A knock resonate in my front door, softly drying my arms with my long light blue skirt, I skid my way there.

The knocking become more and more... impatient as I become nearer.

"Wait a second please!" I shout, trying to keep my 'cool' with the annoying knocking.

'Who will be visiting me in this kind of weather?' I asked myself, whilst opening the door.

'The snow storm is really harsh tonight. I wonder who will be out here'

I open the door slightly, and notice that my visitor is a very familiar person.

'Oh it's her...' I smile to the pretty stranger infront of me.

'She was the one I have made eye contact back in the zoo'

The street light is dim, maybe due of it lacking power over all these years, or the snow hailing down heavily, but I can clearly see the Stranger's face with the light coming from the halls in my house.

Clearly surprise and confuse at the same time, the red tattoo I had been observing yesterday was nothing but stitches... and they seem to be for 'styles' and not for mending two separate flesh.

'A body afficionado?' I instantly conclude.

"You know it's bad opening your door at 11 in the night~" the stranger close her red eyes with a smile,

"Who knows? I maybe a hungry ghoul going to devour you" she sing-sang.

My eyebrows furrow at her comment. 'A simple hello would be nice'

"Well, a ghoul or not, it's impolite to make someone wait at your own door" I stated calmly.

Her red eyes slowly open then stare at me with a frown. "How cocky!"

"Cocky?" I purse my lips at her outburst. "What do you mean by that?"

She didn't acknowledge my question, whoever, she just add up 2 more. "You're one of them... I thought you're different,"

Her once happy expression radically change into disappointment.
She turn around and start walking away in the middle of the snow storm.

I sigh deeply as I watch her walk away.
My mind suddenly become flooded with questions - three of them top it all;

'Why is she here?'

'What is her motive?'

'But most of all...'

'How did she know my address?'

I watch her form passively walk away from my warm house. The cold seems foreign to her - she didn't even flinch as the hail suddenly become stronger.

'If she keeps walking... she'll die due to the cold... add up to the time she even went here and wait for me to answer her impatient knocking!' I sigh deeply.

'If it's this her method to make me invite her to my house,' I rub my temples, 'it's working alright'

"Hey!"

My head ache as She turn to look at me with wide red eyes, she seems to wait for me to continue my sudden disruption of her leave.

"If you have any problem, I would love to help you,"

I hope she heard me, since the hail is getting stronger by seconds.

She look at me with a deadpan expression, but she slowly walks toward my front door as if she's not feeling the frost biting into her skin.

"And...?" She ask, stopping infront of me and my doorway. I want to give a retort to this snappy stranger, but I didn't.

Stepping out of the way, I flinch at the low temperature.

Even if the heater is on, I can feel the cold wind that graze on the bare part of my body. (Face, neck, arm, and feet)

"Come in and have some hot cocoa with me" I open the door wide for her to come in. "I dont want to sound ignorant, but going home in this kind of weather isn't safe at all"

She look down at me (Yes, I am smaller in height than her); as if examining my face in an odd manner before her gaze falter to the warmth of my hallways.

"Make yourself feel at home" I gesture towards the door that leads to the kitchen.

For a moment, I think I saw her smirk... or is it just my lack of sleep getting to me?

"Why thank you~" she grin at me and skips her way towards the room that I pointed.

I sigh as I close the wooden door. 'I wonder why is this stranger is here, what's her point in visiting me, anyway?'

I walk towards my kitchen, questions flooding in my mind in a moment, and notice the stranger eating the cookies from my cookie jar.

Wait...

She's eating the cookies from my cookie jar...

That I just freshly baked...

SHE JUST DIDNT.

I WENT 'ALL-NIGHTERS' JUST TO RESTORE MY STOCK OF COOKIES. AND SHE JUST---

Massaging my temples, I tried to make myself calm, but the sound of her chewing is so loud, it's even making me more stress.

'Ugh, she eats like cookie monster!'

"Your cookies are delicious~ you should bake more~!" She grin, her legs hanging from the ceramic counter she is sitting.

I don't know if I should be flattered or annoyed at her compliment, since I'm not impressed with that behavior she's showing me.

What kind of a guest that sits on a clean counter and eats cookies with crumbs falling down on the squeaky clean floor to show respect?

'A Guest that is disrespectful and had no moral manners, that is.'

Showing me the now half empty transparent cookie jar, I couldn't help but feel more stress building in my head as I try to calm myself down.

"Please put down the cookie jar," I asked nicely. "I'll bribe you a hot cocoa,"

"Pfffffffft" she put her tongue out in a childish matter "as if."

"Why?"

"Hmmm....." she rubs her chin in a questioning manner, then giggled, "Maybe because it's delicious!"

I sigh in defeat. I look at her as if she's not even there and walk my way towards the cabinet I store my mugs.

Grabbing two, I made my way to the fridge and took out the glass pitcher where I placed the content of my homemade cocoa.

"Frozen Cocoa?, sorry lady, but do you remember the temperature of the cocoa you advertise me earlier?" My 'visitor' asked me, "You said it yourself it's hot~"

I didn't even spare her a glance as I crush the frozen content in the pitcher with a fork,

"Hey are you listening to me?"

Once finished, I took down the pot from its place and put it on the stove.

"What are you doing?" She asked once again, the tune of being impatient is in her voice.

"Heating the cocoa," I blandly respond to her question.

I dunk the content of the pitcher in the pot and close the silverware with its lid.
With a sigh through my nose, I put down the empty pitcher next to her and open the stove.

Light blue and yellow flames ignite to life as it heat the pot.

"You're so cheap," the black haired female giggled at me with droopy eyes, "why shouldn't you buy instant cocoa mix instead?"

I look at her with a raise eyebrow, "Homemade cocoa isn't easy to make-"

"Duh," She rollef her eyes at me "More reason to buy the sachet one"

I shrug at her retort and continued "-But the point is, homemade cocoa are richer in flavor"

She tilted her head abit. "So you're doing this for quality?"

I lean on the counter beside her with crossed arms. "Is that bad?" I questioned. She smiled. "Nope~ all the better for me to enjoy my stay here!" Her head bob from left to right as her feet keeps swaying up and down.

I wonder what age is this stranger is - She Honeslty looks like a child and act as one, but something is nagging me she's not a teenager at all...

Silence overtook the atmosphere in the room, as I keep wondering on questions I have for him.

But leaving them unanswered is making me fall into the pit of curiosity.

"What are you doing in the storm?" I asked her. I then look at the wall clock in the kitchen, "may I add... 11 in the night"

Her head stop bouncing with her own rhythm and gave me a closed-eyes smile.

"Oh just investigating~"

My eyebrows furrow at her response, "In...vestigating...?"

She took something from her black short pants' pocket, and fiddles with it for a minute.

'She uses suspenders... I wonder why' I asked myself again.

She showed me something like a black wallet, and soon drop half of it,

Showing an Identification card that shows that she's a legal CGG investigator.

"O-oh," I respond dumbfounded.

I didn't know someone like her could be a CCG investigator, even more, someone with the rank of an associate special class investigator.

Which for me, is something you should be proud of.

After a good minute of me identifying her I.D, she put it back in her pocket, and continued what she's doing. (Which is nodding to a rhythm she only hears)

She seems to lost interest with the cookies, since the glass jar have been safely placed between the gap that separates us with a closed lid.

Maybe because she's suddenly full, the cookie jar is large, and she consume half of it.

For me, She seems to be a gluttonous eater, but she has frail looking body.

'Fast metabolism, perhaps?' I asked myself once again.

My mind suddenly thought of her being as an investigator, and maybe the reason she is here (in my house) is her motivation to prove herself that I'm a 'ghoul'.

Glancing at her, she looks like an elementary student, not an investigator - since she doesn't look like one and she's not carrying any of those 'case' that most Investigators like her carry.

I'm not afraid of her - I'm not one of them, but it peeks my interest why she suspected me out of all people in the 13th ward.

"I'm not a ghoul." I assured her. "I'm sorry to drop down your expectation, but, You could stay here for the night until the storm calm,"

She looked at me without moving her head and smiled. "I know that you're not ghoul,"

"Exactly - wait... huh?" I looked at her confused,

"I'm investigating for my own sake," she conclude, my eyebrows furrowing at her. "Your own...sake?"

"Mmhmm~" she hummed in agreement, as if I get her whole point.

I want to ask her a lot of questions. But she only adds more than actually lessen the amount of it.

We stayed silent for 2 minutes. She seems to calm down since her feet stop swaying and her head hung low.

The only sound that can be heard is the strong snow storm outside. The howl of the wind almost seems scary than a wolf's

Thinking of wolf... I suddenly realize that I was separated from my own pack.

But...

I'm contented with the lonely life I have here in the 13th ward, yet having someone - a stranger even - accompanying me felt foreign to me.

Maybe because from the last 5 years I've been self-supporting without my parents help.

I turned my attention towards the pretty stranger beside me, who in return have been staring at me the whole time.

I opened my mouth to ask her why she's 'staring' at me, yet she responsed with two words I couldn't believe she'll tell.

"Adopt me."

Cue the sound of hot cocoa boiling loudly.

"W-WHAT?!"

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((Yes, The reader thought of the 'stranger' as a female, yet we can't conclude that. c: ))
((Oh no, maybe some readers thought this stranger is actually going to be a female...!))

(I FELT LIKE THE SCENARIO FELT RUSH ;-;)

((*sobs on the corner*))
(I hope you enjoy~!)

•1973 words used