Burning Bright

Consequences

"..." Yarai wasn't really happy with the new sleeping arrangements that would come into effect in about twelve weeks, but he decided it was better than having some pervert like Suzuki and who knew how many other boys peeping on Torako while she tried to change.

"I bet you're relieved, huh, Saki?" Shigeno said slyly. "They're going to separate Fukui-san and Yarai for you."

"That's... right," Segawa said, happy that Torako would be away from him, but unhappy that it meant she would also be separated from him.

All around a lot of the boys and some of the men were grumbling about the new living conditions. Which, in the girls' minds, meant that they clearly had been intending to try something they wouldn't have liked and cemented their opinion that this was the right decision.

—∞—

For the next few days they had fish as their meat, because it was quicker and easier to fish with the net than it was to hunt, but people began to get tired of it, so the hunters went back out again while the others continued to work. This time the lolicon trio went with them.

"If we bring back something good, Miina-chan will praise us!" Heero said.

"Yeah!" the other two cheered.

"They're in good spirits..." Yamato remarked. Yarai and Torako led the group, looking for signs of any animals that might be close by.

"I wonder if the new living conditions will really work out..." Akira said. He had agreed to it, but he didn't like being separated from Rion.

"Even you're saying that, Sengoku?" Miayuchi asked, disappointed in him.

"Shh!" Torako said as she and Yarai halted the small company. "These tracks were just made..."

"What is it?" Akira whispered.

"We're going back," Torako said. "Quickly and quietly..."

"Why?" Yamato asked.

"These look like boar tracks..." Torako said.

"So? that's good, isn't it? We can eat some wild pig—" Yamato said.

"Do you have any idea what wild boars are like?" Torako asked. "Never mind! I'll explain later—we're getting out of here now."

"It's not like you to shy away from a little—" Miayuchi started to say, but Torako cut her off.

"From the size of these tracks, the animal that made them weighs about one ton... It's probably about the size of a black rhino!" Torako said.

'Eh? Weighs one ton... about the size of a rhino... I've heard this before...' Akira thought, trying to think when.

"And if it's like modern boars, it'll have thick layers of fat that will make it difficult to penetrate into its internal organs and kill—" Torako said, but then she and Yarai froze.

"What—" Yamato said, but Yarai held up a hand up to cut him off.

"Straight ahead..." Yarai said quietly. "By the tamarind tree... Don't make a sound." He pointed to the spot.

"..." Akira and the others looked where Yarai was pointing.

"!—" they all gasped, but quickly silenced themselves. Torako had been right about the animal that left the tracks. It was huge with a thick, muscular body and comparatively thin, spindly legs. There were long rough bristles sticking out around its neck and up out of the hunch on its back between its shoulders. Its ears were small, it's snout was long, and its mouth was full of sharp teeth with long canines. It's head was massive compared to its body. It was eating one of the large rabbit-like creatures (which Mariya had said were nuralagi.) Its teeth stripped away the flesh of the nuralagus it was eating with terrifying ease.