Marugame castle stood empty, once upon a time, she had lived here. She'd walked these halls, fought and trained in its grounds, been happy here. She'd lived the best times of her life here.
Not just her.
They.
They'd lived the best times of their brief lives here.
The halls were disturbed once again now, by the rhythmic tapping of her cane as she made slow, painful progress through the building, by the gentle movements of her robes, of the robes of those gathered behind her.
She grunted in pain as she took another step forward, approaching her destination, each step felt worse than the last, wracking her fading muscles, but she was determined to make it with her own power. She grabbed the sleeve of the woman next to her, panting with exertion.
"It's okay Wakaba-chan, I'm here for you." Hinata smiled at her reassuringly.
She smiled a little back, even now Hinata still insisted on using the same honorific from back then, just like they were teenagers again. It felt like it had been life a time ago since then, and yet every year they made this same pilgrimage. Many things were different now, the heavy ceremonial clothes they wore everywhere, the crowd of Taisha attendants that followed them no matter where they went, silent, impassionate, yet completely willing to do their bidding, she hated it.
She finally reached the door of the classroom, sweating from the effort, the classroom was the same as it had been all those years ago, she wouldn't allow the Taisha to touch Marugame. The desks and the blackboard were in the same position as they had been years ago, recently cleaned by a handful of Taisha attendants. She clenched her fist in frustration, Hinata and her used to do it together, spending an entire day cleaning everything up for them.
And now she had to make others do it for her.
Damn this weakness, damn the Taisha, damn it all!
She felt Hinata grab her arm, her frustration was often written on her face in times like these, and yet her presence reassured her.
She turned to the gaggle behind her.
"Stay out here." She ordered, her voice sounded weak and sickly to herself.
"Wakaba-sama, we can't presume to leave you alone." The member at the front of the crowd replied, his voice flat, yet deferential.
"Wakaba-sama will be fine, I will be with her." Hinata said sharply.
He gave a subtle nod of acquiescence.
Since when had she needed to be supervised everywhere she went? How long had it been since she'd felt the crippling effects of the Hero System?
The two of them entered the classroom. She took slow, faltering steps towards the desks, six of them in total, facing a large blackboard, recently polished. She lowered herself into one of the chairs, Hinata standing by her attentively. She looked around and nodded, the classroom was well lit, natural daylight streaming in, good.
Six of them there had been, one Miko and five Heroes.
She coughed, feeling the force wrack her frail body, just like the others here, she too was fading away. They'd told her the extensive use of the Hero system was finally catching up to her, many years later, and yet whilst her body had wasted away, and her muscles had deteriorated, she still made this journey every year.
Indeed, it was the least she could do for the others.
"Hinata." She whispered
"Send them in."
Hinata nodded and squeezed her hand.
Damnit, she couldn't let herself fade away like this! She couldn't leave Hinata alone, no matter what happened to her, she'd continue to drag herself forward, she wouldn't leave her.
No matter what.
The door opened as the crowd of attendants filed in, carrying great bouquets of flowers, Spider Lily, Morning Star, Hoary Stock, Sakura. They placed these on the desks, before bowing and leaving again.
"Hinata."
Every year she'd try not to break down in front of them, and every year she'd fail, standing there surrounded by the flowers like this, she remembered every one of them like it was yesterday.
The energetic Tama.
The shy Anzu.
The outgoing Takashima.
The troubled Chikage.
All of them had been her precious friends, and they were gone.
She looked down at her knees as the warm tears streamed down her cheeks. She felt Hinata wrap her arms around her, resting her head on top of her own. She wanted Hinata to never let go, she wanted them to stay together forever.
They stayed this way for what felt like an eternity.
"Wakaba-chan, let's not cry." Hinata said eventually, smiling at her through the tears.
"That's not how they'd want to see us."
"Right?" Hinata choked on the last word.
She bowed her head and took a deep breath to compose herself. Feeling calmer, she stood up, Hinata helping her to her feet. Before the two of them made slow, faltering steps towards the entrance of the classroom. Turning around one last time to look at the bouquets arrayed on the desks, she did her best to put on a brave smile.
"Thanks for everything, everyone."
"We'll come back next year."
"After all, you're our precious friends, right?"
She turned away from the flowers, she could feel the tears coming back, and she would not show them to those who'd given their lives for this world, they'd want to see her happy.
"Goodbye."
They closed the classroom door.