Catgirl Mio.

Dear Diary.

Wait, is this the way to start it?

Dunno, Mio never thought us how to do it.

Anyway, this is about Mio. An Agnian girl we met on the battlefield. We became Ouroboros after we had a big fight, and we started to travel together. And….yes, this was new, but we're getting used to it.

My interlink partner is Mio. She's one term older than me, and she's so kind…and she smiles a lot even though she has like…3 months left to live. And one thing. She…has cat ears.

I don't know why, but some Agnians have cat ears. And she has them, too. And I actually like those. They sometimes twitch as real cats do, and she actually has a great sense of hearing.

….

And I thought that this was the end of her cat-like traits.

Hah…I never expected this to happen, but there was more.

There was once when we had to cross a giant desert to…you know, get to the city. And yes, it was very sparking hot. We had a really tough time crossing the vast desert, but…Mio had the worst. She took her jacket off like 5 minutes into the desert, and she emptied her water canteen like 10 minutes in, and she started to stagger, like after 15 minutes in. So Sena almost carried her.

And after several moments, Mio started to wither away. She was moaning she couldn't go on, but something happened. They found an oasis far away. We hoped that thing wouldn't be a mirage, but they didn't think a second. They just dashed away to the oasis only to feel the water first. We weren't that desperate, so we walked there.

After 5 minutes of walking or so, we also arrived at the oasis. We expected them to swim there to enjoy the water, but…they were not. To be exact, only Sena was swimming. Mio…yeah. She was…

Licking.

Licking…her limbs.

Near the water, squatting down, she was delicately licking her arms, wrists, and hands. And she was giggling happily while doing that.

Of course we were surprised looking at that.

So I asked.

No, actually Eunie went headfirst.

"Uh, love? What're you doing?"

"Me? Mmm…just…cleaning. It removes the smell and dirt from my body." Mio said, smiling.

"Really…? How does licking your body with your tongue help you do that…?"

"My tongue has these little things on them, and my saliva has some special chemicals for cleaning my body, so yes! It's effective!" Mio said, showing Eunie her tongue. And it was true. Her tongue was…rather unique. It looked pretty rough, like sandpaper.

"Ooh…then…did you have some water? You did almost thirst to death, love."

"Oh, water? Yeah! Sena helped me drink it."

"What…?"

"Mimi, you need some?" Sena said, cupping some water with her hands.

"Thanks, Sena!" Mio said. And she started to lower her head, and started licking the water to drink it.

"Whoa…? This is unexpected…Oh well, guess it's water time for me! Woohoo!" After her battlecry, Eunie jumped into the water with a big splash.

And another thing happened.

Mio ran towards us, frightened, as the water touched her skin.

"M…Mio…?" I said.

"Ah….hahahaha….sorry….just a bit surprised from the water…"

"Really? Didn't you desperately want water before?" Lanz said.

"I did, but…" Mio sighed, with her ears down.

"Then what're you waiting? Mio, you're coming with me!" Lanz said, as he lifted Mio up.

"Wait, Lanz, I think that's not a good id…" I tried to stop him, but it was too late.

"ALLEYOOP!" Lanz jumped in.

With Mio.

"AAAAAAAAAGHHH!"

With the loudest scream I've heard in years, she jumped out of the water, violently shaking.

"Uh…Mio, you okay?" I asked, looking at Mio, who was shaking off the water off her body. I don't know why she decided to 'shake' off the water from her body.

"You see…Mimi and water are…how can I explain…?" Sena muttered.

"I knew this would happen…" Taion said.

Well.

That happened.

So, that's when I first suspected that this girl was secretly a cat.

And this was not the end!

Damn!

One day…or one night…we made camp. In some kind of ruins kind of place. The floor was all rock, so we heard some complaints from Eunie about how much her back hurts from sleeping on the stone-cold surface. And soon, she started bickering with Lanz. It was a lovely night, as usual.

But Mio was gone. And we can't lose her at dinner, so I tried to find her. And after some minutes, I eventually found her somewhere in the ruins, where she was digging on the stone floor with her…nails.

I…actually lost my words then.

Because…you know, when your interlink partner is digging the stone floor with her hands…you get curious. And by the way…her nails were pretty sharp…almost dangerously sharp.

Back to the topic.

So I asked.

"Uh…Mio, what're you doing…? The guys are waiting for you."

And she replied.

"Oh, yeah, sorry, just a moment. I was planning…to…you know…take…a…leak…?" Mio said, slightly blushing.

"What….? Well…if you wanted that, you could always go to the woods…you know…?" Yeah, that was unexpected.

"But…you know…I don't want to get too far from this territory…"

'Territory?"

"Okay, then, that's that, why are you digging, no, scratching the stone floor with your nails? I mean…you could use your bl…No, change of my question. Why are you even trying to dig?" The situation was getting more awkward and awkward as I spoke, but I went on.

"Uh…because there is no sand here…?"

"Sand?"

"You know…you need sand when you go…you get it…?"

'No…? Do we….?' At this moment, I almost went crazy with questions barraging inside my head.

But Mio's face got redder and redder, so I decided to leave.

"O…kay… I get it…Then…take…your….time? I guess…? Need anything?"

"Uh…no. Thanks, I'll be there soon!" Mio said.

And I had no words to spare, so I left.

"Hey, Noah. Found Mio?" Eunie asked.

"Uh…yeah."

"What is she even doing right now?"

"Um…digging holes….?"

"What…? Is she…Isurd or something?"

"Or friend Mio find gemstones? Riku can help." Riku interrupted.

"Nonononono! No need to interrupt….Just…she needed…sand…? I guess…?"

"Sand? What in Aionios is going…? Ah, forget it, I'm gonna get some tea. Taion, you got some?"

"Always ready."

But Sena seemed to be thinking different.

"Wait, Noah, did you say sand?"

"Uh, yes?"

"Oh my god, Mimi… Where is she?"

"Around…there…" I pointed, and Sena ran.

For the spark's sake, my brain was seriously starting to overload with new knowledge.

But I had a nice sleep, honestly.

Anyways, morning came. And Mio was missing again.

This time, I found her pretty easily.

You see, there was a strange place with pillars and weirdly placed walls to make a small, tight, cramped place.

And I never expected to find her sleeping there.

"How the spark….did she even fit there?" Lanz said, with an expression of wonder on his face.

"…." I've never seen Eunie giving up her will to think like that before.

"Anyway, time to wake up. Mimi! Wake uuuuup!" Sena shouted. She takes this rather easily.

"Mmmm….It's already morning?" Mio said, opening her eyes slightly.

"Yep! Time to go now! Get out!"

"Got it….Ugh…so…tired…" Mio purred, and she somehow got out of that strange place. Everyone except Sena lost their words.

"….." Looks like has stopped working.

"Okay, one question. How the spark did you get in, Mio? Like…do you even have bones?" Lanz said.

"Oh, that? You know….I just like…cramped places. That's all."

"That doesn't…actually explain this situation, Mio," I said.

"Ah, forget it! Let's have something to eat and leave!" Mio said as she walked headfirst. Ears twitching. Sena followed her.

"This is getting stranger and stranger…Innit, Eunie?" Lanz turned his gaze to Eunie, but…

"…."

"Uh…Eunie….? You all right…?"

"Lanz….?"

"What?"

"Nothing…"

"Well, you're not behaving very not 'Eunie' today, Eunie, anyway, let's go have breakfast."

"Agreed," Taion replied.

It felt indeed strange, but I also agreed and left to have breakfast.

And that's what happened, Diary.

What do you think about my obviously-not-a-cat-partner?...

(Omake)

Diary, a lot of shit happened recently. Mio died.

And she came back to life.

And the Mio who died was not Mio.

Confused? Me too.

And we found the queen in the sky.

And Joran died.

Confused? Me too!

Aaaandd….we found out about true human nature, and about love. The city was more than a surprise. Plus, they even gave us places to stay! No more camping!

So now I'm here.

With long-haired Mio rubbing her head alongside me.

Mio…changed a bit after she received M's life. She…turned a bit more…aggressive? I guess?

When I wake up, I can find Mio. Curled up in a ball. And she does that rubbing head thing to me when she sleeps, too.

One day, I touched her ears when she slept. I was always curious how they felt…so…I did that. After some touches, she started to purr. Okay, gotta admit, that felt great, but I shouldn't have done that. Because…after that…she demanded more touches. Especially on the behind of her ears. I didn't know why at first, but now I know. After she rubbed her ears on me, I could sense a unique smell on me and her. It seemed that the behind of her ears had some special substance emitting to make a special smell.

And you know what?

I actually like it.

So, here I am now, skimming through my diary as Mio rubs her head against me again…

Diary, I…was a soldier, but became Ouroboros. And we smashed some flame clocks, killed Moebius, and we met the real Agnus queen. And now we have to smash Origin and Z.

But here I am now, petting my cat.

What do you think, diary? Not bad, huh?

Oh my god.