"I loved... you..." Those were the last words Chikage managed to say to Wakaba. Lit by the setting Sun, and as Wakaba faded from her vision, to Chikage she looked like an angel, a true Hero. The kind of Hero, she could never become.
Her senses were gone; no sound, no sight, no touch. All she had were her thoughts. And her memories. In her last moments, Chikage had finally realised the truth. The truth that she was never alone once she met her fellow Heroes. To them, she was more than just a person whom shared the same duty, but a dear friend that they cared about with their entire being. And it took until she was dying as Wakaba protected her to realise.
(I'm… such an idiot…) That thought was repeated countless times. (I wish… I had another chance to tell them how I feel…) The faces of the girls, the Heroes, her friends, all flashed by in her mind. Wakaba and her confident gaze. Hinata and her always caring expression. Anzu and her timid but sweet smile. Tamako and her stupid but loveable smile. And lastly, Yuuna.
(Takashima-san, I'm sorry…)
As all these thoughts filtered through her mind, Chikage felt a comfortable warmth start to envelope her body. Along with the warmth, the sound of leaves rustling in the wind and cicadas slowly filled her ears. And lastly, the backs of her eyelids grew bright as a light became bright against them.
"-san. Chikage-san." A voice was calling her from the void she was in.
"Hey, Chikage, wake up!" The voices were familiar to her, but she didn't know why.
"Chikage-san!" this third voice was unfamiliar to her, but there was something in her voice that reminded her of her friends.
(Who…?) Chikage exerted all of her will and forced open her eyes. At first they filled with a bright light, hurting them. But soon, everything came into focus for her. In front of her stood three silhouettes. As her eyes adjusted to the light, two of three forms took on a familiar shape. To the right was a girl with brown hair tied into two pigtails, but still leaving a majority of her fringe. And to her right was a girl with teal eyes and bright blonde hair. Between them stood a third girl with green hair and a farming tool over her shoulder.
"She's opening her eyes!" exclaimed the blonde-haired girl.
"Doi-san? Iyoijimia-san?" The words had left her lips before she had realised who these girls were. But once she had said it, it dawned on her. Her eyes widened. She was seeing the impossible. They died! She saw it happen! But here they were, standing over her under the shade of a tree looking as lively as ever.
"And the sleepy-head is finally awake,' Tamako teased.
"Hello again, Chikage-san," Anzu said warmly. Tears began to fill Chikage's eyes. She had resigned herself to never seeing these two girls ever again. She saw their bloody, brutalised bodies herself. She saw the Scorpion Vertex pierce through them both and throw their bodies like ragdolls. They were slightly taken aback slightly.
"I never thought I'd see Chikage cry," Tamako commented. Before she could stuff herself, Chikage embraced them. All four of the girls, including Chikage herself, were surprised by this action. The forever stoic Chikage was now hugging people by her own choice.
"Doi-san! Iyoijima-san! I'm so sorry!"
"It's okay," Anzu comforted. "We don't blame you." By what she said, Chikage could only assume that they somehow knew what happened after their deaths. Her depression. Her rage. Her outbursts. And finally, her assault on Wakaba.
After a few moments, Chikage finally let go of the two. She then looked at the girl she did not know and asked, "Who are you?"
The girl with the green hair replied. "I'm Shiratori Utano. Nice to meet you!"
(Shiratori… Utano?) Chikage recognised that name. Then she remembered. She was the Hero of Suwa! The only information she had on Shiratori was what she had heard from Wakaba and from the note they found during their expedition, so she had no idea what to expect.
"Where are we?" Chikage asked, slightly curious. Last she checked, she should be dead, not lying underneath a tree.
"You could kinda call this an afterlife," Shiratori replied. "A place for us after our fight finally finished." Shiratori said this while smiling, almost as if she was explaining a holiday retreat. "Why don't we head to house and talk there?" Shiratori stepped to the side and revealed to Chikage a large mansion, the kind you would imagine an incredibly rich family would have as a Summer house. Surrounding it was fields filled with all kinds of crops, all in full growth. Shiratori, Anzu and Tamako began walking towards the incredible building, but Chikage timidly grabbed Anzu's and Tamako's sleeves.
"I'm sorry… for being so cold to you…" she apologised sincerely, from the bottom of her heart. The two girls looked at each other, smiled, and both grabbed Chikage's hands.
"Don't worry about it, Chikage-san."
'Yeah! What kind of friends would we be if we couldn't forgive you for something so small?"
For the first time in so long Chikage smiled. A true smile. "Thank you."