Chapter 11 Must go faster

The weekend came, and the afternoon sun cast its rays through the city. Narumi, Matabei, Daichi, and Kohaku arrived at Morita's residence. The group had agreed to meet up on Saturday now that Etsudo had completed the outfits. Kohaku took the initiative, got to the gate and buzzed the intercom. Kohaku spoke. "Uh Morita-senpai?"

"Yes." Etsudo answered. "A-Ah, Taiyo-san?"

"Hey Morita, it's us." Narumi added.

"Ah y-yes. Come inside." The gate opened and the four let themselves in. Heading over to the main door, Etsudo waited for them.

"Pardon the intrusion." Narumi was the first to step in and the others followed. They were greeted by Etsudo's apparel. Etsudo stood there awkwardly in what looked like a dark navy blue surfing suit where the cuffs ended at her biceps and thighs.

Narumi gave Etsudo a confused glance "Morita you uh going to the beach later?"

Etsudo's cheek flushed at the remark, "N-No, this is the suit."

Matabei could not help the snicker escaping his lips. He stepped forward, "This is the costume? It looks like it's meant for diving."

Etsudo's lips made a frown, she averted their gazes. "I-It works Itou-san."

"How do you know?" Matabei asked.

"I...I tried it."

"Really?" Narumi asked while her curiosity peaked, "Show us Morita."

"E-Eh??" Etsudo's cheek flushed. "Now?"

"Yeah, come on Raptor! Raptor!" Narumi cheered.

"Ehh?" Etsudo backed away timidly.

"Raptor! Raptor!" Narumi cheered eagerly. The pressure from everyone else staring at Etsudo pushed her enough.

"Alright already, Uchida-san." Etsudo conceded.

She took a moment and inhaled before her eyes turned into a striking yellow. Everyone took a step back while Etsudo changed. Her lips parted revealing her razor-sharp teeth, her limbs stretched out and hardened in muscles. The Raptor's snout erected out from her face and her skin slowly turned into blue scales.

The little finger and ring finger in each of her hands regressed into her palms. The remaining fingers stretched out and her nails sharpened into claws. Each of her fifth toes regressed into her feet while the remaining toes grew into talons. Her tail emerged out piercing through her suit from behind. Every inch of her body was reshaped into the Raptor. She let out a howling snarl and her tail swished left and right.

Narumi, Daichi, Matabei, and Kohaku were bewildered by the fabric still intact, clothing the Raptor. Only her hands, feet, head, and the end of her tail were exposed. Narumi inched closer, inspecting the fabric on the Raptor.

"It really works huh?" Narumi asked her. She placed a hand on the Raptor's shoulder to feel the texture of the outfit. It felt like nylon in her fingers stretched out to its limits, it only reminded her just how much of a diver suit the outfit resembled.

Soon, the rest of them were outfitted with their designated suits.

"Well, this is like a onesie." Daichi said, pulling on the collar.

"I'm going to wear this while I'm changing into Tropeognathus. Seriously?" Matabei said with furrowed brows. Raptor did not appreciate her crafts dismissed like that. Her yellow eyes narrowed and a hissing snarl escaped her maw.

"We are definitely decorating this at some point." Matabei insisted.

"Come on guys, it's not that bad." Narumi said, adjusting the tightness on her hip.

Kohaku was quiet for the most part, inspecting his own suit in silence.

"What do you think of Taiyo-san?" Narumi asked him.

"If it works, it works." He gave his short response, then turned to the Raptor. "Thank you for your help Morita-senpai." The Raptor nodded at him.

"Okay, now I say it's time that we test out what else we dinosaurs can do." Narumi said to them all. With their attention all on her, Narumi smirked.

In the backyard, the Tyrannosaurus Rex reappeared into the world. This time sporting a dark navy-blue suit.

Wow, the stuff Morita can make is so cool. At least now I can stand upright without the wind between my legs. Narumi thought.

While the rest sat by the steps, Kohaku stood by the T-Rex holding out a baseball bat, pointed straight at her. Matabei called out, "Okay here we go, T-Rex bite test. Let's go!"

Tyrannosaurus Rex opened up her jaws, all of her serrated dagger teeth right in Kohaku's direction. As soon as Kohaku placed the bat in her mouth, splinters burst into the air. T-Rex clamped her mouth hard and the sound of wood broken in half resonated through the yard. Kohaku stumbled back with only a broken bat handle in his hand. Tyrannosaurus Rex raised her head up and spat out the wood chunks in her mouth. The rest of the bat had been crushed into bits from Narumi's bite.

Moments later, the Eotriceratops joined into the fray, though his eyes did not show any enthusiasm for the situation. He too sported the same navy blue outfit.

"Give a roar horn face!" Matabei shouted out. "Let's hear it!"

The orange eyes of the Eotriceratops glanced at him and gave a snort of annoyance. He lazily laid down on the ground, not cooperating with them. "I wonder how hard his head is," Narumi popped up at his side, taking him by surprise. She threw a playful punch on his bony frill, which only ended up hurting her knuckles. She stepped back while she shook her fingers to ease the sting. "Ow! Now that is really hard."

The Eotriceratops did not take the hit on his head lightly, he got up and bellowed at Narumi. She scampered away while guffawing at her prank. "Yeah there it is. There's your roar hah!"

"Yeah, you got lungs!" Matabei laughed. The Eotriceratops snorted again, annoyed with the two of them. The ceratopsian closed his eyes and took a deep breath, his frill starting to shrink along with his horns. His tail rescinded into his rear and his whole mass reduced. His whole body was regaining his human appearance. Daichi called out to them, "Very funny."

Weyland, the German Shepherd, trotted up to Etsudo's side. She began to run her fingers through the fur on his neck. Watching her created suits put to the test, while she appreciated the chance where her skills could flourish, it did not cloud the grave situation they were in. Being dinosaurs.

"Did anyone hear that?" Kohaku suddenly broke his silence. They all stopped their antics, their ears picked up something. It was coming from the front of the house, it was the sound of a car engine.

Etsudo gasped. Oh no.

"Everyone!" She swiftly got up to hush them down. "Please change into your school uniforms!"

The gang scrambled back inside the manor, snatching up the school uniforms they had left on the two couches in the living room. Narumi and Etsudo quickly buckled their skirts while the boys put on their pants. As they frantically buttoned up their shirts, Weyland trotted over to the door, scratching at the doorknob.

"Weyland! No!" Etsudo hissed at the dog. Weyland continued pawing and barking at the door.

"I'm back." There was another voice by the door, which sounded sweet and feminine. The sound of the door unlocking soon followed.

"Oh shit." Narumi cursed, finishing up the last button. She vaulted over and sunk into the couch.

The door opened and two people entered. A man and a woman. They both had chocolate hair reaching their necks and they wore office attires. Additionally, the woman wore frameless glasses and the man had a thick mustache. Weyland whined and brushed against their legs.

"Hello Weyland! I missed you too!" The woman cooed and ruffled his fur, while the man addressed the people in the living room.

"Etsudo?" the man raised an eyebrow. "Who are these people?"

"Father. Mother. Welcome back." Etsudo went to greet them. Kyosuke and Seiko Morita had returned from their trip.

"Hello Etsudo." Seiko hugged her daughter tightly. "I see you've brought some friends over."

"Uh..." Etsudo stammered, looking over her shoulder. "Y-Yeah, my friends." Daichi and Matabei sat on one couch, and Kohaku and Narumi sat on the other. Nothing too suspicious looking.

"I uh, I thought you would still be away on your trip." Etsudo said.

"Our work finished early. So we came back early." Seiko explained, "Fujio fetched us from the airport. She's parking the car right now."

"So now you're throwing parties in our house while we're away? Instead of focusing on your studies?" Kyosuke's grew a little stern.

"Dear, be nice." Seiko gave her husband a look, "This is just Etsudo's friends visiting."

"Y-Yes, mom." Etsudo went along with her mother's assumptions. The group got up from their seats and approached Etsudo and her parents. Etsudo gave the proper introductions, from oldest to youngest. "These are my friends. Kurosawa-san, Uchida-san, Itou-san, and Taiyo-san."

"Nice to meet you." They all bowed at Kyosuke and Seiko.

"It's a pleasure to meet Etsudo's friends." Seiko beamed a smile.

"Mmm." Kyosuke grumbled, setting his gaze on Etsudo's guests. One girl and three boys, none of them looked like the kind of people Kyosuke would want his daughter to be friends with. They all had a delinquent look to them.

"Etsudo, did you make your friends some tea?" Seiko asked.

"Uh..." Etsudo stammered.

"Well, go make some tea. Goodness, I thought you'd understand basic etiquette by now." Seiko nagged at her daughter. Etsudo, with pink cheeks, shuffled over to the kitchen.

"I apologize for that." Seiko said to the group. "Are you enjoying yourselves here?"

"Yes, we are having a good time here." Daichi answered. "Thank you for having us here."

"Yeah. You have a very nice house, Morita-sama." Matabei added, "And Weyland was a very good dog."

"Oh that's wonderful." Seiko had an elegant smile on her lips. "We trained him to get along well with strangers." She then whistled, "Weyland."

The German Shepherd trotted over. Seiko patted his head, "Come on, go play."

Weyland woofed as he turned his attention to the group. Once his eyes were on Narumi, however, his tail went in between his legs. His ears perked back and he lowered his head. Weyland started backing away and letting out a whine. Everyone noticed, and it was putting Narumi in a spot.

"I don't think he likes you, Uchida." Matabei said.

"Weyland," Seiko frowned at the dog, "Behave yourself. Be nice to the girl."

Narumi tried to approach him. "Come on, Weyland. Good doggy." Instantly, Weyland turned tail and ran out the front door.

"Hey! Weyland! Bad dog!" Seiko chided, but Weyland did not hear her as he ran around the front yard.

"Strange," Kyosuke, standing by the side, said, "Usually, he's good with people. Not sure why he doesn't like you."

"I apologize for that," Seiko bowed, "Please enjoy yourself. My husband and I will be heading upstairs to rest from our flight."

"Thank you for having us here, Morita-sama." Narumi and the others bid them farewell.

The sun was setting by the time Narumi, Daichi, Matabei, and Kohaku were out of the Morita estate. They were all wearing their dinosaur suits underneath their school uniforms.

"This suit smells like a spare tire." Daichi tugged on his collar and took a drag on a lit cigarette. The puff of smoke reached Matabei.

"Oi." Matabei coughed a little, "Do you have to smoke now? Not all of us like being second-hand smokers."

"I haven't had a stick all day, man. So deal with it." Daichi shrugged.

Matabei rolled his eyes. and went ahead of Daichi to avoid the scent of tobacco. Kohaku, being quiet as usual, kept his pace behind Daichi. He was not too bothered by Daichi letting out a puff. Narumi, at the back, was deep in thought.

Her mind was spinning with ideas. Alright. We got our dino suits. Now, we gotta put it to good use. But how? We still don't fully know what we can do. And GenaTech is still an issue. Aww, but I still want to get out there though.

While the boys were heading down the road, Narumi stopped in her tracks and gazed out into the city. A smirk grew on her face and her eyes narrowed with ambition. She had an idea of how to spend her weekend.

***

The Sun had already disappeared. In Hong Kong, a small office building by a barely lit downtown street is being watched.

A lanky man in his twenties stood by the back door taking a drag from his cigarette. His hair was dyed blond and gelled back, his untidy attire consisted of a purple sports jacket, grey slacks, and sneakers. Standing guard by the back was a boring shift for anyone in this kind of work, namely the Triad kind of work.

While the thug took another drag from his stick, someone approached him from the darkness in the alley. He finally noticed who was coming into the light, a woman in her twenties wearing a black combat uniform. Her auburn hair was tied in a ponytail, her suit was tight around her waist accentuating her well-toned body. She made her way to him.

"Uh excuse me?" She said to him, her voice was sweet to his ears.

"Y-Yes?" He fumbled on his words, her presence was too distracting.

"I'm a little lost. Could you help me out here?" She leaned over and asked him.

"Um o-okay? How- geaaargghhh!" He screamed when a searing pain pierced through his ears from the sound of a high-pitched audible tone. The woman rushed in, one hand gripped his head and the other clamped his mouth shut. Blood poured out of his ears.

The woman's eyes grew sinister, her lips were parted as the audible tone continued, emitted from her own voice. The man's ears kept on bleeding, his limbs lost all of their strength and his eyes rolled back into his head. The woman dropped him and brought a finger to the earpiece she was wearing. "This is Echo. Back door secured."

"Roger." A deep male voice came from her earpiece. "Delta, secure the roof."

"In a minute fufu." Another voice, feminine and sinister, said. On the rooftop of the building, another thug was completely oblivious to the intrusion downstairs. He was on his phone leaning against the fencing surrounding the roof. He had no warning when a searing gash went deep through his throat. Blood poured out and he clutched his neck. He gagged for a second before dropping onto the floor, his blood pooled at his neck.

A psychotic giggle came right after. The air in front of the body distorted out, shaping a humanoid figure before the assassin revealed herself from her camouflage. A woman in the same combat uniform, her hair was black, short and wild. She twirled the blood-soaked knife in her hand and bent over to admire her work, the slain thug on the roof.

"Delta, roof secured. This is too easy." She said over her comms.

"Just stay in position." The same male voice responded. Back on the ground the two more from the team closed in on Echo's position. A man and a woman, both in combat uniforms and looking mean.

Charlie, the third woman, approached the door and clenched on the knob. She was a tall woman, standing at five foot ten with braided brown hair resting on her shoulder. With a flex in her arm, she broke through the locked door with little resistance and little sound. "We're in."

Bravo, the man, was equally tall as Charlie. Another obvious feature was his bald head. He stepped into the building while the ladies guarded outside. Upstairs in the offices, several Triad men were tending to their work. The front doors burst open and in came Bravo pulling out two silenced Glock pistols in each from behind.

"What the hell?! Who are you?!" One thug shouted, only to get a bullet into his head with his brains scattered on the floor. The rest scampered in surprise by the muffled gunshot. They were too late to gather themselves. Before anyone could pull out their weapons, Bravo lunged over in a roll and began shooting up the office.

With such speed and precision, every bullet went through every Triad member's head. The scent of smoke and gunpowder lingered in the room. Bravo inspected every dead man. Each had a bullet hole right between the eyes. All that was left was the head office door, Bravo kept his eyes on the head office.

"Clear." He said and holstered his pistols. From his barged entrance, the rest entered. Charlie, Delta, and Echo.

"Ah well done. Again." Delta hopped over to Bravo, patting him on the head leading him to roll his eyes. They all fell silent as they felt another presence approaching. Alas, the final member has entered the fray. Alpha. He was the commander of this group of mercenaries known as the 'Five Deaths.

Alpha was a giant of a man standing at six foot eight, he had blond hair swept back. His very presence gave such an intimidating aura that demanded reverence from his teammates. He went past them, and each slow step exuded austerity. He turned his head and addressed them, "You all carry on. Strip this place apart."

Alpha gripped the doorknob and let himself into the head office. Their target was in sight. The head of this Triad family, Zhi Meng. He was a big man as well standing at six foot six, dressed in an office suit and his tattoos could be found around his neck.

Zhi Meng breathed fast through his nose, his face red with anger and fear. "Who are you?! Why are you here?!"

Alpha replied, his voice was deep and cold. "We're simply hired help. And you are a competition to our client. Thus your death is required."

Zhi Meng's eyes flashed in anger before he glanced at his Kanata on the wall. He rushed for it and drew out his blade. With a yell, Zhi Meng brought his sword over his head to swing it down on Alpha. Zhi Meng's wrist had been held tight from Alpha's hand and he twisted the sword out of Zhi Meng's hold.

Alpha then clenched onto Zhi Meng's head with his other hand. Without any effort, Alpha lifted Zhi Meng off the ground. Alpha's fingers started to squeeze, slowly but hard.

"This isn't personal, but we're getting extra to make this messy." Alpha said and his hold on Zhi Meng's head grew tighter and tighter. Screams erupted from Zhi Meng, blood poured down all over his head while his skull kept cracking. When Alpha's hand easily made a fist, Zhi Meng's head exploded into pieces. Blood and bits of flesh scattered around the room and Zhi Meng's headless corpse plopped onto the floor. Wiping the blood off his face and hand, Alpha left the head office to tend to his team. "Alright. We're done."

A sudden vibration in his back pocket got his attention along with his team. Alpha's eyes narrowed with suspicion. Taking out the PDA from his back pocket, he inspected the new message sent to him.

[It's me. Your doctor.]

"What the hell? It's her again?" Delta spontaneously said, peeking over Alpha's shoulder. He turned to her and gave her a look. With a sheepish giggle, Delta took a step away. The rest exchanged glances with each other, unsettled by the 'doctor's text.

Another message came into Alpha's PDA.

[I need your assistance.

It's a job you'd be interested in.]

Alpha's eyes narrowed. Charlie took a step forward. "What the hell does she want?"

Alpha did not answer, he put his PDA back into his pocket and headed for the exit. "We're moving out."

***

Back in Kakushin City, somewhere in a district near Soru Academy, trouble was brewing. It was a Sunday night, and it became even more eerie as it began to rain. A van pulled up in a dark and empty valley. The side of the van opened and three men emerged out of the vehicle wearing black balaclavas over their heads to conceal their faces.

They cautiously sneaked over to the back door of a jewelry boutique. Cracking the lock with a wrench and wedging the door with a crowbar, they broke into the store and began their raid.

"Quickly grab whatever you can. And cut the power." The first thief said. The other two did as told, destroying the power box and smashing into glass displays. They took all they could into their bags. Watches, necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and among other valuables. With security disabled, the store was being stripped clean.

"Alright, I'm going to dump the stuff into the van." The first thief exited the boutique leaving the other two to continue. Slinging the bag over his shoulder he quickly made his way to the vehicle, opening the door he dumped his loot. He got to the front of the van to speak to the driver. He smirked at the driver. "Get ready man, we're hitting big this time."

There was a sudden rumble in the ground, the thief felt it in his feet. The driver felt it too, he asked. "What the hell was that? Did you feel that?"

With a flash of lightning in the sky followed by a clap of thunder, the night sky started raining a storm. The alleyway was getting drenched from the downpour. The driver waved it off. "Bah. It's just the rain."

There was another rumble in the ground, the same as before. The puddles in the water had a second of ripples before it stopped. This time the criminals were on edge. The thief turned around with a cautious eye checking every corner, "That was not the rain. What is that?"

"Hey." The remaining two thieves came out of the boutique with their loot, oblivious to their situation. "We're hitting more than our quota with this. We're scoring it now." They dumped their stolen goods and boarded the van.

"Wait, something's not right." The first thief cautioned them. Then there was a third rumble in the ground, it felt much closer to them. It startled everyone now. And another rumble, followed by another, the consistency made it seem like it was the footsteps of something massive.

Peering out of the turn in the alleyway, it finally appeared. The giant obsidian Tyrannosaurus Rex.

She was wearing a navy-blue tight suit leaving the head, arms, legs, and tail exposed. She stomped a foot and gave a furious bellow, primal green eyes fixed on the thieves.

"Shit!" The first thief shrieked in fright, he dived into the van and yelled to the driver. "Drive! Now goddammit!" The driver stepped on the gas and the van sped off into the main road. In the back of the van, the criminals could only watch in terror as the Tyrannosaurus Rex stormed its way over, catching up to the speeding van. "Must go faster! Faster!"

The driver caught a glimpse of the side mirror which showed the Tyrannosaurus Rex roaring out. All he could do was plant his foot on the pedal, everyone in the vehicle was panicking in hysteria by the dinosaur chasing them down. Tyrannosaurus Rex brought her head lower, she closed in on the van and swung her head. She struck the van's left with incredible force.

Everyone inside screamed in terror, the driver tried to keep the van steady but lost control. The van swerved and pulled to the right till it toppled onto the side. The vehicle was a wreck, everyone in the van groaned out with throbbing headaches, and they were all bruised up and battered.

"Are you all okay?" The driver weakly asked his gang. They could not give an answer when the Tyrannosaurus Rex was looming over them. The Tyrannosaurus Rex stalked towards the van, and she gave a threatening growl. All they could do was hide in the frail safety of their van.

The T-Rex needed to subdue the criminals quickly and she had an idea. If they felt safe in that van, she would play along for them. She lifted her foot up high and planted it on the van, she then pressed down forcing all the mass of her leg onto the vehicle. The metal frame of the van gave away, caving downwards and damaging the doors. The sound of metal creaking could pierce their ears. Tyrannosaurus Rex took her foot away leaving a crushed van with the criminals trapped inside.

Tyrannosaurus Rex had done it, she stopped the heist and the criminals, albeit in an unsubtle manner. She raised her head around to scan her surroundings. Any resident around would have definitely heard the commotion, she had to go. Turning away, the Tyrannosaurus Rex left the scene.

The only evidence of a dinosaur's involvement in the criminals' apprehension was a giant dinosaur footprint on the van.

Elsewhere in Kakushin City, the obsidian dinosaur had a moment of respite in another alley. Holy shit! That was crazy! To think that a few days ago, I was just a regular high school girl!