Chapter 3 Raptor / Etsudo Morita

Narumi Uchida sprinted through the brush, leaving the Spinosaurus to himself to figure his situation out. She could see the road to school again, and she did not have much time till the first period started.

She hopped over a shrub with ease and was back on the asphalt. Kicking off in a run, she hurried to Soru Academy. Narumi started to notice it, she was running faster than she could ever do before. Narumi reached the school's main building entrance without even needing to catch her breath. With a quick change into her indoor shoes, she climbed up the stairs quickly to the second-year level. Taking a turn from the stairs her classroom was in her sight, and swiftly she entered in.

Narumi laid her eyes on one student in the classroom, Matabei Itou. He was at the back corner of the classroom along with his peers chatting away.

One down. Narumi thought, making her way to him. "Itou."

As he heard his name called, Matabei turned around. He quickly breathed out a relieved exhale. "Oh. Uchida, oh thank god."

Taking his leave from his peers, Itou went up to her and said, "Look, I need to talk to you."

Narumi paused to figure out what he meant, till she felt hollow realizing Matabei's case. Whatever was going on with all of them, it occurred with Matabei the previous night just like Narumi. She looked around, people merely gave a glance but returned to their own devices. Narumi leaned forward and whispered, "It happened to you last night?"

Matabei had a slightly confused face, "Y-Yeah. Y-You know what happened?"

"We need to get out of here. Kohaku Taiyo is waiting for me in the forest on the road to school. He changed already, and he's a giant dinosaur I'm not kidding. And I have to get Morita out of here too."

"The freshman? Outside of school right now?" Matabei gawked. "He's changed? Dinosaur? Oh…shit. Oh, I got to see this."

With a gaming look on his face, Matabei did not wait for Narumi and bolted out of the room leaving Narumi a little confused by his impulsive move.

Okay, now for Morita. Narumi thought. A quick scan across the class and Etsudo Morita was in Narumi's sight, seated by the inner side of the classroom on the second row. Etsudo Morita on her part paid no mind to the exchange between Narumi and Matabei, putting her attention on her books.

It was not until a shadow cast above her that took her attention away from her studies. Etsudo raised her head, seeing Narumi standing tall over her.

"Morita." Narumi said.

"Uchida?" Etsudo asked.

"Look I know this is sudden but we need to get out of the class."

That got Etsudo taken aback, and softly squeaked, "Get out of class?"

Narumi nodded, "Yeah. Look, something is going on with our excursion group yesterday. I can only explain if we're out of the classroom okay?"

Etsudo was getting nervous, "Out of the classroom? Y-You mean cut class?"

Before Narumi could respond, the door slid open and Yukari Tachibana entered the class. The teacher announced, "Morning everyone, alright settle down take your seats."

The chatter from the students soon died down and they went back to their seats, except for Narumi who was still standing by Etsudo's side rather put off by her teacher's timing.

"Uchida? Sit down, I'm starting the class already." Yukari said told her.

Narumi's jaw hung at the struck-out luck in her situation, giving Etsudo a look before returning to her table. She hissed, "You got to be kidding me."

Narumi took her seat at the back of the class, with Ryouko on her right. And Ryouko immediately leaned over and asked, "Where the hell were you? I called you earlier."

"Just ah, well um…" Narumi left the sentence hanging until she figured out a cover, "You know yesterday's trip to GenaTech. I needed to meet with one of the teammates about the form we submitted."

"Hah?" Ryouko raised an eyebrow. "Was it so important you had to be late in class?"

"I'm not late." Narumi shrugged, "I'm here now, just in time."

"Shh." A classmate on their right shushed them and the lesson began.

The first lesson of the day was chemistry, a subject Etsudo excelled at along with other subjects of sciences. And she gave her full attention to her teacher as Yukari began writing out a chemical equation on the blackboard.

After about a few minutes, however, she suddenly felt something hitting her on the head from behind, something that felt light. It took her completely by surprise and she almost gasped. It landed on the floor and Etsudo realised what it was, a small piece of crumpled paper. Turning her attention to where the paper had been thrown from, she spotted the one who was making a small wave at her.

"Morita." Narumi whispered across the classroom.

Confusion and reluctance were all in Etsudo's mind, not knowing what to make of the situation. Deciding that she wanted no part of it, she timidly turned her attention back to Yukari teaching the class.

About a minute later, however, another crumpled paper hit her head. Now she had a frown, turning around she gave a disapproving look at Narumi.

In which Narumi responded with an impatient look, and she held a paper up with a sign for her.

'Open it dammit!'

Etsudo read the message, she picked up the crumpled paper and opened it. Another message was in the paper for her.

'Just trust me, this is serious. I need you to go to the bathroom or the infirmary. Just tell Yukari-sensei that you're sick or something. Quickly! Before it's too late!'

Etsudo's face scrunched up with confusion, turning her head back to Narumi. Narumi urgently nodded at her, prompting her to be quick. Etsudo Morita became quite apprehensive.

She did not know Narumi Uchida very well, only that she was in her class, she had better than average grades, and she was a decent enough person. And also most of the student body fawned over her. Mainly due to her boyish looks and personality.

Looking back at her, Narumi's eyes were even more intense, telling Etsudo to get moving already. Hesitation still took hold of Etsudo. She did not know if Narumi was pulling something on her, but for her to send this kind of message and because she had mentioned about the previous day with the field trip, she had to be serious.

Looking back at her one more time, Narumi's urgent expression did not change. Etsudo bit her lip and was finally compelled, Etsudo raised her hand, "Um, sensei?"

Yukari turned around to her student. "Yes, Morita-san?"

"Can I uh go to the uh infirmary? I'm uh-" Etsudo's sentence was cut short when a sensation in her ribs took hold, causing her to clutch her side.

Narumi's eyes went wide and her heart skipped a beat. Oh god no!

"Are you alright Morita?" Yukari asked with concern, seeing her student's state.

"Sensei!" Narumi shot up from her seat, "I'll bring Morita to the infirmary." She did not wait for Yukari to give an approval. Swiftly maneuvering through the seats in the classroom, she grabbed Etsudo who was still hunching over.

"Come on Morita we got to go now." Narumi pulled Etsudo her way and out of the classroom, leaving the class to be in confusion.

In the hallway, Narumi held Etsudo by her arms trying her best to keep Etsudo on her feet and they rushed to the infirmary.

"Morita stay with me. Come on we got to go." Narumi hurriedly said, feeling the tremble in Etsudo's body. Etsudo's eyes were still clamped shut, she still clutched onto her ribs.

"W-What is this?" Etsudo whimpered, horror overwhelmed her as she felt her body starting to grow.

Finally, at the end of the hallway, the infirmary was right at the corner. Etsudo's eyes burst open and she gasped out, Narumi caught sight of Etsudo's eyes. The sclera in each eye was black, and each iris was a bright yellow.

"Oh God." Narumi breathed out, quickly scanning the empty hallways, she slid the infirmary door open. "Get in Morita quick, and take off your uniform." Narumi hastily said, she shoved her inside and she locked the door.

Etsudo's body started stretching out. Narumi quickly assisted in trying to remove Etsudo's blazer off her. Just as she pulled it off over her head, however, her body expanded too much starting with her torso. Her upper body expanded in its girth. Her arms and chest built up on muscles and grew out of her human proportions.

The fabric of her shirt started to tear, Etsudo's legs started to stretch and her muscles hardened and bulked up. She kept huffing out as her body changed, her hips were stretching out of position, her skirt buckle could not hold the pressure any longer and it snapped.

Her hands were stretching out, and her ring and little fingers on each hand regressed into her palm. The remaining three fingers in each hand stretched with each nail lengthened and sharpened into claws.

Sounds of cracking bones were all over Etsudo's body, her skin was turning into deep greyish-blue scales all over her. All this time her human voice was dissipating, shrilling snarls and hisses were soon in place. Etsudo's tailbone had protruded out, stretching out from her rear into a nimble tail.

Her shoes and socks could not contain her feet and got ripped apart with Etsudo's feet, which were no longer human. Her big toes turning into claws had been stretched back right to her ankles, her little toes had regrew into her foot, and her remaining toes were changing into claws.

With each of her second-digit toes, the claws grew even bigger compared to her other toes. Turned into massive sickle-like talons. Her face stretched forward, her mouth became a snout and all of her teeth sharpened into fangs.

Narumi watched by the door and what before her was another dinosaur by her educated guess. This time thankfully, a dinosaur that could fit in the room.

Etsudo was standing at nearly six feet tall and on sickle-clawed feet, her long hands having three talons each, a long and agile tail at her back, her snout filled with sharp teeth and her yellow bird-like eyes peering at Narumi.

Raptor, the wolf of the Cretaceous. That what was Etsudo Morita had turned into.

"Oh god." Narumi gasped.

Etsudo bobbed her head, turning it to check her body. Her bluish scales, her clawed hands and feet, her tail. She started to panic. Etsudo opened her maw, but before she could make any noise Narumi quickly stepped in, holding her snout shut. "Shhh. Morita, keep it quiet, you're going to startle anyone around."

Narumi struggled to get a firm grip as Etsudo kept bobbing her raptor head around. Hisses and purring came out of Etsudo's throat. Narumi could feel the breath from the Raptor's nostrils.

"Morita, you got to calm down. Just keep it quiet." Narumi said, starting to get agitated with the Raptor's panic, she released her grip on Etsudo's maw. Narumi could hear the Raptor's breathing starting to regulate.

"Alright." Narumi exhaled, now taking in the sight of the dinosaur. "Morita, you understand me right? Nod if you do."

Narumi was able to make out the said gesture from the Raptor.

"God, this doesn't make any sense." Narumi began picking up Etsudo's uniform clothes and torn fabrics all over the floor.

Narumi then asked her, "Are you in pain anywhere, are you hurting?"

A shake of Etsudo's head was her answer.

"We gotta get you out of here." Narumi's eyes started to dart around until they spotted her solution. "Out the window, quick."

A squawk came out of the Raptor. Narumi could see the apprehension, she said, "Come on Morita, no one can see you. Now come on, let's go."

Narumi started shoving Etsudo towards the window, her Raptor talons scraped across the floor. With all of Etsudo's ripped clothes in one hand, Narumi slid open the window with the other.

"Come on let's go. Get over the window." Narumi said. The raptor poked her head out of the window. Another questioning squawk came out of Etsudo.

"It's just the second level come on, you can do it. Come on quick before someone arrives, unless you want someone to see you like this." Narumi impatiently prompted her to move.

Etsudo nervously lifted one leg and planted it on the frame of the window, she hoisted herself up and perched herself on the window. The Raptor stayed up on the window frame for a second, reluctance still gripping Etsudo. A knock on the door, however, got Etsudo and Narumi's heart to jump.

"Uchida? Morita?" Yukari Tachibana's voice was on the outer side of the door.

Oh Goddammit! Narumi's face paled and she instantly placed her hands on the Raptor's haunches.

"Go Morita, go! Quick!" She hurriedly hissed at Etsudo.

She gave one final push to Etsudo by her rear, and out the window, the Raptor went, right into the shrubs on the ground floor.

"Uchida? Are you there? Morita?" Yukari asked again, knocking on the door.

Oh shit! Narumi made her move.

"I'm coming in." Yukari drew the door open and stepped in. But her students were not in the infirmary. "Uchida? Morita? Are you here?" She went to check the beds but they were empty. The next thing that caught her attention, however, was the opened window.

"Uchida, Morita. Where did you two go?" Yukari questioned.

On the ground floor, the two girls in question had managed to flee from their teacher. Narumi picked herself up falling into the shrubs, right alongside the Raptor.

Shaking it off, Narumi was both relieved and surprised that the fall did not even land a single scratch on her. Oh god.

Stepping out of the vegetation. Narumi patted the dirt out of her clothes and said to the dinosaur in the bushes, "Come on Morita, we're taking a leave of absence today."

Now over the fence, Matabei was in an adventure in his own head, looking for a dinosaur in the forest which was also his junior schoolmate. Getting a head start from Narumi and Etsudo, he trekked through the woods filled with sakura and maple trees.

Uchida said he was around here somewhere…maybe I should have waited for Uchida. Matabei thought, in his excited impulse he went ahead of Narumi and Etsudo to look for Kohaku, a dinosaur.

Though, his impulsive action was in a way, a blanket on his anxiety over the issue, especially what had happened to him prior.

***

It was last night, Matabei had reached his home situated in the neighborhood not too far from Soru Academy. He stepped into his house and took off his shoes. "I'm home."

However, there was no one to respond to him. Lately, his home had been repeatedly empty at this time in the evening. His parents would not be back from work until nine or ten at night.

"Only in a biotech company do I get pranked by a stink bomb. The smell better not be permanent." Matabei grumbled to himself and dropped his bag on the couch. "I better shower first."

Getting into the bathroom, Matabei took off his school uniform and stepped into the shower. The water rained down on him, he had no warning of what would come in the next moment. It took hold of Matabei, causing him to hunch over. His core shook violently, he stumbled out of the shower. Without any control, he swung his hand across the sink toppling over toothbrushes and shampoo bottles. There were no words from Matabei. Instead, a primal sound came out from the bathroom. The door burst open and out came Matabei, still wet from the shower. He crashed into the opposite wall and he dropped to his knee holding his abdomen tight. He strained his head up and his eyes burst open, the sclera in his eyes was an animalistic blue. Matabei's muscles started to grow. His arms started to stretch out beyond human limits. His little fingers regressed into his palms. His ring fingers, however, bent backward and stretched out to a horrid length of four meters. In the process, a membrane stretched out from below his arms, from his ring fingers all the way to his knees. His feet cracked into shape, his little toes grew back into his feet and the remaining toes stretched with the nails on all limbs turning into claws.

His rear grew out a short tail reaching nearly two feet long. His neck stretched out and his face cracked into it new form, his mouth expanded forward into a long narrow snout, and an arcing crest formed at the tip of the upper and lower snout. His teeth sharpened into needle-like fangs. His muscles grew and hardened, turning lean in its peak form far beyond human. A creature bigger than a human with folded wings. A wingspan of nine meters cramped up in the house's hallway.

Tropeognathus. A pterosaur, a flying reptile, and the undisputed king of the skies in its prime. The pterosaur perked his head up and he opened his beak. But what came out of his voice was an otherworldly sound instead. A squawk with a mix of hissing and snarling. He clamped his snout shut immediately. He tried moving his feet, all that did was force him to lean forward and place his hands on the floor. It felt incredibly awkward for him, having to walk on all fours to finally get to the bathroom mirror to see himself.

The response was a surprised caw from the pterosaur. But after a pause, he slowly took a good look at himself. The beak, the wings, the body structure, he actually recognized it. It was the extinct flying reptile from the documentaries he had watched when he was a small child. He leaned forward, getting a closer look at himself in the mirror. Before Matabei could do anything, another sensation took hold of Matabei's entire body.

The Tropeognathus groaned out a caw sinking his head low, his body convulsed and the membranes in his wings started to shrink, back into his arms, his ring fingers shortened back to their natural lengths in the process. His claws were soon regressing, his limbs turning back to human and his tail disappeared into his rear. His snout shrunk back and his bones cracked back into their previous shape. The Tropeognathus was gone and an unclothed Matabei had returned. Breathing heavily, Matabei stumbled back onto his feet and looked at himself in the mirror.

"Wha?" Matabei wheezed. "What? What in the f-"

He brought his fingers up to his face, all was human again. "I uh…I think…" Matabei stammered, "I think that school trip did something to me."

***

The rest was history in hindsight, Matabei wanted to warn the others like Narumi, it turned out Narumi had the same plan and now another student was a dinosaur already. Now all he had to do was find Kohaku Taiyo. How hard could finding a giant dinosaur in the woods be?

Apparently for Matabei, it was a little. After a minute of trekking past the maple and sakura trees, he finally spotted something that sent chills. A footprint, showing three digits spread out and huge. And there was another footprint, identical to the first, followed by another and another, leading towards the canal.

But the trail got cut, and the footprints stopped to Matabei's confusion. And with it, was a school bag along with a male student's uniform placed together.

"What the hell?" Matabei muttered.

Feeling something was behind him, Matabei turned and his entire being turned white. Kohaku Taiyo, the Spinosaurus standing right before him.

"Argh!" Matabei recoiled at the sight of the giant dinosaur, how he did not sense him coming was beyond him. Kohaku stepped back as well, letting out a snort.

"Oh my God!" Matabei cried out and his eyes bulged. He tripped and fell on his behind.

The Spinosaurus, on his end, recognized who Matabei was. And if Narumi set out earlier to retrieve the others, he would guess that Matabei already knew the situation.

Before Kohaku could approach Matabei however, a massive sensation gripped the Spinosaurus. The dinosaur arched his back, letting out a groaning growl. Kohaku stepped away, he felt like his body started to shrink slowly and Matabei watched in awe. His sail started to regress, spines in his sail started returning to their original position. His snout was shrinking back and his sharp, conical teeth were turning back into human teeth. His arms decreased in muscle mass, the claws started to disappear and his human fingers came back. His feet were losing their scaly appearance, toes that had regressed into the feet were remerging and human feet were returning. His tail was shrinking back into his rear and his red scales were losing its color, human skin was coming back. Kohaku Taiyo was no longer a Spinosaurus, he was back in his sixteen-year old human body. He quickly scampered for his uniform to cover himself up.

"Oh hell, what the-" Matabei looked away. Now back in his uniform, Kohaku turned to him.

"Itou-senpai?" Kohaku asked with a frown, embarrassed by his naked state from earlier.

"Yeah, I know what's going on." Matabei said, "Narumi told me what happened to you."