It was a cold night.

Freezing winds blew into the small alleyway, chilling my bones to their core. I shivered slightly, curling myself into a tighter ball around Spinel.

The little creature didn't seem affected, having me to rely on for warmth.

I sneezed a little. Rubbing my nose with one of my hands.

Curling back up once more, I concentrated on the sounds of the rain as it fell from the sky. Having my back pressed right beside the nearest building helped me avoid most of the rain, even though it wasn't exactly that effective.

I wished that I was home. However, I knew that I would never be able to return to that cozy place.

Never again.

I sneezed once more, wishing that I had something to warm me up. I could hear the nightlife just outside the alleyway. The rain having no effect on the bustling activities that took place every night in London. It wasn't that late at night, so I guessed that it was only reasonable for quite a number of activities to still be taking place.

Still, it wasn't the best thing for someone who was trying to sleep in the cold.

"Hello? Is there anyone in here?" I heard a voice coming from the entrance of the alleyway. Looking towards the direction of the sound, I saw a silhouette of a female with long hair, the light behind her making her look like an angel.

As she walked closer, I started making out a few more of her features. Realizing that she had long, brown hair and honey-colored eyes. The woman was holding a black umbrella, shielding her from most of the wind and rain. Something about her seemed weird, almost as though she had something that most others didn't have. However, I couldn't place a finger on it.

"What are you doing here?" She squatted down, closing the gap between us.

"I...I'm here because..." I stopped for a while, rethinking my answer. "Why do you have to know anyway?"

We stared at each other for a while, neither of us saying anything. Meanwhile, Spinel was still fast asleep, in his own world of dreams.

"Well... you may catch a cold if you continue staying out here in the rain." She spoke up, breaking the silence. "I'll invite you to come over to my house. If that's ok with you. However, I don't think you are going to agree with my suggestion, looking at your aura."

"My... aura?" I looked up at the young women, wondering how she could detect something like that. She seemed to look even more confused than I am, almost as though she had expected me to know that she could do just that.

"You couldn't sense my magic?" She seemed concerned, worried even. Her realization just puzzled me all the more, making me wonder how she even came to the conclusion that I should be able to sense magic.

"Not exactly. I just knew that you are an oddball. Why does that matter anyway?"

Something clicked within me. Making me wonder how I haven't thought of it before.

"You must have magic too. To be able to detect something like that." I sneezed once more, remembering about the rain. I had forgotten about it earlier while talking to the mysterious lady.

"Yes... yes I do." She confessed. Her eyes a little dazed as she looked up at the full moon.

"I'll come with you." I answered carefully. Although I didn't know much about this weird person. Something told me that I could trust her. Besides, now that I was thinking logically, it was better than staying in a deserted and damp alleyway.

She didn't answer, the sigh of relief she had let out being answer enough.

"Follow me." She finally replied, waiting patiently as I picked up my stuff. While I did so, I placed Spinel in my bag, acutely aware that the woman was watching me as I did so. When I was done, she beckoned me to enter the shelter her umbrella provided, shielding us both from the rain as we walked down the road.

"Would you mind telling me your name?" She asked politely. I contemplated my choices for a while, finally deciding to tell her.

"Eriol."

She nodded at my answer. "It's understandable that you wouldn't tell me your surname yet. My name is Kaho Mizuki. You can just call me Kaho."

I nodded slightly as the two of us continued the journey towards Kaho's home.
--------

I was sitting on the sofa, a sleeping Spinel on my lap. I petted the creature gently. Recapping the past hour in my head.

I had followed Kaho home, and took a shower, not one from the rain of course, as soon as I had reached her house.

She lived in quite a big house. So big, it seemed like a mansion. Well, maybe it really was one.

The house seemed to stir up some kind of emotions in me. A sense of déjà vu arousing from deep within myself as I stepped through the door not too long ago. As soon as I walked into the house, it felt as though I was returning home. Returning after years and years of being apart from it.

"Do you want something to eat Eriol?" Kaho walked into the room, carrying a plate of scones.

"Yes please." I answered, picking up one of the biscuit-like cakes.

She smiled slightly, picking up one of the scones herself. "I assume that you made that black cat using your magic?" She asked, noticing Spinel who had been sleeping through all the nighttime action.

"Spinel? Well... I guess I may have made him out of magic. I didn't mean to... be just appeared out of nowhere." I explained. "For some weird reason, he seems to go crazy eating sweets. I wonder if it's because I happened to have a longing for them when he appeared."

"Maybe." Kaho answered, taking a bite from her scone. "By the way, do you happen to know of your origin?"

"My... origin?" I blinked. "Well, I come from my parents... right? Don't we all? I mean, Spinel didn't but..." I trailed off, not knowing what to say. "How about your origins?" I changed the topic. "You seem to have a Japanese name."

"You're right. I live in a shrine somewhere in Japan. However, I came here to further my studies." She bit into her scone once more, reminding me that I haven't even taken a bite.

"By yourself?"

She nodded.

"Surely it must be lonely to be here on your own."

"I guess. But it isn't too bad."

The conversation reminded me about the time I longed for a friend. The time I had before I knew Spinel. I longed to do something for her. No one deserved to be alone. No matter how bad someone could be, no one deserved it.

As the thoughts continued raging through me, I felt a familiar warmth flooding through me. Kaho must have sensed it too, as she looked at me with an expression of understanding.

The warmth intensified, the glow that I knew all too well by now overwhelming my senses. The next I could see, I found another female standing by us. Her hair was brown, although it was a lot darker than Kaho's. The color matched her eyes, them being a slightly lighter shade of her hair.

"Where am I?" The new female looked around, confused.

Meanwhile, Spinel wiggled slightly in my lap, finally waking up and realizing the two newcomers. "Eriol? Where are we and who are these two people?"

"Well... the female holding a scone is Kaho and the other female is... umm... Ruby." I said the first name that came to my head.

"So. I'm Ruby? I certainly didn't know that." The newly named being commented.

"Are you sure that that's her name Eriol?" Spinel hissed into my ear.

"I'm sure. I'm the one that created her after all." I answered.

"You what?!" Spinel whisper-shouted. "Then again, I guess I shouldn't be too surprised..."

I gestured Ruby to sit down while listening to Spinel. The new being seemed to still be confused, looking around the wide room with awe.

I looked at Kaho, realizing that she was smiling. For some weird reason, I had a feeling that she was thanking me for making her a friend.