I know exactly why I'm here today.
Right now, I'm standing atop a particular mountain in the middle of evening's light.
The sky is nice and clear, almost exactly how I remember it.
I couldn't help but smile just from my sheer luck. It is usually far more cloudy than this, what with the weather nowadays.
Or maybe, a certain someone or two felt my nostalgia and decided to clear the skies up a bit for me.
A wistful sigh escapes my mouth as I lean against the railings, and this time, I don't feel the need to vomit off them.
That's probably the one thing I don't need to do again, yeah?
No sickness, just me, the cold, the light, and memories that feel several years old rather than the actual good several months ago they actually happened.
I can't say why lately, but what with the lull in events ever since that day, the junior division, when I met those girls, dropped off Schwert, all that…
Well, ever since I briefly mentioned my past self to Zekka, it's just been on my mind lately.
And naturally, when the past comes to mind, where it all began tends to come to the forefront.
My head tilts to the side for the umpteenth time this evening, looking down at the railing as it stretches across the mountainside's ridge.
I can still remember it all. My first moments 'waking up' here, my encounter with that fucked up danger noodle stray, all of it.
I remember the railings melting from that rubber hose's stupid acidic spit, from smashing the thing's body through the metal and into the forest below.
But now? The railings are all fixed. As if new, or rather, as if no damage had ever happened to them in the first place.
Any signs of my short fight up here are gone, long gone. It's sort of mind-boggling if I'm being real.
Now I know how fast supernatural shit can get cleaned up and swept under the rug, so it shouldn't shock me that much.
Still, this place is my first memory here, so it holds a bit of a special place in my heart, alright? I'm allowed to be a little irrational over this.
Not that I wanted the place to still be wrecked or anything, it's just…yeah, it's stupid.
"Nyaahhh~? Darling, what are you doing up here~?"
Speaking of stupid.
Okay, that was mean, but the setup was too perfect for me not to think that!
In any event, there goes my peace.
With an amused sigh, I turn around, leaning my back against the railing as I cross my arms.
Kuroka bound right up to me, but like a cat who was caught mid-pounce, she ended up stopping right in front of me.
"Ahah…nyah~!" She course corrected immediately, putting her hands just above her ample bosom to form a heart with her fingers as she winked at me.
Unfortunately, that's not enough to get her out of this!
I roll my eyes, yet can't help but smile, even as I reach out to her and snatch her up, pulling her right up against me.
"Nyeh~!? Darling!? Wait, lemme put up a barrier first~!"
"Mmm, no." I huff out, still just hugging her.
"N-No!?" Kuroka whined, scandalized.
"People don't come up here all that often, turns out." I pause before adding, "Especially once it starts getting colder out, you know?"
"Still~!" Kuroka grumbled, leaning her body into mine, grasping my robe as she did so.
"...Also I'm not fucking you over the railing, the hell?" I grunt out into her ear, causing the horny bimbo of a catgirl to perk up and feeze.
"...Hmph!" Then pout, for some reason, even though she didn't seem too sure about it, under the assumption of doing it in public mere seconds ago.
Ah, this fucking cat~...
Of course, from the moment I left home, she followed me all the way here.
I sensed it, and I let her; no reason not to. It'd be up to her if she'd be gotten for her curiosity.
"Well then…" Kuroka continued, still huffy, "If you aren't gonna breed me over the railings, what are you doing here, nyah~?"
I elected to ignore her huffiness, else I would be baited into pounding her over the railing anyway somehow, and went straight for the point.
"You remember how we first met, yeah?"
Kuroka looked up at me, and tilted her head, a full grin stretched across her face, "How could I not, nyah~?"
Fair enough, I couldn't help but chuckle at the memory myself.
I turned my head, my gaze sweeping across the built-in platform resting atop the mountain, "I explained to you that I lost my memory, woke up randomly, all that jazz…well, this is where I first came to all those months ago."
That seemed to get her attention, prompting the cat girl to perk up, and full my gaze, leading nowhere in particular.
It didn't take long for her to start giggling, "It's so random, nyahaha~!"
I shrugged, "Drunk me has weird vacation spot choices, aight?"
"Hmm~!" Kuroka wraps her arms around my shoulders, gently pulling me down so she can rub our noses together, "Some day, I'll meet drunk Nori, right nyah~?"
"Hah…" I let out a single, drawn-out laugh, "Probably not? If I ended up here by getting drunk, who knows where I'll find myself if I do it again?"
Now that I have powers, it wouldn't surprise me if I somehow made my way to the Underworld or something, and woke up in actual Hell.
That'd be a story to tell!
"Mmm…" Kuroka pursed her lips, "Shame, nyah~! How else am I supposed to thank him for making me run into you?"
I stared down at her, completely and utterly blindsided by what she just said.
"I…" It took me a moment to find the right words, for my smile to come back, full force, "I think he knows you're grateful, you sneaky cat~..."
"Excellent, nyah~!" Kuroka then, without warning, leaned forward and pressed her lips into mine.
I found no reason to resist, wrapping my arms around her back and holding her as the sun began to set.