The place where memories lie

Shizune's gaze was focused on the constantly changing scenery on the other side of the window. Although she was in the passenger seat inside Kurono's car, she was more focused on her thoughts.

Shizune was recalling a little of the little conversation she had with Aoi. After she shared her sincere thoughts with her, Shizune did not miss the opportunity to talk a little more with her, especially about how Aoi felt about her relationship with Kurono and how special he was to her; therefore, in this way, she also expressed to her that Kurono was the most important thing to her, so she shouldn't worry too much about them.

That same thing had made Aoi have a small smile after listening to Shizune before properly saying goodbye, and although Kurono was not aware of this since he had left the room a while ago to walk around the orphanage a bit, Aoi had told Shizune that she would make sure to accompany them on their wedding day, which Shizune thanked with quite a bit of emotion.

Ending those memories, it was Shizune's turn to have a calm expression, although she was once again lost in various ideas about the future that awaited her and everything she had to do, but this time, it wouldn't take long for her to return to reality since Kurono's voice was perfectly audible to her.

"Is there something that keeps your mind busy?" Although Shizune hadn't noticed it, the reality was that Kurono had his little moments in which he was distracted when he didn't need to focus so much on the road, and all his attention was focused on Shizune, so he was able to observe the state she was in.

"Huh?" Being taken a bit by surprise, Shizune looked away from the scenery that had her somewhat mesmerized and turned to see Kurono's figure. "Sorry, I was lost in my thoughts again."

"You can tell that, haha." Kurono was having fun in his way, though what amused him the most were Shizune's expressions and reaction. "How much did the director say after I left?"

Although Kurono had left the room on his own, he was still somewhat curious about what had happened, and since he hadn't had time to ask Shizune about it, he thought it was a good time.

"Well... Aoi-san said a lot of things about you." In a nutshell, Shizune's answer was simple and accurate. "But overall, she congratulated us on our engagement and said she would attend our wedding."

Kurono didn't feel like that was a surprise, but, even if he didn't admit it now, he was grateful to Aoi and would make sure to pass on some words to her in the future.

At this point, it had to be mentioned that, after discussing it properly, both Kurono and Shizune decided that they would celebrate a wedding in all its expression, clearly it would be a traditional type in which they wanted all those close and important people to them to be present.

Partly it was because that way they would feel that that day would be much more special and joyful, but another reason was because Kurono already knew that Shizune never had the opportunity to enjoy that type of occasion since the entire marriage process, she had in the past had been quick and simple due to the situation. With that in mind, Kurono's first idea had been to focus on convincing Shizune of it, which had not been very difficult to achieve.

For her part, that same thing had made Shizune feel happy and excited, perhaps it was true that a lot of time had passed since that, but the fact of thinking about how Kurono tried so hard just to make that day even more special for her, Shizune could not help but long for that moment to arrive even more.

"Are we almost there?" Even though the surroundings had a familiar feel to Shizune, she had to ask that question due to her distraction earlier.

"It shouldn't be long, a few more minutes and we should be close, the good news is that it's not that hot yet, so it won't be too hard to climb the steps." Perhaps Kurono's words would sound confusing to almost anyone who heard him, but seeing how Shizune nodded at his words, it was clear that she perfectly understood what he meant.

To describe the situation again, it was quite clear that Shizune and Kurono were in the latter's car. The road they were traveling on was a small road that was mostly surrounded by some fields with some signs of human activity in addition to the other cars that crossed it every so often.

Not long ago they had left the hustle and bustle of the city behind, so right now they were heading to another place they had in mind for that day. As said before, Shizune was fully aware of where they were going, and although it was not the first time, she could feel calm enough, so it was something important that she wanted to do with Kurono.

As time passed, those landscapes changed until mostly some mountainous areas or elevations of land were visible that gave that natural beauty to the surroundings. Kurono's car had already moved away from the main road, taking a slightly simpler path, which was also properly surrounded by the nature of the area, but at first glance, you could notice some signs to follow that correctly indicated where to go. It wasn't long before both Kurono and Shizune came across more cars, which were parked since there was some kind of parking lot and some human activity in the surroundings.

Kurono repeated the same action and parked his car delicately before getting out and helping Shizune do the same. The atmosphere that had greeted them was one of total calm, Shizune could hear how the surroundings were filled with the sounds produced by nature, and the air she breathed was different from that of the city.

None of that was new to either her or Kurono, but something that also had to be mentioned was a long row of steps not far from where they were and that these seemed to lead to a higher area.

Several people or groups of them, possibly families, were constantly climbing the steps. Some were surrounded by the same calm of the place, but in others, some complicated or even sentimental expressions could be seen with each step they took, but that didn't make them stop for anything in the world. Something else to mention was that some of those people were carrying some things with them, especially some flowers that filled the scene with some more color.

"Shall we go?" Kurono's voice had reached Shizune once again. She simply nodded in affirmation before taking the hand that Kurono had just brought to her.

Just like those people, Shizune was hugging a small bouquet of white flowers that she had brought with her as she climbed the steps with Kurono. She couldn't help but turn her gaze to the surroundings, but in addition to that, she also focused on Kurono, and the best thing she could do was get closer to him so that he would never forget that she was by his side.

Kurono was aware of Shizune's action, and although he could guess what was on her mind, he was very grateful for those small details she had with him; he felt the warmth that Shizune gave him and gave him more strength to continue moving forward at that moment.

The number of steps was not exaggerated, but it still took some time to reach the end of them. The view had changed a bit from the lower area, but it was undeniable that nature was still present for the most part, at the same time, the most important thing was that both Shizune and Kurono could notice some details or sculptures made of stone that blended perfectly with the previously described landscape.

A small stone path was what was shown in front of them at that moment, which they did not take long to follow since they knew it would take them to their destination. As they advanced, the surroundings were filled with small structures, some with simple designs, while others showed more detailed or elaborate work.

Some people were near these structures respectively. It could be seen how some were focused on cleaning several of them, or they had taken the time to remain silent in the surroundings or even pray in front of them. Despite the tranquility that could be noticed, some words or sounds produced by those people were also slightly audible, but it was not correct to concentrate too much on their privacy.

Both Shizune and Kurono understood what all that meant, but their steps continued without stopping as they went a little further into the area. Maybe Shizune didn't have a very strong feeling about the place, but it still brought back memories, and she understood that leaving her aside, the one who surely had stronger feelings about that place was Kurono, and just like the last time, he didn't want to leave her side for any reason.