Water splashed fiercely against the ground.

It was raining. A brutal rain was pouring down the city, flooding every corner of every street in sight. Thunder roared through the sky; black clouds flew over the city; it was an image of chaos. If anybody labeled this as divine retribution, there would be no soul able to argue against it.

And of course, with such hellish weather, there was naturally nobody outside... or rather, that should be the case.

Amidst the loud thunder and never ending rain, a single girl sat down inside a small house made out of stone. It was shaped like a dome, with two holes on opposite sides that served as entrances. It was a toy house—like one that could be found in playgrounds—used as a house by children to play in, although, perhaps it might be too much to call it a house. In all truth, it looked much more like a hollow boulder than anything.

The girl sat on the ground inside the house. Her small body trembled in cold and fear as tears ran down her pale cheeks while she hugged her knees. Her clothes were not only soaked, but also seemed to be very thin and of poor fabric, with some ragged sections here and there; she wasn't wearing anything that could even remotely protect her of this cruel weather.

She didn't look old, but rather seemed to be quite young, perhaps three or four years old at most. Even if she'd been in a standing up position inside the rock house, there would still be a good amount of space between her head and the ceiling. Then again, if she was so young, what was she doing outside in such an unholy climate? It was definitely neither the time nor the place for a girl as young as her to be in, especially considering the quickness at which the temperature was dropping, and the danger that factor represented to a small child. Even more so when considering the state of her previously described clothes.

*splat* *splat* *splat* Somehow, even among the thunder, raindrops, and her own sobbing, the little girl was able to listen to something splashing in the already flooded street. To be more precise, she was able to discern a pair of running footsteps that were coming in her direction.

Curious, the little girl mustered up all of her strength to keep herself from trembling and lifted her face off her knees. Her face continued growing more and more pale as she peeked outside through the door, waiting for the owner of the footsteps to reveal themselves. With each taken step, the tension in the already chilling air increased, prompting the little girl to unconsciously hold her breath in suspense.

Turning around the corner, the mysterious presence finally revealed itself. She was a young girl who looked much older than the little girl. Her long and wet midnight-black hair flew through the air as she was hit by the merciless wind. Her beautiful red eyes—that seemed to be made from several handpicked shades—shone brightly when lighted up by the nearby lampposts who refused to lose the battle against the weather.

She is...

The little girl stood at her in awe. Her trembling momentarily ceased as her eyes sparkled; she could feel her heart skip a bit as she observed that figure in the night. The older girl's almond shaped-eyes and slender eyebrows, her plump breasts and well-proportioned limbs, her body figure which her drenched wear only remarked even further.

...so pretty...

That's the first thing that came to her mind. She was startled at the sight of the beauty in front of her; it was enough to make her pale cheeks light up with a bright shade of red for a moment. It was a sight the little girl was not used to. She had seen many ladies throughout her short life—all of them blurred in her memory by now—but no matter how hard she thought about it, the little girl couldn't even begin to imagine a future in which she would be able to forget this older girl. She had something that none of those ladies had. What is her young age? Was it her beauty? Or was it... her eyes?

The steps suddenly stopped, and only the cruel sound of the rain remained. Returning back from her daze, the little girl saw the older girl standing still under the rain. Raindrops were running down her face, but she paid them no heed as the little girl entered her range of vision. In doing so, their eyes met.

The crying girl who was sitting alone in the rain, and the girl who seemed to just be passing by.

That is how they met.