Being dead was strange, to say the least. All of the different theories about what happened after the fact- whether you go to heaven, or hell, reincarnate, or just decompose into the earth – she still didn't know what was really supposed to happen. At first, she hadn't even registered she was dead. She knew she had been dying, she could feel her body shutting down, but one moment her eyes closed and the next she was sitting in the living room of a house she didn't recognize.
She looked around the room, trying to figure out where she was. The walls were painted a warm cream color. Floor-to-ceiling windows looked out to a mountainside forest. The sun streamed into the room, bathing it in an additional warmth that made her want to curl up on the plush couch she was sitting on and take a nap. She didn't though, she continued to look around, noticing how there were numerous toys strewn around the room, left haphazardly on the coffee table and shelves, some on the area rug in front of her.
A familiar laugh resounded behind her, and Mariko turned around to see Keigo run into the dining room and hide behind a chair. If it hadn't been for the unmistakable smile on the blonde's face, she might've been worried. Before she could wonder what was going, she saw herself run into the room. Seeing herself in the third person was a weird experience, but seeing a toddler propped on her hip was even more so. The little girl giggled, her wavy blonde hair tied into twin tails and swinging around a bit as she scanned the room for something. A moment later, Mariko heard the sound of footsteps quickly padding towards them. A young boy, six years old at the most burst into the room, bumping slightly into the other Mariko. Feathery brown hair and a familiar pair of golden eyes glanced around and quickly settled on the male as he tucked himself further behind the chair. Mariko's eyes widened as she caught a glimpse of the pair of vermillion wings sprouting out of the boy's back.
"What is this?" she wondered aloud.
"It's a glimpse of what life would've been like if you hadn't died," a familiar voice said.
Mariko whipped around, her eyes widening to see Mineko sitting next to her. Gone was the look of madness on her face and the evil look in her eyes. In its place was a stern, but still kind expression, and a slight smile that made her lips curve up just the tiniest bit as she looked at the scene unfolding in front of them. This was the Mineko she knew- the one that had taken care of her when she couldn't and the one who wanted her to be a good person above all else. This was the person she'd known and loved- her sister. Mariko would've burst into tears if she could, but all she could do was stare at her in shock.
"It's nice- a lot nicer than what I saw. I'm glad at least one of us turned out all right."
She chuckled slightly as she saw the boy "sneak up" on Keigo and scare him. The blonde screamed dramatically and fell backward as his family attacked him with tickles.
"Cute. You make some pretty cute kids."
Mariko stared at the blissfully domestic scene. Her chest ached slightly as she saw the images of her would-be children, and dealing with the fact that she would never get to know them.
"Why am I seeing this?" she asked.
"If you walk out the front door it'll all go away. You don't have to watch it. It just... helps some people. Helps them deal with being dead that is."
Mariko turned around to look at the front door. She took a step towards it but froze hearing Keigo's breathless laughter sound through the house. She was dead, Keigo wasn't. Somehow, she knew that if she walked out of the house, she wouldn't get to hear that laugh again.
"You can stay and watch too. I'll be here with you," Mineko offered.
"What's behind the door?" she asked.
The older woman shrugged. "I'm not sure. I haven't been there either."
Mariko nods understandingly and turns back to her family. There's a newfound look of heartbreak on her face though.
Seeing her crestfallen expression, Mineko gestures to the blonde male. "Keigo Takami... you were gonna marry him?" she asked.
The brunette nodded. "Yeah... we talked about it a couple of times. We never got to the ring buying stage though."
"Weren't you against marriage?" she asked.
"I was. I thought it was a burden. Either you died and it ended, or you divorced and it ended. It promoted the idea of an eternal love... but if life isn't eternal, then neither is love. With him though... I wanted it. I thought that whatever time I had left in this world I wanted to spend loving him." She smiled sadly as she saw some alternate version of herself tire of tickling her husband and instead kiss him sweetly- the action making his wings puff up slightly like he always did when he was extremely happy or excited. "I'm worried about him," she told her.
"Why?"
Mariko nodded towards the happy couple as their children protested their PDA. "He wanted this too. The kids, the house on the hill with the white picket fence- that was his dream for us. He wanted it more than I did probably. I left him alone... I probably hurt him. I don't know if he's okay. It's worrisome."
"He's a hero, he's probably more used to death than you think. This can't be the first time he's lost someone he cares about."
"We're used to death, too Mineko... but if our roles were reversed and he'd died... I'd probably lose my mind."
The pair fell into a comfortable silence for a moment and returned to watching the family in front of them. The tickle war had ended. Mariko and Keigo had both stood up and now everyone was gathered in the kitchen. Keigo and their son, which she found out was named Yuto, made it their mission to annoy her by begging her to make them Yakitori again. It amazed her how much their son took after Keigo. Both in looks and in personality- aside from the hair color the boy was basically a carbon copy. It was unfair really.
"Mineko, what did your future look like?" she asked.
"Mine wasn't nearly as pretty. I saw myself getting killed by my own experiments someday."
Mariko looked down, a wave of guilt washing over her for bringing it up. "I'm sorry. I should've listened to you, and I shouldn't have taken that mission. None of this would've happened if I hadn't done that."
"You have never been and never will be responsible for my actions. I refused help when it was offered to me, I allowed myself to blame others for my misfortunes and drove myself to insanity. That's something you tried to prevent, not cause."
Mariko nodded, feeling like a weight was lifted off her shoulders. No sooner than those words left her mouth, everything seemed to steadily get brighter, as if they had triggered some sort of reaction in whatever dimension-place they were in.
"What's going on?" she asked.
"It seems like you're returning to the world of the living," she told her, standing up from the couch and stretching. "There's no point in being here alone. So I'll be going too," she said walking towards the door. When she opened it, Mariko couldn't see what was on the other side, but she did see the last smile Mineko flashed her. "I'm glad we got to talk like this," she said, and was gone.
When Mariko opened her eyes again, everything felt so heavy. Like she was being anchored down by invisible weights. It was the same feeling she knew from when she was sedated or exhausted, this was an uncomfortable and unnatural feeling. Thankfully, it was quickly wearing off.
Looking around, the brunette saw that she was in a hospital room. "Well that's nothing new," she thought. Her head felt fuzzy, she'd had a very intense dream, but couldn't quite remember what it was about- only that Mineko had been in it, she was pretty sure. "Whatever it was made me cry though," she thought wiping a stray tear from her cheek. Mariko used her quirk to scan for injuries, and finding none she raised an eyebrow and glanced at the machines set up around her. Her vitals were getting monitored, but other than that there was nothing. She wasn't even getting an IV drip. "I'm not hurt and I'm not sick... why the hell am I here?" she wondered. Looking down at herself, she raised an eyebrow seeing that she was completely naked under the hospital's thin bedsheets. "What on earth?"
The door opened, and in came Hayato who was looking down at a folder.
"Hey Hayato, why am I here? And naked?" she asked immediately.