The moon was only the barest sliver of light this evening, giving off little more illumination than the stars around it. But then again, out here, in the park-like forested areas of the island school, the stars showed themselves to be as brilliant and beautiful as some of the students on the island below.

It was the perfect night for stargazing, for anyone who came to the area. As it was, this secluded spot, a little clearing with a bright, clean cement path leading to it, was as beautiful as a garden, with many kinds of flowers scattered around in well-tended beds. It was almost like a hidden getaway, prepared for the students to find it, promising a few moments of peace to whoever found it.

Of course, that was precisely what it was designed to do! As tempting as it could be to more restless students, it could more accurately be described as a trap. It was out of the way, and beyond the sight of most students. A small but steady stream of girls came out here. After all, there was a well-made path leading here, and even several small benches for one to sit on.

But it was really here for the monsters, so they could have their fun in peace, with whatever students would come calling. Antipode, for example. He was a strange alien entity that was deeply enjoying his time back at Shokushu, and was already planning his increased activities on the island. For now, though, he had decided on a new student, a recent arrival by the name of Sandy.

Of the girls he'd been examining lately, this one had caught his attention most, and as such he decided to choose her for his next "session." She had unusual sleep schedules for a human, and he was rather curious about such things. Was it an injury? Preference? Genetic thing? Something cultural? One could never guess.

But besides his random curiosity in silly facets of her, she was a prime candidate for all the other reasons as well. He was beginning to fear he was gaining an attraction to these girls, and was starting to find which kinds he preferred the most. And this one... well. He had a feeling she'd be coming here. His calculations gave it a 73% chance, considering what he'd seen before. So... he'd wait. And if she managed to sleep tonight, he'd just go and bother her at her dorm.

:Sandy groaned, walking slowly from her bed to the coffee maker on her desk:

Why? Why now? I was just getting some sleep damn it!!!

:Her body had decided to reset again, right in the middle of the first decent nights sleep she'd had since arriving. The smell of fresh brewing Columbian coffee sent a shiver of pleasure up her spine. A look to the window, then the clock by the bed told her that the night was still young, bringing a grimace to her pale, weary face. At least the stars were beautiful:

Mmggh...maybe just give up for tonight. Take a walk, keep myself awake.

:Sandy thought back on what Darwin had said, mulling over the strange stories. She decided she had probably just misunderstood the boy, as she was often too tired to follow a conversation completely anyway:

Oh Juan....how I love you.

:she murmured to herself as she poured the pot of coffee into a steel thermos, tightly screwing the lid on before capping it. She left the thermos on the desk and moved to her dresser, pulling out a long sleeved maroon shirt, and ankle length black skirt, taking off her nightgown. She hitched up her white cotton bra and panties from where they had shifted in her brief tryst with slumber, before donning the clothes. The ends of the sleeves went all the way to her fingertips, the whole thing one size larger than she needed, but that was the way she liked it. Slipping her feet into a pair of thong sandals, she nabbed the thermos from the desk, along with her room key, and left her room, then the dorm building, picking a path at random and following it, a small flashlight lighting her way:

The night was, indeed, stunningly beautiful. It was dark out here indeed, and as she walked down her randomly chosen path, she would find it getting very dark. There were no streetlights this far out, but nonetheless, the stars and the crescent moon gave just enough illumination for her to tell where she was going. Especially with the addition of her small flashlight.

Finally, she would reach the clearing, which looked like it had been prepared. There were even nice-looking benches here. And a small fountain, near the center, had water spurting out of it. Definitely a garden, but out here, away from the buildings and sites of the main school? Definitely an odd thing, but this place seemed to spare no expense in any detail anyway, so perhaps not SO odd.

Antipode took only a moment to verify who was here. Yes, it was the girl Sandy Channing, who he had been hoping for. Now, it might seem unlikely that Antipode had anticipated this, but the fact was, the entity's mind was vast, in fact, beyond vast. Many layers of consciousness, each with a differing focus or speed, most of which were far beyond that of a mere human mind, communicating with each other and calculating with speeds and abilities far beyond even the imaginations of most humans... Antipode could occasionally seem almost psychic. But even so, when dealing with these humans, he was still imperfect. Particularly because he had to deal with them at their level, and such limited his talents considerably.

Yet handicaps aside, he was still very... focused. And here this girl was, having gone right to where he had figured. His guesses about her mental states had been accurate after all. The monster, pleased, began to send out its tentacles, for now invisible, over the environment. Moving around her without making a sound, she'd soon be surrounded by an invisible, moving wall of tendrils. Soon, he'd capture her. But not quite yet.

But perhaps she'd notice. Perhaps he'd make a mistake, and some sounds... or shadows... would give him away. Or just spook her out. Antipode was too eager to pay enough attention, anyway.

:Sandy ambled into the little clearing slowly, eyes cast upward to the beautiful panorama of stars, smiling brightly. Some things about her condition were pleasant on occasion, such as sights a girl with a normal sleep schedule would never see. She sat down on the edge of the fountain, removing the cap and unscrewing the top of the thermos, pouring herself a still piping hot cup of black happiness, blowing on it gently, her mousy red hair falling in her face and stirring lightly in the breeze:

Mmmm....perfect. Beautiful stars...and a hot mug.

:She sipped the hot liquid slowly, drinking her coffee in its natural state, as always. She looked back up to the stars, swaying slightly from the sudden change in position. The breeze felt so nice. Almost like-:

Hmm?

:Sandy tilted her head to one side as the breeze abated, not like it had dwindled, but like it had cut off completely. She blinked owlishly, turning and playing her flashlight around the area, seeing if there was a statue blocking a change in the flow of air. She had the amusing aspect of a curious raccoon, given her expression and the dark circles around her eyes:

Antipode had the ability to see in the lighting of the night, since there was so much light there... just not in the spectrum humans could use, and so of course got a perfect look of the girl's facial features. Yes, it was interesting, how they seemed to resemble other species on the planet, from time to time. But that was only natural. After all, raccoons and humans were both mammals, and in the grand scheme of things, not far removed from each other either in time or genetics, and in fact were, save some peculiarities such as human brains and certain raccoon features, rather similar, biologically speaking.

But Antipode's alien perspective aside, he knew it was time to act on the young girl. He was aware that she had not been captured by any other monsters... he'd kept tabs on her to be sure of that fact. And now, of course, he knew he'd have to be delicate. Since his goal was the girl's pleasure, and pretty much nothing else, he had to have a light touch.

But nonetheless, time to get the screaming and panic out of the way early. While she looked around, she'd feel something brushing against her leg. It was only for a brief moment, but it would be enough to distract her.

With her attention pointed downward, several tendrils would slip around her wrists. Their odd sensations would come over her, a soft, fleshy texture, a moist feeling, as if slightly they were slimy. The tendrils held her fast, then, and more appeared, wrapping around her ankles in much the same way.

Oddly enough, a tendril clasped carefully around her cup, to make sure it didn't fall to the ground. A bizarre act, but it kept the hot coffee from falling on her, or anywhere else, for that matter.

:Sandra jumped slightly, turning the flashlight on her ankle, thinking a cat or something had brushed it. Her eyes widened as she felt something wrap around her wrists firmly, then her ankles, a small tug in her hand informing her that her cup was similarly bound. Strangely, this seemed to break her out of the momentary shock, her hand clenching reflexively to keep the coffee, her body starting to struggle in the strange grasp:

What the? This is...this can't be...no no no no no no...not real Sandy...Not Real!

:the girl nearly shrieked the last words, struggling against the grasp futilely. She feared, and somewhere in her mind, hoped, she was hallucinating again, silently prayed her exhaustion racked mind was deceiving her, that Darwin had been lying:

The monster could hear her words, of course, and knew it was time to reveal who he was... she'd be afraid for awhile, but it was perfectly natural, considering the situation. She was surprised, and this was her first time, and, well, Antipode was getting used to finding girls on their first time.

It was then that she heard a voice. Hearing it wasn't the correct word, of course, as he was making no sound. The words appeared in her mind, in a voice not her own, clearly foreign, with an odd, alien feeling. They came from no sensation, but seemed to come of their own accord! Some kind of... psychic manifestation?

I know saying this is rather futile, but don't be afraid. There was a slight softness to the voice, a lack of malice, but certainly a hint of emotional distance. My name is Antipode, and I already know your name, Sandy Channing. And yes, I'm what you'd call a monster.

:Sandy went still, her struggles ceasing for the moment. A voice? In...her head? Had sleep deprivation finally driven her that crazy?:

Who...what are you? W-where are you? Why...why are you...doing this to me?

:her voice came out quiet and stricken, almost a whimper, her head jerking around to look at the now visible tentacles holding her limbs, eyes resting on the cup for a long moment as she tried to pull it free, thinking the hot fluid might make a good weapon:

Don't worry, I won't spill your coffee. For now, your struggling will only spill it, which would probably piss you off yet more.

Laughter. That's what it felt like. As if he was laughing, somewhat cheerfully, as part of what he had been saying. Nonetheless, the tentacles around her didn't let go, and didn't show any signs of allowing her to break free.

I guess I can answer your questions. Yes, I'm a monster, and no, you're not dreaming. This is reality, and you're perfectly sane. And why? Well...

Rather a delicate thing to explain to them. He'd found it hard to explain without truly and completely freaking them out. He'd have to figure it out someday, after all.

:Sandy ceased her struggles reflexively, her caffeine addicted mind not wanting to spill the coffee. It took a moment for how ridiculous that reaction was to sink in, but struggling hadn't seemed to do anything anyway:

A..monster? W-What are...you going...to do to me?

:her eyes were wide and panic filled, still searching for the source of the soundless voice. Can it hear me think? What do I do?! Oh please, oh please, oh please wake up!:

Well, a monster is what you would call me. For myself, there are much more interesting names... though none yet in the languages of your species.

The tentacle moved, pulling the coffee away from her, but keeping it safe for now. Oh, he'd give it back to her in a little while, he wasn't taking it permanently, but she might get upset, considering her personality.

As for what I'm going to do to you? I think you know, but I'll be clear anyway. I'm going to stimulate you sexually until you pass out. Don't worry, I don't enjoy human pain, though pleasure... well. You have an addiction yourself... The cup of coffee was raised, then, in front of her face. ... so you probably know how such things work.

:Sandra hung there, stunned, mouth open in disbelief. Sexually?! Darwin wasn't lying! This...this thing was going to rape her!:

Please...please don't...I..I don't need to drink coffee...I can...you know...not drink it...

:she slightly ruined this statement by licking her lips as the cup was raised in front of her face:

Addicted? I'm...I'm not addicted...and...and...

:she trailed off, exhaustion and shock dulling her mind, her head shaking slowly from side to side in futile denial of what was to come:

Antipode was always interested in hearing the differing arguments the girls gave. Yes, they didn't seem to want him to do what he intended... but they quite liked it once he started. Well, after awhile. Perhaps he just wasn't human enough to really get their problem with it.

No, he wasn't. The part of him that he had given human form was starting up again, and so, Antipode figured it was time to let him do his work.

While the tentacles around stayed visible, and poor Sandra wasn't yet moved, she would feel the presence of someone else there now. Someone... not monstery at all.

As he approached, he took the cup of coffee from one of the tentacles, and glanced at her.

Mind if I take a sip? He said, before doing just that. He made like disliking the drink, but then finished it before setting the cup next to the thermos.

Ahh! Hey, I'm Ichigo and I'm taking over this explanation part, since the entity humans call Antipode isn't all that great about it. He just doesn't quite get the human mind yet, you know?

((Ack, I used html format for the italics. Fixed now. So embarrassing.))

:Sandra hung for a long moment in the tentacles, then jerked around to look toward the new voice, eyes jittering from the tentacles to the figure as it took the coffee cup and drank from it, a small squeek of outrage escaping her lips:

Hey...that's-:she realized that the figure was related to the beast trapping her here and bit off her argument, forcing a weak smile: that's...good, isn't it? Uhm....A-Antipode? And Ichigo? Are...you a m-monster to?

:she eyed the figure warily, heart pounding in her chest like a maddened dwarf with a jackhammer. Keep him talking, maybe you can get out of this...stay calm...stay calm...oh God I need a drink...Her eyes went to the cup and thermos for a brief moment, then back to Ichigo:

Ichigo saw her outrage, and where her eyes kept glancing. She was thirsty! And she wanted this stuff... he certainly didn't like it, it was too bitter, the taste too caustic. But, tastes were different from person to person. He poured a new cup, and walked over to her.

Here, take a sip. He moved it close, so she could sip from the cup if she wanted. He couldn't free her arms, unfortunately. She'd rightly decide to try and run for it. And, well, that'd only make things less convenient.

Well, technically, I'm the same monster. A sliver of this entity's personality, placed into the form of a human by technological means that even I get bored thinking about. He smiled softly at her, letting her sip or whatever at will. If she finished the cup, he'd just refill it for her.

I'm afraid I don't have the influence to stop him or anything, though I can't say I approve of his methods entirely anymore... He shook his head, trying to stop going off in that direction. Disagreements were private here. But I guess he let me come here to put you at ease. Yeah, he's a monster, and he's going to use you as he sees fit... but you're pretty lucky, he only likes pleasure, so, well... he blushed slightly, and turned away. He actually seemed embarrassed, thinking about that part. He was more at ease, more apologetic, and oddly enough... more human. But even so, friendly as he was, he still wasn't trying to stop Antipode!