Petrified | Dr. Stone

06.

This story will follow the manga and will contain spoilers.

I do not own anything except for my oc. Enjoy! :)

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The newcomer froze on her spot as soon as she saw Inoko and Ukyo standing in front of her. The crumbled pieces of stones that she had just collected fell to the ground because of the shock which prompted a small squeak from her.

Inoko shifted her gaze from Yuzuriha to Ukyo, not knowing what to do. She squirmed, looking only at Yuzuriha's face, feeling uncomfortable by the other female's choice of clothing. Growing up, she was taught to be modest and to be conservative. The shortest she has worn was their school uniform which is 2 inches above the knee. She tried to hide her blush by looking down to the ground when she saw the side breast of the woman peeking out from the slit of their dress.

Yuzuriha hurriedly picked up the pieces of stones that she dropped. It was placed in a small bag and it was scattered all over the place. As she observed the stones, Inoko can't help but notice that some pieces resembled human body parts. "Those stones..." she thought. "Is she collecting the broken human stones? What is she planning to do with them?"

Ukyo stepped forward, crouching down to help Yuzuriha pick up the stones, leaving Inoko the only one standing. She held down an 'eh?' as she watched the two of them. She doesn't want to be rude. Quickly following Ukyo's actions, she moved her hair to the side and tucked some of it behind her ear. Silence continued with a hint of awkwardness as the three of them picked up stones. Inoko, however, has her brows furrowed as she noticed things and more questions runs through her head.

"There is nothing but stones in this, but this no doubt used to be a person. It is disturbing how there is no flesh even though it was already in pieces. This means that humans are turned into stone up to the core. I can't even see a trace of blood in this. If I didn't know then I would assume that this was just a broken sculpture."

"Speaking of sculptures..." Inoko stopped as she stared at the broken stoned finger she's holding, "This reminds me of those greek sculptures. Those are weirdly realistic that it is kind of creepy..." she placed it on the small basket where Yuzuriha holds the stone pieces. "... especially now that we know that it is possible to turn humans into stone..."

"My, Inoko... what's with the sudden dark thought?" Ukyo said, smiling uncomfortably at the topic. "Are you saying that humans turning into stones are a thing even from the ancient times?"

"Ah! I'm sorry!" and she's back to her usual shy self. "It's just that... it's... um..." she tried to reason her comment, her voice fading out until no words came out of her mouth. Ashamed, she grabbed her haori and hid her face behind it. "I'm sorry! Forget what I just said!"

Yuzuriha, who stayed quiet the entire time, stared in wonder at the new face. Tsukasa asked her to make clothing for a new person a few days ago. She must be the new person then, seeing that she's wearing the garments that she worked for days. The brown haired girl smiled as she watched her interact with Ukyo. This girl held a different vibe from the rest of the people they are with. It is kind of refreshing, but she wonders what did Tsukasa saw in her to make him revive her.

"You're new here, right? I'm Yuzuriha Ogawa. It's nice to meet you."

Inoko peeked through her haori. Her face warmed up as she shyly smiled at the woman. "I'm Seiji Inoko. It's nice to-"

"YUZURIHA!"

Inoko almost squealed. The owner of the voice repeated Yuzuriha's name over and over again until he reached their position. It was a man with spiky brown hair and noticeably thick eyebrows. He wore a sleeveless cloak that is tied together by a rope and wears boots as a footwear. He carries a much larger basket on his back containing various kinds of fruits. "This person must be Taiju." Inoko concluded.

"Yuzuriha! I brought lots of fruits today!" he said-- no, he shouted.

"That's great, Taiju-kun!"

Inoko, being an observer, did not miss the way Taiju's face heat up when Yuzuriha directed her attention to him. Yuzuriha also sported the same look, her cheeks painted with a light shade of red that it almost went unnoticed. She tilted her head. "Are they dating?"

Taiju looked at the remaining two people, especially to Inoko. His brown eyes widening in curiosity. A soft hum can be heard for a few seconds coming from him before it was replaced by a large grin stretching on his face.

"I'm Taiju Oki! You are?" he introduced himself, stretching out his big hands for a handshake.

Inoko had to take a step back, overwhelmed by his enthusiasm. She did not expect this from the person that Tsukasa is suspicious of. "I'm Seiji Inoko. Just Inoko is fine." reluctantly, she reached for his outstretched hand and shook it genty. Although it was a bit in vain since Taiju shook their hands fast and with more force that Inoko thought her arm will be removed from its rightful place.

Yuzuriha and Taiju looks to be about the same age as her, if not a bit older than her. "If we were the same age in the modern era, will the time of our de petrification affect our age? If Yuzuriha-san and Taiju-san were revived a year ago, would that mean that they are now a year older than me?" Her brows furrowed further, earning concerned glances from the three. "Wait wait wait. If that were the case, then I will be older than my parents in no time! EH?!"

While she was having a dilemma inside her head, Ukyo looked up above the sky to observe the position of the sun. If his estimation is correct, then it will be noon by now. He tipped his hat down, allowing his eyes to adjust after being momentarily exposed to the bright light of the sun.

"Well then, I will be taking my leave now." he announced.

Inoko looked at him in shock. "Why? Don't leave me here..."

As if reading her thoughts, he explained himself. "I will be doing my hourly patrol in the forest, maybe even bring some meat if I'm lucky."

Inoko just looked down, disappointed but she can't really do anything about it. Besides, it's not like Ukyo-san is going to be away for a long time. Her face warmed up in realization. "We barely knew each other and we literally just met this morning. Why am I already acting so dependent to him?"