A cramped space gave housing to a man. He looked like an average corporate worker. Wrinkles on his face marked the coming of mid-age, emphasized by the notable white tip on his hair.
The room was dark, illuminated only by the weak light of a computer screen.
A dry voice reached him from the computer's audio speaker.
"Any reports?"
"I can't believe I'm going after a little girl..."
"Oh, please. I will not do anything to the girl herself."
"Who do ya think ya're fooling at this point? I don't know your final objective, and I sincerely don't care, but you disgust me."
"..."
The silence on the other side only made things worse. The man's face contorted in contempt of himself. He couldn't take off his mind why he was doing that.
"Just do what I am asking. I am sure you would not understand the girl's value," the speaker complained visibly.
The call ended with a sudden beep.
The man played with the computer screen until he reached an image. Smirking, he clicked on the image showing an apparent high school girl.
"Suzuki Kuriko. What type of monster are you?"
*****
Suzuki Kuriko could not sleep.
She sat on her bed and looked through the window. The night sky was vacant. Pitch-black darkness was the only thing she could grasp. A chilly breeze invaded her room, forcing her back into the blanket.
"Hmm."
Something was there.
She should have been alone, so why was she feeling like someone was watching her?
Kuriko's attention was drawn toward a single point in the room. There was a figure resembling a rubber duck with large eyes on her desk. Its colorful features contrasted with the dark room.
Kuriko tried to remember when she had bought a rubber duck.
It blinked.
It blinked, then floated through the window.
"Am I seeing things? I should go to sleep."
Kuriko scratched her head and smiled faintly. The lack of sleep was having an effect on her.