Phew. Another day somewhat completed. Another day of merely lectures, helping and being helped with studies and gossiping. The school part of the day had passed safely, no incidents which Vikky had noticed at all. From the point of time of a certain incident, braving each day had become a feat of courage. Just exiting the dorm-room took determination. But… every day that passed without disastrous incidents was just excellent and they brought a sense of satisfaction. Now the day of classes was over. Vikky’s class had ended slightly later than most others’, so her classmates and herself were among the later to return to the dorms. In some strange turn, Vikky was now walking alone towards the dorms. She had taken too long packing her books. Alright, now then… just getting back.

Vikky was wearing the standard regulation Shokushu uniform, as always during the days. She was walking determinedly, smile covering her face and slight wind blowing through her brown hair as she steadily made her way towards the dorm. The smile was merely to encourage herself. To force herself to appreciate this path that she took each day. Once she had got back to the dorms, she’d feel a lot safer. Presence of more students, and a lot more of such things. If this day should pass on like… most days, then Vikky should be able to get by unharmed one more day. Yeah, she’d be fine. So, she exited the school building and went towards the dorms…

" Vivi? Where are you?"

A school this big can easily baffle an old mind, most especially one that's not familiar to the surroundings. And so it goes that on this day, a lost voice, an old baritone echoes through the halls. Onward trudges a single figure, oblivious to his lonely surroundings and yet looking for someone, someone named 'Vivi' and obviously, someone who was wearing the navy uniform-inspired dress of the campus.

The owner of the voice wandered helplessly through the school corridors. He was wearing what looked like a brown beret, complete with plaid sweaters and crisp, creased pants. He'd been in the school a few hours for what it seemed, and already he was lost. He was thinking that he should've heeded what his granddaughter had said about the school. He didn't know that a few hours only after he'd gotten bolder, he would become helplessly lost in the grounds.

" Vivi??"

Vikky heard something. It was someone calling out for someone, it sounded like. Small danger senses called out within her, but… there was something that sounded rather innocent about the voice. The name almost sounded like hers, well, the beginning of it anyway, so it got her attention. While her mind was warning her… it sounded like merely someone in a bit of a pickle. Vikky paused in her tracks. Um. What should she do? It wasn’t so far from the safety of home. She could act like she had never heard anything and just walked on, getting this day over with. But…

The girl followed the sound of the voice. It was currently past a corner from her position. In the end, her will to potentially be of use to someone had taken over. It wasn’t really a conscious decision. She just… did. Lately Vikky had been feeling guilty about how her lifestyle had changed to compensate for the dangers she had noticed at school. She had become somewhat more socially withdrawn, and her usual training were more difficult to complete via habit than usual. This was an attempt to be the old innocent Vikky again. So she edged her way towards the corner, peeking at whoever was over there.

An old man? She didn’t recognize him as any teacher of hers. But… he didn’t seem at all threatening. In fact, he seemed lost. Just shouting out a name like that isn’t commonly effective unless you know the person is nearby. As far as Vikky knew at this time there weren’t any monsters with human disguises, so she assumed it was entirely safe. Just an old man. … Who was in a bind. Vikky left her hiding place and approached, a little smile on her expression as she held her bag in front of her and toed up to him in a little moment of relief.

“Excuse me? Are you looking for someone?”

The old man looked genuinely lost. He was be-spectacled, wearing eyeglasses that looked like he needed them to see. He was walking around, non-plussed, wearing a jacket and khaki pants, and black loafers. He knew he'd gotten good and lost; the sight of his granddaughter was no where to be seen. He was in real trouble this time, though then again, when was it that he hadn't found himself in these types of situations?

But he wasn't really an old man, so it seemed. The charade continued, though, and he acted the part of lost old man perfectly. He called out again.

" Vivi? Are you there, Vivi?"

He was all set to turn around a corner, looking for a further way out of this mess, when he heard a voice. It was feminine, of the pitch that he so liked to hear. Without even turning around he deduced that this should be one of those petite girlies running around in their real pretty navy-type school uniform, the sailor kind. This uniform tended to show their form without being too revealing, something that piqued his interest...and others, of course. They who lurked within the shadows.

" Oh, my, Vivi, you should..." he continued as he turned around. However, his expression turned to one of helpless confusion when...

" Wait...you're not Vivi..." he stammered.

Upon hearing her voice, it would appear the glassed old man automatically assumed it was the person he was searching for. This almost made Vikky take a few steps back, but… he figured it wasn’t when he laid his eyes on her. Thank god. Vikky kept up her kind little smile for greeting and shook her head a little.

“No, I’m sorry. I’m not Vivi. My name is Vikky Nyberg, student of this school. I was heading back to my dorm, but you looked so lost it didn’t seem right of me to leave you be. So, ‘Vivi’… I’m sorry, but it doesn’t ring any bells to me at this time. Who is she? Is she a student of this school?” Vikky asked, tilting her head in a lightly curious expression. Alright, time for the good action of the day. Helping an old man. … Why was this old man at a school for only girls, anyway? And why was he searching for a special person on it? Those were some questions she could ask… but she wanted to be kind to the old man and not ask too many questions at once.

" I...well...yes, she's a student...my granddaughter, you see..." the old man continued, absent-mindedly scratching his head. He looked hither and there as if he was still searching for someone.

He looked down the hall with a desperation that rivaled hopelessness. There wasn't a soul there. He looked the other way and it was the same: completely empty. It was then that he looked at where the girl came from that he noticed another person was standing in front of him. He looked at her for a moment, before he seemed to realize that hey, here was another soul. He looked surprised genuinely, and began to acknowledge her as he spoke.

" Oh! I didn't notice you there..." he said, " But yes, thank you for talking to me. Name's Lancelot McKarneegan, from out of town." he said. He told her the name which popped up suddenly in his mind.

He looked around again, and it was still completely empty.

" But my, my...I seem to be completely lost...and good, at that..." he said, the normal hopelessness seemingly coming back to his face.

... Oh, gee. Vikky had just been nodding at how he was apparently searching for his granddaughter, when suddenly it almost was as if the old man forgot she was there. Thankfully, he seemed to regain his memory of their conversation when he saw her again. Was he… that old? That stage of life? How indeed had he got to Shokushu by himself in order to visit a relative? As far as Vikky knew it was strictly forbidden for anyone other than students and teachers to come here unless they had some really official business. … But… visiting a relative didn’t sound very… official. She had to ask about that. But… one step at a time.

“Lancelot? Wow.” She could only imagine how it would have been to encounter a young man called Lancelot way back in the past. No wonder he had kids. “So, are we searching for a Vivi McKarneegan, or did the last name change somewhere along the way?” Vikky asked, bright little smile on her lips. “In any case, at this hour most students not engaged in irregular activities will be back somewhere in the dorms. But, just shouting out her name will not likely get you far. So, let’s go. I’ll help you.” Vikky took a hold of one of the old man’s hands in order to lead him to places in the dorms. She would make sure to keep a pace the old man could handle, she didn’t know yet how healthy he was. But, in any case. Now to find a girl.

She wasn't a definitely tough cookie to crack, thought the old man. She bought his story hook, line, and sinker. How far, though, he wasn't exactly sure. All he knew was that things was about to get a little exciting from here on in, and the old man had no qualms about that, none at all.

She was wise about putting one and one together, though. She talked about how and why there were no more students present during that time, and what she had thought about this 'Vivi' girl, and the surname.

" Oh, she's a McKarneegan, alright." he said. " She's my son's daughter. Bright little peach, she is, bright little peach..."

His eyes looked in the horizon again, as if he was thinking about something deep. It seemed the old man had episodes of thinking that had this kind of effect on him. However, he seemed to snap back to reality, and gave the girl a smile as he was surprised with the next action that she did.

She took his hand. As he grasped her hand, it was soft, delicate, almost the kind of hand that didn't know any kind of menial work whatsoever. It was such a delight to feel her hand, that he thought, maybe the rest of her felt the same way...or better? He smiled with this thought, and he unconsciously squeezed her hand gently. He also unconsciously developed a hard-on, absent-mindedly not making any fuss of it, and just focusing on that dainty little hand.

Vikky did know the small things which she didn’t think fit together. But she gave the old man the benefit of the doubt because… frankly, she had let her guard down because he appeared like an old man.

She nodded to him. Alright, then she had a name which to search for. The old man seemed to consider something, but then returned to reality. Gee. Who in their right mind let this kind of person here without any sort of guide? He had been stranded here all lost and all by himself… if he arrived at the island, shouldn’t they have been able to spare at least a single person to make sure he didn’t get lost just like this? There were monsters out there! Vikky knew they raped girls, but… what would they do to an old man? She almost shivered trying to think about it. … Oh, yeah… there was the possibility that his granddaughter had been raped… As far as Vikky knew, it might even be likely…

As she led the old man to the entrance area of the dorms, because she figured there might be a list of people living there here, she continued to wonder. Vikky had actually never bothered to look for such a list, she knew where she lived and that was about it. But… she turned too curious not to ask. “Say… how did you get here? I thought this island was off-limits to all but staff and students.” She turned her eyes to the eyes of the old man whose hand she was leading, interest visible in her expression.

" Well, frankly I don't know myself..." he said, answering the girl. " All I know is I wanted to see Vivi. It's been so long since I've seen her."

" There were these two guys at the airport. Said they knew my granddaughter and that they can take me to her if I wanted. Figured I'd take a chance, so I said yes. Next day, I packed up, boarded a plane like they told me to. It was a strange plane, by the way..." his sentence started to break off, as he looked in the distance again. There seemed to be a moving bush where he looked, and he squinted, his eyes becoming mere chinks. He wanted to move, but he just stood there, rooted on the spot.

"...next thing I knew, I heard the landing gear, and bingo! Right on the island, I saw my granddaughter waiting for me! Excited to be with her, I never let her off my sight, except when...something...or someone...hit me. Next thing I knew...I was here, and my granddaughter..." he trailed off again, as a cool breeze blew in from the lagoon. He was silent again, looking on the floor.

"...my granddaughter simply...disappeared."

There was another commotion near the bushes. Ignoring the girl, he started to move toward the direction of the bushes, looking surprised and confused, as he wanted to see what was happening. He slowly squinted once again, trying to make sense of things and events. What was that? It seemed there was a claw in there...if he wasn't mistaken, that was a single claw he saw...

… Wh-what’s up with that story? He was simply allowed to come here? Was that just because they felt like being kind? Vikky looked at him in surprise. So, there actually IS possible to go either way? … Is it? … But… if her granddaughter had been there… and then something hit him… that would mean that something hit him because Lancelot was in the way. Which meant… if his granddaughter was there waiting for him, but not anymore… There was only one possibility. A monster had disturbed their happy reunion, bashed the old man aside and taken the girl for himself… Vikky looked somewhat down all of a sudden. She hadn’t looked in the direction the old man was looking, since she figured he looked out into nothingness at times.

… But then he started to move in that direction. Of course Vikky was still holding his hand, which meant either release, follow along or restrain. … The first she wasn’t about to, and the last felt bad to do to an old man. So Vikky was suddenly walking along, however doubt and surprise were alive in her expression and it was certainly the old man leading right at the moment. “H-hold on. That’s not the direction we’re going. The dorm-rooms are right over there, we should try finding Vivi’s room. This is… the wrong way…” A little fear was going through Vikky, because what could be in the bushes without her knowledge…

" No, but...there's...wait..."

There definitely was something in the bushes. It was noisy, a low grumble can be heard whenever the wind sifted through the bushes and he knew there was something within those bushes. A little nearer, and he was sure he can see the glimmer of a light...a light that hit its eyes...and a little suddenly, something shot at him from the bushes. He was hit square on the face, and he fell flat on his bum. It was sudden and it was surprising, to say the least, but he still brushed himself off.

" What..."

It was the half of a shoe. It wasn't eaten or anything; on the contrary, it looked perfectly whole, as if someone removed it recently and threw it at him. The problem, however, was that a thin sheen of what looked like a whitish, viscuous liquid that covered the shoe. It wasn't a very uplifting sign, still, he welcomed it. But there was something about it that showed him something...dangerous.

" V-Vivi?" he said, suddenly walking a little faster than usual. It was automatic; he suddenly let go of the girl's hand, and walked a little faster than usual. " Vivi??"

Vikky finally focused her attention on the bushes when the grumble could be heard through the wind. She blinked and stared in dumb surprise, following the old man a few extra steps. S-something in there? That… that cannot be good. Then she was as surprised as the old man when a shoe was shot into his face from whatever was in the bushes. Vikky managed to keep upright even when holding his hand when Lancelot fell backwards. The shoe… was covered in some white liquid, Vikky didn’t have to guess what it was. Then… the old man stood up, released Vikky’s hand and got going, saying the name of…

… That was Vivi’s shoe!? … You have one impressive check of what shoes the granddaughter you hadn’t met in very long was wearing for shoes, remembering it in that single reunion cut short… wait, now isn’t time for that! If that’s the case, the monster that raped her is right over there, and he’ll be quite as capable of bashing the old man aside this time and that time… W-wait… doesn’t that mean… Vikky’s fear was intensified. And yet, she felt responsible for the old man now.

Even when left behind, Vikky ran to him to grab his arm and pull him back. “W-wait! You shouldn’t do that! I-if that was Vivi, she’ll return eventually…” … Indeed… maybe naked and filled with white liquid, but she’d come back… “B-but if you continue like this… I’ll be in danger…” Vikky could be snatched just as Vivi had been. In fact, if they were close enough that the monster spit shoes at Lancelot, he undoubtedly had noticed her as well. This… this didn’t bode well… maybe she should have ignored the old man after all…

He looked behind at the girl as she tried to bring him back in.

" B-but...you don't understand...my granddaughter, you see, she's...she..." he tried to speak through manic eyes. He looked helplessly at the now still bushes, as something heavy seemed to have ran away from the bushes, speeding through the land behind them. If one would look, the rustling seemed to move through quickly, until everything became still and silent.

" She's...Vivi..." he said breathlessly, helplessly. He stood rooted to the ground, then slowly sank to the floor. There were some drops from where he stood, drops of water as a proof of his failure to come to terms with the fact that maybe it was his granddaughter who was dragged away by...by...whatever that was. That spit this show as well, a shoe that was the only sign of Vivi now. He didn't cry, though; he seemed too bewildered to do so.

He started rocking back and forth, then collected the shoe. He looked at the far distance, muttering incorrigible words and looking at the far distance. He couldn't speak...he wasn't able to. He only remained breathing heavily, and every now and then something that sounded like 'Vivi' was spoken from his mouth. How could this happen.

Finally, when he seemed to come to terms, he looked at the girl, and asked her an epic question.

" What kind of place is this?"

She managed to hold him off going into there long enough for whatever that was in there to run away. Vikky could sigh in relief, but the old man said that… and now she couldn’t help but feel guilty. Lancelot sank down, Vikky releasing him when there no longer was any reason to withhold him. He… he seemed so down, suddenly. But… what he had said. It sounded almost as if he had said that the monster was Vivi. ‘She’s Vivi’. … But that would be far beyond anything Vikky had ever heard about. In the end, she could only stand there by his side, waiting for the old man to feel better or herself to feel less guilty…

… Then he asked that question. What kind of place…? Vikky looked at him with somewhat sad eyes. The answer to that question… he probably didn’t want to hear it. But yet, he wanted it. Vikky could provide part of the answer, that there were large monsters raping girls here that none outside the school knew, nobody could leave and that no girl seemed to be harmed significantly. But she couldn’t answer neither why, where, when or what. Only how. She was hesitating. Why was she the one that had to tell him his granddaughter had been raped by an indescribable monster? Oh, gee…

“… If I tell you…” Vikky’s voice quivered slightly. “… they won’t allow you to fly home again…” That… that should be clear enough… shouldn’t it…?