At least there are some advantages to being here, Susan thought as she headed down a path through the forest, looking for a promising place to practice her martial arts. Back at home, there was no way it would have been warm enough that she could get by with just a t-shirt, jeans, and a light jacket like she was now; winter weather would probably have hit by now. Here, the jacket wasn't even likely to be necessary once she started her practice.

Not that that's any compensation for the damned monsters.

The monsters. The reason she was quite so intent on improving her fighting skills. Also the reason she kept going into the forest to do so, despite having been attacked there more than once; it was just too easy for one to seal all exits in one of the gyms, like Siferus had done. Out here, it was unlikely that anything could cut off all escape routes that easily.

Unless it messes with my head like that squid thing could... A wave of anger rushed through her as she recalled her encounter with Aegir. It wasn't just what he'd done to her body that got her so worked up; it was his impersonation of Linda to get at her that put him at the top of her list of monsters she'd kill if she got the chance.

Still, there were ideas that he'd given her while he was playing that role that she wasn't going to dismiss just because of where they'd come from. I really have to find some allies. Others who've met some of the creatures, if I can find any. Noticing a clearing off to the side, she put aside thoughts on how to do that for later.

The clearing seemed promising just from what she could see from the path. She was pretty sure she could see at least two other paths leading in, which meant it should be easy to escape if she had to without getting lost. A cliff at the far side limited how many ways something could approach her. ...Unless there's something in a cave or something. And a waterfall cascading over the cliff could be useful if she decided to freshen up a bit before returning to campus.

She grinned wryly at that last thought. In the unlikely event I feel really safe here. With that, she left the path and went to get a better look at the clearing.

Ryu left the path some time ago due she wanted to walk deeper into the dangerous looking forest. The cold, fresh air filled her lungs, and even though it slightly hurt her if she took a deep breath inside it was quite acceptable. Weird thing this nature... it really is. The winter came hard and surprisingly fast, but still there was almost no wind. She was glad she brought herself her beloved winter outfit, winter camo skirt and jacket though she would have prefered trousers instead of the skirt, but before she walked off it seemed slightly warmer. Her shoes filled with a warm textile, it seemed agreeable.

Different monster encounters weakened her the past weeks, but for now everything was just fine. Easily remembering her first days, she practiced tennis these day, the first monster she ever saw concealed pretty good his true identity. Or just her stupidity didn't notice it after all, she wasn't sure about that. The weaker part of her soul enjoyed it, but Ryu herself remembered just too good.

Returning to reality, Ryu noticed the forest was an almost obvious target for monsters, and she shivered lightly at the idea of getting raped again. Once this tentacle thing managed to trick her with an illusion of her childhood friend Ruby, she shook her head to get the thought out of her head. It was just embarassing how easily she got influenced.

Someday these doomed creatures will pay...

Hardly able to remember the path back to the dorms she made another attempt to at least find one. Running between the trees, a small river passing by climbing on a tree to drop herself on the other side of the river. She sighed as one path crossed the angle of her eyes. Glad she finally found a way out, stepping on it, she realized she still had no idea where she was right now. I could use some friends around here. Damn my memory!

Standing in the middle of the path, she moved herself into a thoughtful position, thinking about the encounters again. I tried to fight them, but they are too strong. If I am alone... The air around her seemed foggy somehow, a welcome to any monster around, but evidently no one was around. Clenching a fist with her right hand, she moved on in a random direction.

Her ears heard something like... water. A waterfall? Around here? Slowly approaching the sound, her eyes flickering around to make sure nothing would approach her unseen, she found herself looking at a cliff with the expected waterfall cascading over the cliff. Grabbing a thick branch to at least harm any monsters mildly, she moved on to the unknown landscape.

The clearing looked even better once she got a look around it. The ground was reasonably level and free of obstacles and, while there was a cave behind the waterfall and a couple of others in the cliff, they were small enough that she was sure that she hadn't missed anything hiding in them in her quick checks of them.

This should be perfect. As long as there aren't any perverted fairies or something hiding here. She shook her head at the memory of the last time she'd found a clearing similar to this one, only to be tricked by a group of horny pixies. Still, this one didn't look like the sort of place you'd find that sort of creature. Not that I know what sort of places attract them...

Pushing her worries to the back of her mind, she set her gym bag down by a tree near the cliff. She was about to start some warm-up routines when she heard someone... or something... moving towards the clearing. Another advantage of the forest over the gym; it's hard to sneak up on someone with all the dead leaves and such. Shifting into a defensive pose, she turned towards where the sound seemed to be coming from. "Hello...? Is someone there...?" Calling out might have been a mistake if it was a creature that hadn't known she was there, but it might drive off something that wanted to take her by surprise. And if it was another student, it would let her know there was someone else nearby.

Yeah, right. What are the odds two students would just happen to show up in this clearing right now by pure chance?

Not paying any attention to the cliff and the caves her eyes catched for quite some time, Ryu decided to walk in a somewhat odd direction to get to the waterfall. It would take some time, she was bored of walking around already, even though nothing happened to her at all, prefering the silence in a way. I should've chose the other direction. I want to get back to the dorms, damn it.

The silence distracted her slightly due the rumors she heard. Monsters sneaking up on students, an actual new group of pixies surprising the almost confident people around here. Lightly smiling at her thoughts, she continued her way down the path. What a stupid thought...

Swinging her wooden bat once, she sighted a clearing in front of her. Obviously just another trick by a monster, but maybe it was just what it looked like. Stopping abruptly as she heard a voice, her head turned around to spot someone. It was a girls voice, maybe she stood right in front of her, in the clearing. She just noticed the dead leaves on the ground, how stupid she was not noticing them. It seemed like she trapped herself in a way. Ryu was glad a wide tree grew in front of her, approaching it quickly to get a shelter from unexpected views. What the hell does another student right here? It could be another monster though...

Ryu didn't make an attempt to answer her question if someone's there. A monster would know where she was exactly, and her position would've been revealed. Increasing the grip on her improvised baton, waiting for the reaction of the unknown behind the tree which hid her. A monster would rip me apart, or just doing the usual thing. Patience is appropriate.

Only silence came in response to her question. Not even the sound of whoever it was moving.

Okay, they've probably stopped moving. Unless they didn't know I was here before and are able to move far more quietly than they were doing before. Looking at the general area where she'd heard the sound, she tried to figure where the unknown being was hiding. Most likely behind either that tree or... this one.

Realizing that there could be a sex-crazed monster behind the tree closest to her, she quickly jumped back to give herself more distance if she needed to run. Almost as soon as she landed, she began to circle around to a new position. There were two reasons for this. First, she hadn't been that quiet when landing, and she wanted any creature to have as little an idea of where she was as possible. Second, and more importantly, if she was careful, she could get into a position where she could see what she was up against before it knew what she was doing. During this, she never left her defensive stance after she landed.

Reasonably quickly, she moved to where she could see who she'd heard. She couldn't be sure at this angle, but... She looks human from here. But what the hell is she doing? Even though she'd lose what concealment she had and probably alert the girl to just where she was, she nonetheless moved into the light forest on the clearing's edge to get a better look...

...And let out an involuntary laugh when she did so. Judging by the way the other girl was holding a branch like a club, she'd been worried about Susan being a monster even as Susan had worried that she was one. Her posture relaxed as she moved so the other girl could see her more clearly. "Don't worry. I think we were both thinking the same thing about each other."

Despite being almost certain the other girl wasn't a monster, she still kept her distance for now. After all, she didn't know whether the other girl was sure about her yet.

A thud interrupted Ryu in her thoughts due she forgot about the situation she was involved in. Like someone jumped off the ground, but the sound seemed further than the voice had been before. It could've been a student, but Ryu said nothing in return, and she hated herself for that. She had to move, nothing was about to happen if she kept moving. Slowly circling around the tree she used as a shelter, Ryu finally found out who or what was searching her.

It looked like a female student, but nothing is always assured in a place like this. After all, her eyes seemed to pay attention to Ryu, and she stopped abruptly. If it was a monster in the end, she'd have trapped herself. Thinking about why she didn't approach her from behind she noticed she had no chance due no sight contact.

She bursted into a heavy laughter, and Ryu tried to think why she would do such a thing as the student said something. Her words sounded consistent, but being careful about encounters like her evolved to a daily balancing act. Ryu raised an eyebrow which was hardly able to get revealed due their distance. Even though the girl said she won't have to worry, she kept distance. Swinging the wooden club once to make sure the angle would fit, the redhead faced the girl about some yards away from her, speaking with her usual confident voice.

Come over here and I'll pass you my present. Ha, don't try to make fun of me!

The other girl seemed to wait for her reaction, but Ryu didn't move at all. Just getting into a kind of unshakeable defense position, she wasn't sure about the other one. The club wouldn't harm a monster in any way at all, but still useful is used correctly. The girl was unarmed, just standing around the clearing in her sight range. If the girl would come closer to blow off her cover and revealing she was a monster, it'd be hard to run away from possible attacks of tentacles.

This was not going well. The other girl still appeared to think Susan might be a monster. She also seemed to think Susan had been making fun of her.

Well, at least I can be sure she's another student. A disguised monster wouldn't be trying to make itself seem like a threat to me.

Judging from the other girl's stance, she probably wouldn't attack unless she felt threatened. The problem was that Susan wasn't sure she could convince the other girl she wasn't a threat.

Might as well just assume she knows about the monsters. Doubt she'd be acting like this otherwise.

"Sorry. I wasn't laughing at you. It's just that it looks like we both thought the other one was one of the monsters." She started walking slowly towards the other girl, keeping an eye on her club. If the girl decided to attack, Susan was pretty sure she could either counter the attack or at least avoid taking too bad of a blow.

It's a chance I'll have to take. Otherwise, we might be here waiting for each other to act until a monster does show up.

Either the girl knew about monsters and had some encounters with them, or she tried to convince her before attacking. Both sounded rather stupid than logical, but as the girl started walking towards her slowly, Ryu wasn't sure about any of her theories at all.

It contradicted all logic she just made up, her mind fighting against her always trustworthy feelings. The student approaching her seemed to be slightly courageous in a way. The thing is, it just made it harder for Ryu to figure out what to do. She wasn't in attack range, but still it seemed like there was no way to avoid any contact in the end.

W-wait a second. Why the hell are you in the forest even though monsters are able to show up any moment?

Maybe it wasn't a good idea to come here after all, Ryu noticed. She could've been attacked like the girl in front of her. Glad nothing happened at all, she sighed once, facing the girl abruptly as she noticed her mind turned elsewhere for some seconds. Stepping backwards slowly, not as firmly as before, stopping and pointing at the girl with her club.

The confidence both girls mustered weakened Ryu's body, she wouldn't be able to hit her with full power if she was a monster. On the other hand if the girl was a student, she'd be fucked anyway. The club approached the ground a little as she thought about it again, cancelling her mind again as it seemed like before.

"W-wait a second. Why the hell are you in the forest even though monsters are able to show up any moment?"

Susan stopped as the other girl pointed the branch at her. Moving any closer would almost certainly be treated as a threat right now. I'll have to do some more to convince her I'm really a student. The first thing would be answering her question.

"I need somewhere to practice my martial arts, and this is at least as safe as the gym. Maybe more, since there are too many ways out for a monster to block off. What brings you out here?" She tried to keep her tone as light as possible. Now it remained to see how the other girl reacted. Her club lowered slightly, definitely a good sign.

Confused about the girl's statement, Ryu tried to make up her mind about this student, if she was one at least. She shrug her head lightly as nothing logical seemed to appear in her thoughts, and she faced the student once again.

M-my memory. I... I guess I am kind of lost. I tried to remember where to go, but then I just appeared here...

She does martial arts. Due Ryu didn't know any kind of these martial arts, it'd be hard to win a fight against her if she wasn't a monster. Ryu braced herself on the club, hardly able to think about what was going on. Her eyes wandered around at the ground, facing the girl after all, looking deep into her eyes. Fighting against her would be useless, but in the end she'd be unarmed if giving up the club.

Guess you could beat me easily since I got nothing in the hindquarters.

"M-my memory. I... I guess I am kind of lost. I tried to remember where to go, but then I just appeared here..."

She just appeared here? Is some monster messing with her mind? But then, why would it send her here and ignore me? Wait... She suddenly realized what the other girl actually meant; it was only due to the monsters that she hadn't immediately known the girl meant she'd just found the clearing by chance, not that she'd been teleported or something.

"Guess you could beat me easily since I got nothing in the hindquarters."

"I'm not sure about that. You do have a club, and there's something about this place that messes with my timing somewhat. That would make things trickier for me." One thing I did gain from that squid: I know that's not my imagination, and it's something the school's doing. "Still, I'd rather not find out either way if I can avoid it. I could help you get back to the campus, if you'd like."

Spending a quick look at her club, her eyes turned around again. The student tried to be kind, but still a weird situation after all. She seemed to be somewhat confused about her statement, so it was her turn to apologize.

I am sorry. It's just... Well, you could say I don't have any kind of amnesia, but I forget about valueless things in a short amount of time. Even though this seemed like a quite important one...

Ryu stood straight up again, it still was some kind of uncomfortable, but after all the student didn't attack her after a short amount of time. Lust-driven monster could persist in such situations, but obviously she didn't manage to do something like that. Due her words it seemed like Ryu could be succesful in a fight, but hurting others wasn't her thing.

Um, I'd be glad if you could help me, sure. J-just going to drop that...

The club slightly left her hands, dropping on the ground with a dull sound. It would hurt of course, but at least she didn't have to try out now. Slowly approaching the student, she nodded to herself like all this trouble could've been avoided if she never left the path. But still, she made a new encounter.

Susan let out a sigh of relief when the other student dropped the branch. While she was pretty sure she could've won a fight if it had come to that, she wasn't so sure she'd have been able to do so without taking some pretty bad hits herself. Not to mention that she really didn't want to get into fights with other students.

Guess she's decided that I'm a student. Or that she's got no chance and isn't going to bother trying to fight, she thought as the other girl approached her. The former seemed more likely, given her actions so far.

"Okay. Give me a second to get my bag, um..." She paused for a moment and grinned sheepishly before continuing. "We never got each others' names during all that, did we? I'm Susan. And you are...?"

A shy smile of surprise appeared on Ryu's face as she just noticed the thing Susan had mentioned. Of course the situation turned a heated way somehow, they didn't even manage to exchange their names.

Um, well I am... Ryu. Excuse my bad manners, hehe... So, where is your bag?

Maybe it was her bad summary about things went like that, but she didn't seem to spot any bag. Did she even bring one? Not quite sure... As her eyes flickered across the clearing, nothing seemed to attract her attention but the student in front of her. There was no bag at all, maybe she left it somewhere behind a tree...

While you're searching, um... I just want to talk, you know? Quite uncomfortable place...

It wasn't her usual behaviour, but something at this place changed her in some ways. She disliked it, but it happened anyway, resisting was futile against a force stronger than her. Ryu was still confident as well, but due no monster was around and the one student didn't matter at all, she could drop her cover abruptly.

"Excuse my bad manners, hehe... So, where is your bag?"

"It's just behind that tree." She indicated the tree Ryu was standing by before continuing, "And don't worry about it. Most people don't bother asking someone's name when they're worried that the person's about to attack them." She'd almost said 'attack and violate them,' but that was a little too awkward for someone she'd just met.

"While you're searching, um... I just want to talk, you know? Quite uncomfortable place..."

"That's putting it mildly. Between half the staff seeming to be sex-crazed monsters and more creatures seeming to infest every corner of the island, it's hard not to get completely paranoid." Not to mention them impersonating students. It's all I can do to avoid dropping into a karate stance whenever another student shows up unexpectedly when I'm alone. "I don't even want to think about what they might do to students in detention."