Chapter Text
"Not so fast, Yuri-" the guy with the axe begins to say, before he is sent flying out the window by the same large hammer that sent you flying.
"What an idiot. He fell for his own trap that he set up himself." the guy with the glasses says.
"So that's what that looks like. Seems painful." you say.
"To enter this room safely, you must have a passphrase. This room serves as a planning room for battles against Angel. This is the only room where we can talk safely." Yurippe explains.
"Could you give me some time to think about all this?" you ask.
"Sure, as long as you spend that time here." Yurippe tells you, much to your dismay.
You look at her, and sigh.
"Fine. I will join. What's the pass phrase?" you ask, as everyone in the room cheers and smiles.
"'No God, no Buddha, nor angels exist.' I'm Yuri, but everyone calls me Yurippe. I'm the leader of this battlefront." Yuri says to you, as she shakes your hand.
She starts to introduce you to everyone in the room, starting with the blue haired guy.
"This is Hideki Hinata. He's a bit careless, but he'll do what's necessary at times." she says.
"Hi- HEY YOU AREN'T GIVING ME ENOUGH CREDIT!" he yells at Yuri.
Yuri ignores him, and moves on to the next person.
"This is Charlene, or Charlie for short. She has a fifth degree black belt in judo, so she's pretty cool." she says, pointing to the really tall person standing next to you.
"She's totally ignoring me..." Hideki says under his breath.
Charlie shakes your hand.
"It's nice to meet you." she says to you.
"Behind you is Basil. His lack of character is his defining characteristic." she says to you, pointing at the kid with the flower in his hair.
He also shakes your hand.
"Welcome to the Battlefront." he says, as he shakes your hand.
As you are introducing yourself to Basil, the blonde guy with a blindfold over his eyes runs over to the both of you.
"C'mon, let's dance! Don't be afraid!" he says, as you and Basil jump, seemingly caught off guard by this.
"Uh, I don't think I will..." you say to yourself.
"That's his way of introducing himself. Everyone just calls him The Maverick. He's a complete mystery. No one, not even him, knows his real name." Yuri says, as he keeps mumbling, and making strange poses.
"Uh, is it such a good idea to keep someone like him as an ally?" you ask, concerned.
Yuri ignores your question, and moves on to the next introduction.
"The one who is always straightening his glasses to look smart is Takamatsu. He's actually an idiot." Yuri says, pointing at this person.
"Nice to meet you." he says to you.
"And he is Fujimaki." Yuri says, pointing at the guy with the kendo stick.
"Remember my name, brat." he says to you.
"I'm not a brat." you say.
"And the one who flew out the window is named Node." Yuri says.
"The girl in the corner who keeps repeating the same phrase is Shiina." Yuri adds.
"And the girl sitting here next to me is Aubrey Iwasawa. She's the leader of the Diversion Division, and the lead singer of the band Girls Dead Monster. Besides us, there are other members apart of this battlefront within the school. Actually, what's your name?" Yuri asks you.
You don't remember your name.
"Oh... uh... I think... uh..." you begin to say.
"Honestly, I don't remember. But, when I was alive, I remember that people called me Hero." you say.
"You don't remember your given name?" Yuri asks you.
"That is correct." you say.
"Oh, so you're having amnesia. Don't worry! This is common for some people who wake up in the afterlife for quite some time. You'll remember soon enough." Hideki says to you, putting his hand on your shoulder.
"Hey, shouldn't you give him a school uniform?" Charlene asks Yuri.
"Oh yeah, I forgot to do that." Yuri says.
"Why's my uniform different from all of yours?" you ask.
"It's not that you are different from any of us, we all are. You're dressed in what honor students wear. What we wear are the Afterlife Battlefront uniforms!" Yuri says, sitting down.
After all these introductions, the Afterlife Battlefront helps you get settled into the afterlife, and the day passes by real quick.
After the day ends, you are all gathered for your first mission.
You find yourself standing on the roof of the school with Yuri, looking out at all that is going on.
"You know, this is a pretty big school." you say to her.
"There's approximately 2000 students, as this is a mammoth all-boarding school. I don't know who-" she says, before you interrupt her.
"Hey, is it okay for us to be talking out here in a place like this?" you ask.
"As long as we aren't talking about our battle plans, it's fine." Yuri tells you.
"I feel like I've been tricked." you say to yourself quietly.
"What?" Yuri asks you.
"Nothing, it's nothing." you respond.
You look at the drink she's holding.
"Hey, is that canned coffee you're drinking?" you ask.
"Yeah, it's really good coffee, you know? That's what you wanted to ask?" Yuri responds.
"Ah... well... Who are those people?" you ask, pointing at several people below.
"Well, right now is when people are either busy with clubs or heading home." Yuri tells you.
"You guys don't do clubs?" you ask her.
"If we did, we would obliterate. At least, according to Angel. She told us that if we participate in clubs, we humans would disappear." she tells you.
"Huh? From the way you're talking right now, you make it seem like the people down there are not human." you tell her.
"Correct, they are NPCs." she tells you.
"NPCs? What do you mean by that?" you ask.
"You never heard? It stands for Non-Playable Character." she explains to you.
"Really? Like a video game world?" you ask.
"Precisely. They are merely honor students that have already existed it this world since the beginning." she tells you.
"So they lack self awareness? If we tried to talk to them, would they always provide the same answer no matter what?" you ask.
"No idea, you could try for yourself. Since you're a newcomer, it's completely understandable if you struggle to tell the difference between an NPC and members of the Battlefront." Yuri tells you.
"So we can conversate with them?" you ask.
"Yeah. Go and try talk to a NPC girl. She'll either run away or kick you very hard." Yuri says, jokingly.
"I see, so they are well made then. What about teachers here?" you ask.
"They are NPCs as well. I should also mention, these NPCs never age. That applies to members of the Battlefront as well. Any other questions." Yuri says to you.
"How violent is Angel? She stabbed me the moment we met." you ask.
"Well, I was watching, and I think you brought that upon yourself. If you ask her to prove that you cannot die in this world, then of course she would violently skewer you, and stab you straight through the heart. To her, what you said was no different than asking where the school's Faculty Lounge is." Yuri explains to you.
"So, Angel strictly obeys the rules of this world." you respond.
"She's clumsy." Yuri responds.
"She's self aware?" you ask.
"I don't know. It's a bit of a mystery. The way she shows no emotion, lack of social skills, and her minimal speaking, makes her different from the rest of the NPCs here." Yuri tells you.
"So normally, we don't get killed in this world, I mean, well, beaten so easily." you say.
"Those who fail to fit the honor student role will be first given a verbal warning. But, if you runaway, she will chase you, and even get in your way." Yuri responds.
"Does it ever get physical?" you ask.
"An eye for an eye! But, only if we start the fight though." she responds.
"So, there will be times when you guys get beaten up like I did." you say.
"Of course, and you shouldn't even pretend to be an honor student. There are those who previously obliterated because they did that." Yuri warns you.
"Alright then, here is my last question. It's regarding a god in this world. Does one exist?" you ask, looking at Yuri.
"I believe there is one, though I haven't seen one yet." she tells you.
"You never asked Angel about it?" you ask.
"She doesn't answer questions that pertain to the foundation of this world." Yuri tells you.
"I see. No more questions, then." you respond.
"Then that ends this lecture!" Yuri says, taking a sip of her coffee.
You haven't united with the Afterlife Battlefront in all truth, really. You're just cordial with them, and they trust you in return.
But, you should focus on the intent to get your memories back by getting the necessary time to do so.
That's all you want to do.
Then, after that!
After... that...
You aren't too sure what could come next, this is the Afterlife, after all.
Later that night, you, along with all the other prominent members of the Afterlife Battlefront are in the meeting room, to go over the first operation that you will be a part of as a member of this Battlefront.