still OK, right?
Against something like this, you'd better run far away.
I'll keep this bitch occupied.
"Why are you still standing?  Your arms are gone, you've only got one leg, even your chin has been cut off!?"
How's that possible….
If someone could still stand like that, doesn't that mean they've become a zombie…..
Don't joke with me…. I've still got a lot of lines to use….
Even in a situation like this, I still want to tell you one thing.
Yurippe, I say!
But the sound didn't come out.  Only the sound of a breath leaked out.
Crash!
My skull was ringing.
I can't see from my left eye.
Ah, you finally hit me.
Yurippe, it's all because I wanted to say something to you.
The woman pulled back her blade and aimed for my right eye.
What an incredibly long movement.  Where did the speed she had up till now go?
I can definitely dodge this one.
Bring it on.
Look.
Pow, the sound of a blow landing, and the world is enveloped in darkness.
What happened, did I fail to dodge it?

-------------------------------

Rustle…. rustle…..
My body was being dragged.
Did I fall down?
Hey, what happened?
… is what I wanted to ask, but only the sound of a breath leaked out.
Rustle…. rustle….
Exactly what just happened?  Tell me, Yurippe.
Rustle…. Rustle….
I heard the "Hah, hah" sound of desperate gasping.
Is that you dragging me, Yurippe?  Hurry and run away by yourself.
I tried to reach out with my hand to touch the body in front of me.
However, I could only move the part up to my elbow.  What happened to my arm from the elbow down?  Is it paralyzed?
I poked the body with the tip of my elbow.
"What is it….?"
I heard a low voice.
I replied with "Hah-- hah--"
"We're running away… retreating…"
Rustle…. rustle….
"Under cover of darkness…  but seeing as we're up against a person of this level, she's probably discovered us by our breaths."
If she's so fast, you should run away alone.
Hah--hah--
"If only… if only I'd known it would be such a disaster…. I wouldn't have brought you along…. I'm such a terrible leader… always thinking myself infallible, thinking that I'm taking care of you guys…. isn't this just like that time….."
Rustle…. rustle….
Hurry and run, she's too dangerous.
Hah-- hah--
"However… I won't let you die…. won't let your corpse be buried here… I must bring you back….."
Run away.
Hah-- hah--
"I must, must…."
Plop.
…..!?
Plop.
Yurippe…. had fallen down.
She must have been stabbed from behind.
"Ooh… waaa….."
I knew that she was very close to me.
I felt her weak and trembling breathing.
Ahh, if only I could speak.
If I could reach out my hand.
And, pat her on the head.
If I could do this, then I could comfort her.
Carrying a useless corpse like me and running away…….
Leaving her back undefended against the enemy.
You'll surely be killed like this.
"Ooh…"
So, don't cry anymore.
Our outstanding Ms. Leader.

-------------------

I'm in a dream.
Why am I sitting on a seesaw in a park?
Sitting across from me, currently halfway in the air is Yurippe.
Between us there's a subtle distance.
I want to reach out for her, but I can't reach.
Well, that's how a seesaw works.
Hurry and push, Yurippe says in a tone of voice from the past.
I push off with my legs and rise, while Yurippe drops to the ground.
Now Yurippe's staring at the ground.  We've exchanged positions.
This is how it is, isn't it interesting?  Yurippe asks.
Who are you asking?  I'm a high school student, you know.
But she didn't seem to hear my voice.
Creak, thump. Creak, thump.
We continue to ride the seesaw.
Eh? Me?
I didn't ask anything.
But, Yurippe continued to speak.
If everyone's happy then it's good.  I don't need anything else.  If it's like this then I'm completely satisfied.
She put on her Yurippe-style smile and laughed.
Ah, I just noticed.
That's what powers her, only this, and entirely this.
That way, if I don't smile…
If being by her side, I still don't smile…
She won't be happy.
I stand on the narrow plank of the seesaw.
Yurippe casually opens her mouth.
I'll go over now.
I'll get over there and smile for you.
The ground disappeared.  And the seesaw became the tightrope connecting life to death.
Without a hint of haziness, I walked on it.
Yurippe opened her eyes in amazement and her hand……

---------------

I was gripping Yurippe's hand.  Truly.
"Yurippe…."
And I could speak now.
"You… why?"
"Don't cry, Yurippe.  It was a long road.  Can't you greet me with a smile?"
"What…. how can I smile in a situation like this…."
"Really?  Then I guess I'll laugh alone.  Ahaha!"
"You're a moron… but, it's strange…. ahaha…."
She laughed at me.
"You really are an idiot."
"That's why you let me be your ally, right?"
"Perhaps."
I pushed with all four limbs,
and tried to stand up.
I was standing.
"What happened to you?"
"I want to move for real now."
"How is it possible… you can move now?"
…. Ah, it's inconceivable.
But, where's the enemy?
As we were surrounded by darkness, it was impossible to see anything.
I concentrated my thought.
I had to figure out her position.
Shoom.
My stomach was stabbed suddenly.
She was right before my eyes.
My heart began to beat violently.
Every nook and cranny of my body felt pain as if I was being torn up.
I reached out for the blade with my hand.  I touched it and grabbed it tightly.
In the instant she was pulling out the blade, I aimed directly forward and pushed off hard from the ground.
Don't let go of the blade!
The enemy is straight ahead!
In the world of that instant I accelerated as much as I could.
I accelerated towards that body.
I'll never let go.
I pressed down with the entire weight of my body.
Then I immediately put her in a headlock with my elbows.
My abdomen was sliced open, and the insides splashed out in an exaggerated fashion.
Before I lose consciousness, I must knock her down.
I pressed down with my elbow over the pressure point on her neck with all of my strength.

-----------------

I'm dreaming again.
It's the same park, but this time, there's some giant globe-like framework, whose name I don't know, spinning here.
Yurippe is opposite from that thing.  Of course, even if I stretch out my hand, I can't reach her.  Well, that's how dreams are.
Then, let's go.  Saying this, Yurippe jumped up.
It spins and spins.
Yurippe's hair whirls about in the wind.  Very beautiful.  Of course, given that Yurippe's rather pretty to begin with, her hair is as well.
It's interesting, isn't it?  Yurippe asks.
"No?", she says to herself.
I hadn't said a word.
Yurippe, why are you always alone?
Seeing her would make anyone feel lonely.
I'll be by your side, smiling.
I grabbed the metal framework and got close to her.  Though the centrifugal force was pushing me outwards, I still gripped tightly and approached.  Yurippe lazily opened her mouth and watched.
Hurry.  Just one more step.
Then I'll be side-by-side with you, and I'll laugh for you…..
The carousel framework broke apart, and we fell slowly forever through the world where the ground had vanished.

-----------------

I opened my eyes.
The sound of voices and conversation drifted to me.
It was Chaa, Ooyama, and Noda.
You finally arrived, you band of jerks; it sure took you long enough.
I sat up.  I could move my body.
How long was I unconscious?
The wound on my body was already healed, so it was probably a long time.  But that time, it hadn't been that long before I was able to move, right?
What had happened to my body in that instant?
Well, compared to that, there are still many other unanswered questions, right….?
"What's up, did you figure anything out?"
I walked over to Ooyama and them.
"Ah, Hinata-kun, you're awake.  Great, is your body feeling all right?"
"Eh, not bad.  So, was that woman one of Tenshi's cohorts?"
"No, it's a pity, but she's just a normal human," Chaa answered without turning towards us.
"Hey, hey, how can she be a normal human with such ridiculous fighting skills?"
"True, that level is really abnormal."
"Where the heck is it …. ?"
I looked around and saw the beam of a flashlight shining ahead.
That woman was tied up with a rope.  Her cloak was wide open, and the limbs sticking out were both pale and slim.  Could that kind of body perform the kind of attacks we'd witnessed? … If she's really a normal human, what kind of training had she undergone…….
"So, the true boss is still out there.  Next time, I'll take him on."
Noda brandished his weapon with one hand.
"Well, wait, don't be so eager to steal the limelight.  Before we do that, there're still some questions to be answered.  Noda, why did you run?  You should've already become one of us, right?"
"I didn't run away."
"Nonsense."
"It's this guy's fault for spouting bullshit."
Noda pointed at the back of Chaa's head with the tip of his weapon.
"He said that Yurippe was his wife."
"Ah.  In that case, the protagonist would be him…. I thought this wasn't the place for me, but rather some other place."
"You bastard, you really think this is a game, huh?"
"That's my own business.  It's not any less absurd than this place being the afterlife."
"Then, you came back because you thought you were the protagonist again?"
"That's right."
"What are you thinking?"
"Hmmm…. battle."
He began to wave his weapon around again.
"Why?"
I don't understand at all.
"Heh, it's like you aren't interested in girls," Chaa joked.  He was talking about me.
What?  His objective was Yurippe?
How did Yurippe become this kind of a target?
I'm really lost.
No way, Yurippe, did you actually welcome this?
Well, to be honest, when I first met her, I thought she was a beautiful girl too.
Though, I've already stopped looking at her in this way.
Anyways, why isn't she standing with all of us right now?
"Relax.  I have an even better woman."
"That's right.  Yurippe isn't anybody's property."
"This isn't a contest!"
The sound of everyone's voices…. echoed off into the distance.
When I came to my senses, I found I had walked off by myself towards Yurippe.
I thought about the seesaw dream.  Why did I pull apart that subtle distance?
I thought about the spinning globe carousel dream.  Why was I watching other people enjoy themselves alone?
The floor won't disappear anymore.
I quickly got close enough to touch her.
"With weapons… here we could build a weapon factory…."
Talking to yourself about such things.
That kind of stuff doesn't really matter anyways.
I checked my pocket.
No problem.
I pulled it out.  It was the pinwheel she'd left with me.
It was still exactly as it was when she'd given it to me.
Ah, so that's how it is.
That's one puzzle solved.
This pinwheel was infused with the wish that I wouldn't die.
In other words, it was a resurrection potion.
Even if the power within was used up, it probably would still function as a toy.
I blew into it with a "Hoooo".
The pinwheel rattled to a start and began to spin.
"Wah, when did you start standing right here!?"
She shone the flashlight over.  It's too bright, don't blind me when I'm standing so close.
"Ah, the pinwheel."
"Yeah, it's the pinwheel.  Hooooo----"
Rattle rattle.
Watching it made me want to laugh.
"What, you're creeping me out.  When you got stabbed were you shocked back into childhood!?"
"You sure are a strange girl."
"What did you say?"
I was talking about my dream.
"You blow it too."
"Why, at a time like this? Compared with that, take a look at this.  There's one of Noda-kun's weapons here too."
"Hurry and blow."
"Huh? Is there something wrong with your brain?"
"No problem, so blow."
"If I blow, that'll be fine?"
"Yep."
Hoooooo---- and the fan blades rattled and spun.
"One more time."
Hooooo----
Her breath brushed my hand, and it tickled.
"What is this?  What's the meaning of this?"
"Isn't it interesting?"
"Yeah, sort of."
"Good."
"You're scaring me….."
"So go ahead and enjoy it."
"It's interesting, pweh--!"
"Hey, don't spit on me."
"Didn't you want me to?  Pupupu---!"
"Pupupu too, you…"
We took turns blowing the pinwheel.
I was able to laugh by her side.
Able to laugh with her.
Excellent.
At least I was able to accomplish it even in this kind of world.
"Next time, we'll ride the seesaw, hooo---"
"If we defeat god, pupupu---! Wheee!"
"I blew too hard and feel nauseous….."
"Hey, I don't mean to ruin the great atmosphere here…..," said Ooyama's voice from behind us.
"There's no atmosphere at all, what happened?"
Yurippe straightened her posture to be more leader-like as she answered.  Say it however you like, but your saliva has made my hand all sticky.
"Noda-kun ran away again."
"Eh!? Why?  I don't understand."
"Sorry, but I've got something even more incomprehensible."
Not good.
"Although Chaa ran after him, right after that, the woman disappeared too."
"Huh….?"
"Ooyama, what were you doing?"
"I was guarding the luggage, if the food was taken, then we'd really be in trouble."
"You really did a great job out there, huh."
"Haha, yeah, I know."
Slap.
Yurippe beat him.
"Hurry and go search."
"Search for who?  Noda-kun?  Chaa?  That woman?  Or god?"
"All of them, ALL OF THEM!!"
Yurippe suddenly started running.
"Forward three steps and back two, that's a song, right?"
"Yeah, it is."
"This really feels like that."
"So it's three of us again?"
"Eh, how did the rest of the lyrics go?"
"Um… Never stop moving forward?"
Ahh… it really is that kind of feeling.
Like a slave laborer.
"Hey, Yurippe ran off."
"Yeah, I know."
Feeling discouraged, I chased after Yurippe.

---- Continued in Chapter 7 ----

TL note:  The character 笑 can mean either "smile" or "laugh" in both Chinese and Japanese, so I've sort of haphazardly put one or the other in my translation.  

The brackets <> just indicate that the line was spoken in English there.