Nineteen years earlier . . .
Veikko was eleven years old and walking down a street in Rumoi, Japan. He was feeling somewhat funny at all the various people who stared at him. Many were drawling that word, kawaii.
He rounded a corner and walked past a school. It was at that moment when the bell sounded. Its students filed out in their hundreds and he immediately noticed that they are all teenaged girls.
"Wah! Look at the cute little foreign boy!" One of them squealed while pointing at him.
KAWAII!
They squealed in one voice.
One second, they were closing the distance with him. In the next second, he was grabbed and passed around. His vision was a flurry of breasts and faces as they got pressed against his own face and his scalp. His hair getting grabbed and stroked. He found it hard to breathe.
Those girls squealing, squalling, squawking . . .
Some girls were more considerate, especially the older ones, and they pulled him away from the others and scolded them for their recklessness. They in turn escorted him home. He was disheveled and silent the whole time. Once he got home, he went to his room and cried about it. He never went anywhere alone after that.
Veikko now feels like that little boy all over again as he gets cornered by those gleefully grinning girls against the wall alongside the window. He firmly holds onto his towel at one end.
"Oooo, he's a shy one," one of the girls taunted.
"Is it true that when you were being dried down," the head girl next said to Veikko, "that you caused one of those girls to faint when you got a hard-on, blonde-chan?"
Veikko blushes as he looks off to one side while frowning with widened eyes and shrunken pupils as sweat drops run down the side of his face. The suffix chan was even used toward him. He knows that suffix evokes childlike connotations so it ends up being used toward girls, youthful women, and even animals. But in this circumstance, it is insulting and sexual.
"C-Can you please leave me alone," Veikko said.
"Answer my questions first," the head girl smirked deviously as she leans forward slightly with both hands behind her back while looking up at him.
Veikko glares back down at her for a moment.
"Fine," he muttered.
"What's your name?" The towel thief asked.
"V-Veikko . . . Veikko Ryynänen."
"Veikko Ryynänen," the head girl said thoughtfully as she presses her forefinger against her chin while looking upward with only her eyes. "Your given name actually rhymes with my name, Reiko. I'm Katsura Reiko by the way. And you're from Finland?"
"Yes."
"I've heard of that country! You guys invented the Moomins . . . ! So . . . how old are you?"
"Thirty."
"Really? Are you gay?"
"No."
"Do you have a big cock?" As she looks down while leaning forward; the other girls giggle.
"I don't know," Veikko rasped sarcastically while covering his front with his other hand. "African men are said to have bigger ones."
"May we see it?" As she attempts to bend further down while turning her head upward to peek.
"Leave!" Veikko grunted in a restrained manner as he bends forward.
"When did you first have sex?" Reiko asked instead.
Veikko sighs deeply as he closes his eyes and gnashes his teeth. "I-I didn't."
"Ehhhhh!" They all squealed.
"You're still a virgin!" Reiko exclaimed.
"I-It's not like I'm the only man who's still a virgin," Veikko said icily. "There are men older than me who are still virgins."
"But those men tend to be ugly," Reiko countered.
"So handsome men can't be virgins?"
"It's hard for them to remain virgins. How can you still be a virgin anyway?"
"I like to keep to myself. That and I've yet to meet the right woman."
"What about me?" Reiko asked with casual boldness as she suddenly lifts her gown with both hands to expose her nudity.
"Perkele!" Veikko shouted the curse word unique to the Finns with wide eyes and shrunken irises. His heart skips a beat as he turns his head away on a reflex. He feels the rush of lust flowing through him, causing him to gnash his teeth and his body to react to what he had just seen and he presses his other hand firmly against it. The girls squeal with laughter.
"Well? How about it?" Reiko taunted as she continues exposing herself to him, lowering one of her hands to her femaleness and parting it with her fingers. "You wanna lose your virginity with me?"
"Leave me alone!" Veikko pleaded softly in a strained voice with a pained expression.
"Come on, Veikko-chan," she crooned as she reaches out and clasps the towel end, "I'll even give you a-"
"I guess somebody's well enough to be discharged tomorrow morning," one of the nurses interrupted quite loudly and sarcastically from behind, causing the girls to squeal and jump, "since they are clearly well enough to harass the other patients!"
"N-No, you can't!" Reiko wailed. "I can never get a badge! And there's a group of girls out there who wanna make me their girlfriend!"
"And yet you seemed to forget that, Katsura-san!"
"I . . . I . . . uh!"
"You've overstayed your presence here and are missing classes . . . ! In fact, all of you have!"
The girls take off running as they squeal in fear, the nurse turns to him for a moment.
"Th-Thank you," Veikko rasped.
"Don't mention it," she said in a somewhat whimsical fashion as she gives him a once-over before leaving. He hears the door close.
Veikko takes a moment to catch his breath and calm his thoughts. He goes over to his clothes and takes them. He walks off out of view of the door and first puts his underwear then his pants on before removing the towel. He puts the rest of his clothes on and checks the pocket on his right leg to find his ID still there.
He sits on the bed for a minute when the door opens and a nurse enters wheeling a cart with a tray of food on it. It consists of a bowl of rice, miso soup, and a mackerel. There are glasses of milk and orange juice to go with it too, along with chopsticks and a spoon.
"Word has been sent to the Student Council," the nurse said.
"The Student Council?" Veikko mused. "What about the principal of this school? Wouldn't she want to meet with me?"
"Well," the nurse began in a somewhat uneasy tone, "It's a little . . . complicated here."
She gives him a slight bow and leaves. Veikko begins eating. With chopsticks, he has better skill with firmer or larger portions than with softer or smaller portions.
After he finishes eating, he gets up and looks out the window some more. He is not bothered for the next few minutes.
"Where's that foreigner?" A girl suddenly asked quite loudly out in the hallway out of view.
Veikko walks in full view of the door as he hears the sound of clip clopping getting louder by the second as it is heading in his direction. The girl in question walks into view and stands in the threshold.
She is a tall attractive girl, almost as tall as himself, with long hair and a strong shapely physique that includes thick thighs. Her attire consists of a martial officer's hat; an open ankle-length coat with a high collar that has three star-shaped metallic badges on its left side; an open blouse that reveals a white bandage wrapping around her torso; a card attached to a rope for a necklace; a blue miniskirt with a frayed hemline and held at the waist by a rope-like belt; more white bandages wrapped around her shanks; and wooden square sandals. Those sandals have a pair of thick wooden bars on their soles that have been adding a couple of inches to her height all along.
The girl grins broadly and walks up to him as she continues looking him over. Her sandals clop on the tiled floor.
"Well hello there," she said in a sultry tone. "My name is Sasarano Sara. The Student Council sent me over to escort you to them. What's your name?"
"V-Veikko," he answered as he holds out his hand for her to shake. "Veikko Ryynänen."
"So they told me," Sara said as she takes his hand and briefly shakes it. He is subtly bemused by her strong grip. "They also told me that you understand Japanese but not English. That's weird."
"I'm from Finland. So my native language is Finnish."
"Finland, isn't that where the Moomins come from?"
"Yes."
"Ready to go?"
"Y-Yes, but why not to your principal?"
"Because the Student Council calls the shots around here."
Veikko blinks with bewilderment over that. A bunch of students telling adults what to do! That is when he starts to feel a wrongness to this place.
"I'm gonna join them very soon," Sara continued proudly. "I already have three badges to get their permission to join," as she gestures to those star-shaped badges. "Now let's go."
They pass the doctor, who gives Veikko a slight bow and he nods in return. They turn down various hallways and encounter both patients and staff who pause to stare at him. Many grin and giggle, causing Veikko to feel ill at ease.
"How long has this place existed for?" Veikko asked Sara.
"For several years now. Most girls, especially the older ones, have been here for three years."
Veikko now understands about Katsura Seiko's wailing over being made a girlfriend. And if it were not for the professionalism of the staff, he would have been perpetually subjected to sexual harassment and assault.
They exit the infirmary out into a warm clear sunny morning. Sara's sandals clip clops on the cement-covered ground this time as Veikko follows closely behind. Girls dressed in their school uniforms and carrying their book bags are walking toward the main buildings, either as individuals or in various groups. He has a clearer view of their uniforms now. They consist of a white blazer with a left breast pocket that has a crest attached to it and blue in the cuffs, buttons, pocket edges, and hemline; a blue blouse; a white necktie; a blue miniskirt with a white trim; black socks with a white trim; and black slip-on leather loafers. There are also some of them wearing a red beret and armlet on their left arm.
"I can't help but notice that you're dressed differently," Veikko asked.
"It's because I can," Sara simply answered in a manner of importance.
Veikko next notices that many of the schoolgirls are bandaged, with some even wearing casts, as they had emerged from the infirmary. Come to think of it, the infirmary was practically a hospital, given its extensiveness. As if, these problems are commonplace.
The wrongness becomes clearer.
As expected, and like a row of dominoes, the girls notice him. Veikko's unease increases and tries to look anywhere but at the students. He focuses on the kanji lettering on the back of Sara's coat, even though he has trouble with kanji lettering. Although he comes close to fitting the stereotype of a Finn, supposedly a nation of shy introverts, it was that mauling he had suffered as a boy.
This is one of the disadvantages of the single gender school, especially isolated ones. Most of its students become sensitive to members of the opposite sex. And the longer those students remain within such a place, the more sensitive they can become . . .
" . . . He's gorgeous . . . !"
" . . . He blows my mind . . . !"
" . . . He's from Finland! That's where the Moomins are from . . . !"
" . . . Cute! So cute . . . !"
" . . . Sexy . . . !"
" . . . He knows Japanese . . . !"
" . . . What beautiful hair and eyes he has . . . !"
" . . . So pale . . . !"
" . . . He has such a beautiful face . . . !"
" . . . Sleek and sexy . . . !"
" . . . Nice ass on him too . . . !"
" . . . I heard he's hung like a horse . . . !"
" . . . I would love to ride that horse . . . !"
" . . . You'd probably tear your vagina . . . !"
"Are you okay, Ryynänen-san?" Sara suddenly asked, causing Veikko to snap out of his unwanted rumination and regard her.
"Um . . . Ah . . . I-it's all this attention," he stammered.
"Oh, so you're shy," Sara said with a grin. "Don't worry. We don't have that far to go. It's that big building over there."
She points to the tallest building on the island, which is roughly twenty stories, yet very narrow as it is covered in dark glass paneling at four panes across, save for its corners.
Sara is greeted by a pair of girls. One is wearing a surgical mask and has her hair short on the right side of her head and back, but long on the left side and top so that it is parted on the right and hangs lankly to cover the left side of her face. The other also has shortened hair, but with fluffier ends, and has doe-like eyes with a couple of freckles on either of her cheeks.
"Good morning, Sara-san," those girls said in unison with the customary bow.
"Good morning, girls," Sara replied. "I'm escorting him to the Student Council," as she thumbs back at Veikko with a glance and grin. "So what do you think of him?"
"He is so hot!" The masked girl said slowly and intently with saucer-wide eyes and tiny irises.
"You're so lucky to be escorting him, Sara-san," the doe-eyed girl commented dreamily.
"I know," Sara said, then continues her walk, causing Veikko to follow. He passes her giggling friends and keeps getting the feeling of being jumped until it passes.
They walk past countless girls gawking and chattering about him with glee. He keeps noticing their bandages and casts, but also their badges from the glints of sunlight being cast by them. That is when he notices that just as many, if not more, of those girls are not wearing a badge like the others are.
The wrongness becomes clearer.
"Perkele!" Veikko cursed as he jumps forward from being grabbed by the groin from behind. His heart skips a beat and a rush of desire courses through him.
Pain jabs one of his testicles, courtesy of a finger. He whirls around to confront the girl who groped him to see her standing there with a big grin. She is almost as tall as Sara, but slimmer. Her hair is short behind her ear line and the rest in front is long so that the locks, crudely parted in the middle, hang to her jaw line to emphasize her sturdy face. The sleeves of her school uniform are rolled up to her elbows, and she also wears half-finger gloves.
"What the hell are you doing?" He finally rasped at her through gnashed teeth with a glare.
"Just checking to see if it's true," the girl replied with one eye shut. "And it really is true."
Sara stalked past Veikko up to that girl with a glare to get in her face, causing that girl to sneer uneasily and back away. Sara retreats, with Veikko immediately following her.
"Don't get caught outside, blonde-kun," the girl called.
The wrongness becomes clearer.
As they continue along, Veikko starts noticing that there are some girls glaring at him, showing that not all of the girls are pleased with his presence. Sensitivity to the opposite gender can also cause negative reactions.
They too make their own comments concerning him . . .
" . . . Oh gross, it's that foreign male . . . !"
" . . . He's so big and scary . . . !"
" . . . His presence puts us all at risk . . . !"
" . . . Oh no, he's looking at us . . . !"
" . . . It's almost as if he can see through us with those pale eyes . . . !"
" . . . He's getting turned on by us . . . !"
" . . . He wants to shove that . . . that huge thing of his into us . . . !"
" . . . It's a good thing Sara-chan is here! She's really strong, so she can handle him . . . !"
" . . . I hope the Student Council has him put into a cell until he's removed from here . . . !"
" . . . Foreign men are naturally depraved! That's why they're bigger down there . . . !"
That last comment made him snicker. He wonders what they will think when they hear about the sexual harassment he had been subjected to. If they were lesbians, then they wouldn't have cared about him. Paradoxically, they are every bit as turned on by him as the other girls are; the only difference being is that they are ashamed of their active libidos, and are blaming him for it.
Veikko notices a lot of security cameras stationed at various intervals, with those closest to them following their pace. Why so many cameras in a place as isolated as this?
The wrongness becomes clearer.
Sara and Veikko continue walking past the ogling girls. Many are giving him the fig: a fist with the thumb wiggling out between the fore and middle finger to denote sexual interest.
He suddenly does a double take at a girl no more than twenty feet from him. For a second or two, their eyes meet. Unlike the others, she is silent, but wide eyed. She suddenly blushes. He recognizes her as one of the girls who stayed behind and made the effort to speak with him. He sees a gentleness in her eyes that the other girls don't have. They may look at him with wonderment and delight, but they have a dark look in their eyes. Sara has it too, but it seems more whimsical. With the exception of those who fear him, they look as if they may enjoy the opportunity to have their way with him.
The wrongness becomes clearer.
Amasu Kumi stares at a familiar blonde figure a head taller than most of the girls, causing her to gape with surprise.
It's Veikko-san! He's okay! She thought with relief.
He suddenly does a double take upon looking her way and stops for a moment. For that moment, they stare at each other.
He recognizes me! She thought with astonishment, only to blush over remembering what she was forced to do to him yesterday. She can only hope that he truly was unconscious when she was helping to dry him down.
Kumi watches as they continue their walk. She wonders if they will meet again, or of whether the Student Council will help him. A helicopter only comes to fly students to the island. Supply ships come here too, but only once a week. The last time was yesterday, so he may be here for a week.
Burai Sachiko had been watching them from atop a building all along. She had seen him earlier through that infirmary window. She first noticed him after getting the feeling of being watched. Like herself, the foreigner really sticks out. He is following a girl wearing a long coat as she is leading him toward the Student Council building. Naturally, they will want to meet with him.