ᴛʜᴇ ᴇxᴛʀᴀ 'ᵗʰᵉ ᵖʳᵒᵐⁱˢᵉᵈ ⁿᵉᵛᵉʳˡᵃⁿᵈ

.ii meeting

Grace Field House - The Year 2037

The three-year-old girl was wide awake in the middle of the night, listening to the grandfather clock tick and tock inside their bedroom as well as the soft snoring of some of her siblings, or even the trees dancing from the strong wind outside the house.

She clutched the book that was under her pillow, eyes furrowed as she waited impatiently.

Megumi was waiting for midnight to arrive. 

-

The young girl crept outside their bedrooms, trying not to make any kind of noise. She was welcomed by the darkness trapping every wall of the corridors. The path was dim, only to be glimmered by the moon's brightness through the windows of the house. 

 Megumi could feel her heart pounding from nervousness. She has never tried sneaking out nor breaking Mama's rules before. Bringing a lamp could easily expose herself from being hidden, so she decided not to use it. Although that means she has to be careful and aware of her surroundings. 

Both of her hands were gliding on the wooden banister as she slowly went downstairs, finally getting close to the main door of the Grace Field House. 

She stood in front of the door that will lead her to the person she was waiting for. Her breath hitched as she panicked. What if she doesn't show up?

The doorknob clicked out of nowhere, making Megumi jump from her frozen state. Small light coming from outside hit the wooden floor of the hall as the door was now slightly open. 

She was there, standing in front of the little girl. 

The woman stood tall, wearing a dark blue suit and a red tie. She has raven hair and layers of bangs hanging sideways with the rest of her hair tied up in a small ponytail. Her appearance can easily be mistaken for a guy, even to have an unusual, enormous height. 

Megumi stares at the woman, her mouth hanging open in shock. 

"Nice to meet you, 03194,  Megumi."

 The black-haired woman lifted her right arm, reaching out towards the little girl who was dumbfounded by the situation. Her eyes were coldly looking at the kid's chocolate brown pupils as if she was talking to the Ratri's subordinates. 

It suddenly became quiet. Only the sound of crickets chirping from outside with trees dancing as the wind blows. The pink-haired girl only studied the person in front of her.

"Is there something wrong?" The taller female raised an eyebrow, waiting for a response. It shook the girl from her trance as she spoke up. "Are you... Allen?"

A warm smile crept on the raven-haired woman's lips. "Indeed I am. Though we have to get moving before someone sees us." Her arm extended to the younger one. "Shall we?"

Megumi took Allen's hand as she stepped outside the house, her brown leather shoes touching the grass. Her hand was warm yet rough, feeling the thick callouses on her palms. She watched as the woman locked the door with her other free hand before walking in the deep forest in silence. 

Dark void surrounded both of them, yet they continued marching till they arrived at their destination. The girl wondered how Allen could walk so casually in the dark. She was even clutching behind the woman's back in fear, only to be comforted by the adult.

They stopped on their tracks. Megumi sat on the root of a tree as Allen used a device she had never seen, lighting up the area before sitting cross-legged across her. It was a flashlight.