In another part of the city, Kurosawa Auto was busy with their customers’ vehicles. An administrative woman was busy on the desktop sifting through customer orders. The phone across the other side of the table came to life. With the phone ringing, the administrative woman got up from her seat to answer.

“Kurosawa Auto, how can I help you?” She politely greeted and listened to the caller’s request.

“You are looking for Daichi-san? I’m afraid he’s out collecting our bento lunches. Can I take a message?” She said taking a post-it note and pen. She continued to listen to the caller.

“Oh, you’re his friend? I see, I’ll let him know you called.” She said and wrote on the post-it note and hung up the phone.

Not too far away from the shop, Daichi Kurosawa was taking his time strolling back. One hand held the bento lunches in a plastic bag for everyone, the other held a lit cigarette.

This has been a regular thing in the past few months, Daichi elected to play hooky to work on some days. That was not to say that Daichi did not like coming to school. His grades were not too bad. In fact, he had a reputation with some of the girls in the student body, they all claimed that he was quite an eye candy. But the money that he was getting from work tempted him to be a truant.

The school trip he attended the previous day was at best a day to relax from his daily routine, at worst a demand to participate from Yukari-sensei. He had to admit it was interesting, except it did not end on a good note with the accident in the fire escape.

As far as he was concerned, he wanted to think nothing more of it and hoped nothing went wrong. All he wanted was just to carry on and live his life as it is now.

He took a drag from his cigarette and took a turn in an alleyway for a shortcut. The nicotine from the cigarette was putting his mind at ease, but it could not help what happened in the next few minutes.

Something trembled through his entire body, he was forced down on his knees and he doubled over. Daichi’s heart hammered in his chest, and the panic in him rose instantly. In his crisis. Daichi’s eyes were forced shut with this sensation in him, every part of his body started to shake violently.

“Argh! Rargh!” Daichi groaned out loud and his eyes burst open revealing a black sclera on both eyes with orange pupils. Every tissue of his muscles started to grow and harden. Daichi pushed himself off the ground. The sensation in Daichi’s entire being consumed him.

His muscles continued to grow, his clothes started to tear from the increasing mass. His limbs grew as thick as tree trunks, his toes thickened and splayed out flat with his nails turning into blunt claws. His thickened hide changed from his natural peach tone to a scaly deep jungle green. He became so top-heavy heavy he was brought down on all fours.

At his rear, his tailbone protruded out, stretching into a heavy tail.

An intense feeling in his head arrived. In a horrifying sight, his cranium stretched outwards, growing out into a giant frill and his hair regressed into his skull. At the perimeter of the frill, bony spikes emerged. Dachi’s face expanded forward, and the soft bones in his nose and ears regressed into his face. His nostrils stretched forward, his mandible grew in length and his lips turned into a massive beak.

At each of his eyebrows, something protruded out. Horns started to shoot out, stretching long and erect. At where his nose originally was, another horn grew but shorter than the other previous two. His face now wielded three horns. He kept on growing, turning into a giant animal long gone for sixty-five million years.

A green beast on all fours standing at a height over four meters, and a length of nine meters. A face sporting a massive frill with three horns. Eotriceratops, the largest horned-face dinosaur to have ever lived.

Eotriceratops in a panicked state opened his maw, but his human voice was gone, a bellow came out from him. He pushed himself off the ground with the forelimbs trying to stand on his rear feet again. The Eotriceratops reared back up, standing even taller. But his frontal weight started to pull him down. He shook the earth as he stomped on all fours again.

Eotriceratops took the opportunity to run, kicking off with his rear legs. Unfortunately, not using his front limbs resulted in him tripping over on his face. Daichi, still in a daze of confusion, got back on his feet. He had no idea what was going on with his body. The frontal weight of his body forced him to stay on all fours.

The Eotriceratops was panicking, letting out a stressed-out howl. He started to crawl, trying to walk like a dog and it was so alien to him. After another couple of steps, the horned-face dinosaur tripped over again. Daichi landed flat again and his face hit the floor. Daichi, inside the giant dinosaur, was having all but one wish, to make it stop. On cue, Daichi got overwhelmed again.

A sensation trembled through his entire being, the Eotriceratops arched his body letting out a groaning growl. The dinosaur was starting to lose his horns as they were shrinking into his skull. The frill was losing its appearance. The beak was disappearing into his skin and his lips were reappearing back into shape along his entire skull. His muscles were shrinking as well, his tail regressed into his rear and his arms and feet turned back into human.

Every fibre of tissue, every bone, and every organ was shifting into the anatomy of a human. Daichi Kurosawa was back. And unfortunately without any clothes.

***

Meanwhile, Narumi and her new gang were getting closer to Daichi's auto shop. Narumi ended the call that she had made to the shop.

“Kurosawa-senpai went out to get lunch, he’s not in the shop.” Narumi told the rest.

“Well crap, what now?” Matabei asked. “Wait in the shop for him?”

“I guess.” Narumi could only shrug her shoulders, it was not long till they reached the shop. The employees were turning their heads to them, it was not a common sight for four students in an auto shop.

Narumi approached the counter, and the lady from before attended to her.

“Good afternoon. Welcome to Kurosawa Auto, how can I help you?” She politely greeted Narumi.

“Hi, we called earlier looking for Kurosawa-senpai. Is he back yet?” Narumi asked.

“Uh no. He’s still outside getting our lunch.”

“Alright, thanks.” Narumi gave a subtle sombre look. Before she turned around to leave, however, the sound of the backdoor opening got Narumi’s attention. And Daichi entered the building, wearing only a thrown-away onsen towel. He looked weary, sweaty, and like he had been through the wringer.

Narumi and Etsudo, both embarrassed, covered their faces and immediately turned around.

“Kurosawa-senpai?” Matabei gawked. Kohaku remained silent but had a subtly confused look.

“You?!” Daichi huffed out. The awkward atmosphere lingered on within the five for a good moment.

After a while, Daichi was wearing the auto shop’s overalls. Everyone had finally settled down from the crisis of the day. Narumi, Daichi, Etsudo, Matabei, and Kohaku were in the petite office lounge.

Narumi and Etsudo sat together on a couch while the boys stood. The secret was shared between the five.

“So uh guys.” Narumi broke the silence. “We all have a grasp on what’s going on with us right?”

“Dinosaurs?” Daichi, still in unrest from earlier, crossed his arms, sounding firmly unconvinced. “What the hell?”

“Yeah, here look at this.” Narumi pulled out her phone showing the selfie she had taken with the Spinosaurus in the morning. Daichi, Etsudo, and Matabei took a good look at the photo, the subtle shock appeared on their faces slowly.

“Shit...it’s real.” Matabei said under his breath. Etsudo was too shocked to say anything.

“What the hell is that thing? That can’t be real, right?” Daichi frowned.

Narumi put her phone away, she did not exactly appreciate the doubt. “Thing? That was Taiyo-san, he was a dinosaur earlier. I’m telling you this is real.”

Kohaku stood at the corner and looked away. He was really not comfortable with his picture taken earlier. He tried to voice out. “Uchida-senpai.”

“I know, I know Taiyo-san. Sorry.” Narumi got up from her seat, “But this is concrete proof of what’s going on.” She then bit her lip, “And I think we all know where this started.”

The simmering fact came into the light.

“Yes. GenaTech.” Kohaku said.

“Ugh!” Daichi groaned, pulling his hair with one hand. “Listen, I don’t know why you guys decided to come here, but I don’t want to be a part of this. Not really.”

“Kurosawa-senpai?” Matabei was not expecting his response.

“I already have a lot on my plate.” Daichi said, “I’d rather I just figure this out myself and-”

Matabei tried to cut in. “Yo, we came all this way to check if anything happened to you.”

“Yeah okay, thanks for that.” Daichi still insisted, “Look, I’m going to deal with whatever this is myself. I have my life to live okay? So would you guys mind getting out of here?”

Narumi was not budging, “Senpai. We’re the only ones who can help each other if something goes wrong again. Unless you want more people to know that you had just turned into a big lizard.”

That did not sit right with Daichi, as much as he was reluctant at first he could see reason. After a long moment of contemplation Daichi finally agreed.

“Alright, okay fine.” He groaned at them. “What’s next?”

Narumi pulled out her phone, “Everyone, share your number. Stay in contact, that’s all we can do for now.”

Their numbers were exchanged. It was still awkward between the five, but at least if anything they could turn to each other considering there was no one else. In the end, there was nothing else that any of them could do except to go home.

***

Narumi Uchida reached home when the sun was just starting to set in the horizon. Her stomach spontaneously rumbled and her hunger skyrocketed. She was so hungry she could very well eat an entire goat at that point.

Oh damn. She grumbled and went straight for the kitchen. Opening the fridge Narumi pulled out an apple, a cold hard apple. It will have to do to hold the hunger she had until she made a proper meal. As she sank her teeth into the fruit, however, nearly half of it got obliterated.

Her eyes widened in fright. The flesh of the fruit in her mouth was crushed up, bits of it dripping from her chin. She held what was left of the apple in her hand to her sight, and it had a giant bite mark. No high school girl could have possibly chomped down that amount of apple in one single bite.

Oh God.

Narumi realized what was going on. The binocular vision when she spotted Kohaku at the school gate. The speed she had when she rushed off to her class. How she had the strength to walk off a two-story drop when she got the Raptor out of the bathroom window. She was getting traits from a dinosaur.

The others must be having them as well. It was like...superpowers?

Narumi was having enough for the day, all she wanted was her dinner and a shower.

At night Narumi, now freshened up, was on her bed in her nightwear with her phone in her hand. She got right down to business. She opened up the chat app and added the contact numbers of the rest into a chat group.

Her thumb hovered over the phone’s keyboard, hesitant to be the one initiating the chat for the group. She let out a sigh, she knew it would be unlikely that anyone would start the chat. 

Alright, let’s get this over with.

Narumi started typing.