Accurate Sense × Inaccurate Judgement [Dr. Stone]

VII - Unhinged

There was silence in the forest; Taiju and other members of Tsukasa's empire refused to make any sudden noise and movements- all of them, hidden within bushes or on top of branches. There were others who even had the liberty of camouflaging themselves with the environment.

"Do you think Ukyo and the others have managed to lead them here?" Taiju questioned the cloaked girl standing crouching beside her. Her eyes were shut, chin raised catching a whiff of the scent surrounding her. "Kaoru-"

"Shut it" Kaoru hissed, shooting him a glare.

"Sorry" Taiju clammed, quickly focusing on the quiet area before them.

"Are you sure she isn't just faking it?" One male in their group, Gozan, questioned. He glanced at the girl with a raised brow, skeptical of her actions.

"To see is to believe" Kaoru responded, focusing back on tracking down their scent. "It would you mind shutting your mouth? t's already hard to pinpoint Ukyo and the other's scent because of these sweaty men with us, and here you are intoxicating my nostrils with your 2 months' worth of bad breath"

He growled at her words and turned away from the girl. Taiju sensing the tension slowly rising decided to but in, "Come on now guys, this isn't time to-"

"They're coming!" Kaoru alerted them, pulling over her hood. "And boy is it a stampede. Those swine's scents are going to be the end of me-"

"What?!" Everyone who had heard her was confused until one of the men exclaimed. "The swines are here!!!"

"What are you waiting for!?" Instantly Kaoru sprang into action. She grabbed her blade and jumped unto a tree branch, lunging herself unto raging pigs. "It's time to hunt!!!"

At the moment, everyone joined in and charged. Stabbing, clubbing, even tackling the boars- everyone used all their strength to capture as many as they could. After all, this would be their meals for the next couple of days.

After a few minutes of a battle between man vs. pig, the brawl had come to an end. The number of swines caught were 6- much larger compared to the usual catches in the past. Taiju was the first to rejoice to see at the bounty they've acquired.

"This is amazing! We never had a catch like this!" He yelled in victory. "With Kaoru's nose and Ukyo's hearing, hunting has never been so easy! Hooray to Ukyo and Kaoru!"

"Hooray!" Some of the men joined in the cheering.

Kaoru shrugged, "Sheesh, it's not a big deal."

Wanting to distance herself from the rowdy group, she sat by a tree to catch a breather after going through the exhausting activity earlier. She pulled down her hood and let out a deep breath, trying to indulge herself in mother nature's fragrance.

"Good work out there." Kaoru glanced up, seeing a certain male in yellow stand by a branch.

"Y-yeah you too Senpai" She replied, scratching her cheek awkwardly. "You and the other group were mostly doing the heavy work anyways, while I was just playing my part."

Ukyo let out a chuckle as he climbs down the tree and stood beside the seated girl. "Didn't I tell you to stop with the honorifics Kaoru?"

"Y-yeah, old habits kinda die-hard on me" She mumbled shyly.

The male's gaze somewhat softened seeing the bashful expression on the girl's face. He then remarked, "You know, it's nice to see that you're getting along well with others- aside from Yuzuriha and Taiju."

"I wouldn't technically say I'm getting along with them" Kaoru replied as she pulled her knees close, hugging them. "Like I said, I'm just doing my part and helping out in my duties here."