NeonHorizon: If you didn't read Persistence, don't read the sequel. Did I scrap 18 chapters? Yeah. Why? A few reasons. I mainly post these online so I can read them while I'm on my breaks at work and I didn't enjoy reading Resilience. So I scrapped it and I'm rewriting it. It was turning into a slice of life/school life story and I didn't want that. Also, I started dreading working on it. I spent about two weeks working on a Tokyo Ghoul fanfic and that was when I realized that Resilience was not my best work. Not even close. So here's the rewrite. Like it? Cool. Don't like it? That's fine. I'm sure there's a fanfic out there for you. A few things. There's going to be more smut. I didn't really deliver last time. And more fighting because I can't let what happened before happen again. I'm on Twitter as neonhorizon25 and actually announced this rewrite so there was warning given. Alright so...hn...have fun?

Incinerate…The girl jolted awake, her body trembling and tears rolling down her cheeks. The dream had been haunting her for the past week and it was becoming painful to relive the event night after night. Curling up in a ball beneath her blanket, Noriko tried to steady her breathing. Why am I having these dreams? It's been two months since it happened. I didn't have these dreams before, but now I can't stop having them. I can't stop thinking about him.

When the catgirl had determined to give up being a hero, she knew that she had to cut her ties with her hero friends. Thus why she ended her relationship with Genos. Thus why she left with the intention to start over. She had expected the cyborg to have a negative reaction, but she could not have known that it would be so extreme. When she announced her intention to join Sonic, Genos had nearly burned her alive. If the ninja had not been there, she was sure that she would have died that night.

Clutching both fists close to her heart, she gritted her teeth and attempted to stop her trembling. I feel weak whenever I think about it. But I am. I know that I am. Look at what I've done. I abandoned Genos and Saitama. And Mumen Rider. Even if I did want to go back, there's no way that things could return to the way they were. They're all angry with me. They must hate me…and I don't blame them. Her sharp green eyes snapped open when she felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist and draw her back against a warm body. "S-Sonic…?"

"You were saying his name in your sleep." There was spite in his tone, but he was not about to bluntly tell her that it made him angry. The past few nights, he had noticed her tossing and turning as she slept, muttering the blonde's name. "What? Are you starting to regret this?"

Her feline ears flattened against her head and she growled. "N-no! I couldn't keep being a hero! It…hurt too much when I let people down. Now it's impossible to let anyone down except for you. And I know it won't kill you." She felt his hips press against her backside and frowned, letting her tail curl around his leg.

"It's for the best anyway. A cat needs to hunt, don't they?" He saw her nod once. "And doesn't it feel better to take out that aggression instead of holding it in?"

"You…have a point. Hn." Noriko turned in the futon and wrapped her arms around his neck, nuzzling her cheek against his warm skin. I hate that he's right. It does feel good to be able to do what I want. And I do enjoy hunting down prey. But the human part of me knows that it's wrong to kill people. Especially if they might be innocent and just angered the wrong rich person. Her body pressed close against his as he drew her tighter to his front, one hand threading into her long violet hair. "Do you ever feel regrets?"

"What are you talking about?" The ninja's thoughts were elsewhere. The night that she joined him, he had quickly gathered all of his belongings and the two relocated across the city. Genos had tracked her to his old base before so precautions had to be taken. They moved, they only went out at night, and whenever they left the new base Noriko had to wear a disguise. If she was asking if he regretted having her join him, he would have to say 'no'. Despite all of the minor inconveniences it caused, he thought it was worth it to have her to himself.

"Do you ever regret becoming an assassin?"

"No. What? Are you having regrets?" He lifted her chin so she looked at him and found her quickly shifting her green eyes from his grey ones. "Noriko."

"N-no…I just…have nightmares sometimes." Her tail twitched anxiously behind her and she nuzzled her face into his chest to hide her look of worry. The cat part of me loves to hunt…and kill. But the human part of me knows that it isn't right. A real hero would never do what I do. A real hero probably never would have slept with an assassin, either. Or started dating them. Her face turned pink and she instantly worried that he could feel the warmth of her blush against his skin. Pulling away from him, she turned onto her side so she face away from Sonic. "I-I'm going back to sleep. We have a job tomorrow."

Shift P.O.V

"Oh hey. You were gone a while. Looking for Nya-chan again?" Saitama was sitting at the table and looked up when he heard the apartment door open. His disciple was dripping with rain and it was clear from his facial expression that he had not located their missing friend on this night. Over the past two months, he had tried countless times to make contact with her through her phone, but every call went ignored. He had taken to searching every part of City Z after that, determined that she was still in the city.

Koneko snickered beside him and went to grab a towel for Genos. "Mom still doesn't answer when you call?" she taunted as he sat at the table.

"Noriko does not answer. She is hiding somewhere and I am certain that she has not left City Z," he stated. "Why did you ask, Koneko?"

She stood behind him, smirking a bit cruelly. "Mom always answers when I call her! You know why? Because she loves me and I didn't try to incinerate her!"

Saitama winced. "Ouch, Koneko. That was a little harsh."

"I have to be! Listen, Genos-senpai! She doesn't want to deal with you because you could've killed her! What the hell were you thinking?! If Sonic-sensei wasn't there, she could've died and I'd be an orphan and it'd be all your fault! I'd have to spend the rest of my life trying to avenge my mom's death! So don't do stupid stuff like that again!" Koneko used the towel to try to dry his hair, frowning when he seemed to almost slouch. "Don't get all mopey, senpai! She's going to come back! I know it! And she's going to be way stronger than before! Sonic-sensei is probably training her right now!"

Every time you say Sonic's name, I can see Genos getting a little more depressed. Though it was amusing to see the little catgirl dry his hair while scolding him, Saitama could sympathize with the cyborg's wish to know that Noriko was alright. "She's right; Nya-chan will probably come back soon. I mean, she still has to kill Kenta, right? I told her I wasn't going to do it for her. She needs that closure. So I'm sure she'll be back." He saw Genos bow his head, seeming to stare at the table's surface. "You okay?"

"Noriko will not give me the chance to apologize."

"You really scared her. I mean, you did try to kill her when you guys broke up. Are you really that surprised that she isn't answering her phone?"

"She does not take your calls either, Master Saitama." A hand came into view, setting a white leather choker onto the table's surface. The same necklace that had been given to her by Saitama at Christmas and outfitted with a small tracking chip. It had been left behind when she announced her intentions to quit being a hero.

Saitama followed his line of sight to the necklace and dragged it over with one finger, listening to the chime of the small bell fixed to it. "Hey. You know she'll be back. I mean, her kid's here. We're here. Even if she's mad right now, she'll talk to us eventually."

"Noriko left us to become an assassin and be with him."

"Yeah, but I'm pretty sure that-"

"She would rather live her life by killing others and being with him than to be a hero with us. I cannot understand why she made this decision."

"She was upset after Granny died. I kind of know the feeling," Koneko contributed. She was now sitting beside Genos, having left the towel draped over his short blonde hair. "Granny died trying to keep us all safe. That creep Kenta killed her and that grey lady helped him. If Mom's feeling the way that I feel, then I can get why she doesn't want to be a hero anymore."

"Koneko?" Saitama had thought she was alright. She had been acting the way that she normally did and seemed to be moving forward. Did it really mess her up? How did I miss that? She had to have showed signs, right?

The catgirl bowed her head, light purple locks of hair falling over her pale green eyes. "I feel sick when I think about what he did to Granny. She was just trying to keep us safe and he did something like that to her. She was a good person! She didn't deserve to die! Especially not like that!" Her small fists struck the top of the table, causing Genos to look over at her. She calmed somewhat when he hesitantly rubbed behind one of her feline ears and slouched a little. "It makes my stomach hurt. It makes my heart beat fast and makes my chest feel tight…when I think about what Granny went through, just to try to protect us. I wish I had stopped him. I wish I had killed him! So if Mom feels anything like this, like she let Granny down and like she can't do anything right, then I know what it feels like."

Shift P.O.V

"Hngh! Bastard!" Noriko could feel pain in her side, but knew that she had to push past it. To finish the job, she would have to push past her fear and pain. Rushing forward in the dark hallway, she poised the knife to strike. Blood trickled down the man's face in a thick stream, his cheek gushing crimson. She heard him swear as she moved past him and moved quickly to dodge another bullet before darting forward again. This time her blade drove deep into his gut and twisted sharply.

Blood ran between his teeth and out of his lips as he tried to remain quiet. It was bad enough that this girl had spotted him. Attracting the attention of the man she was with would mean certain death. He felt that if he could just keep his aim steady, he could shoot her in the head or heart and end her attacks. Stumbling back against the wall, he took aim once more. "I'm not letting you get out of here alive! You killed my brothers, but I'm not-!"

She did not want to hear any more that he had to say. Noriko closed the distance between them, her face coming very close to his bleeding one. The heavy aroma of blood was fueling her feline instincts. The desire to kill was becoming strong and when she felt the throb of pain in her side, she felt that desire spike. If he's dead, he can't keep hurting me! If he's dead, the pain will stop! Kill him before he kills me!

The blade was raised and the tip pressed against his Adam's apple. Noriko tilted her head, her green eyes wide with bloodlust. Even though it was quite dark in the corridor, the girl's cat genes allowed her to see very well. Not as if it was lit by daylight, but as if it was dimly lit. She could see the fear in his expression, feel the rapid beat of his pulse in his neck as her fingers dug into it. "You…hurt…me…" she growled lowly. "Hurt and cornered. So what did you expect me to do? Just what does a cornered animal do?"

"Wh-what the hell are you?! Who sent you? I can pay! I can pay double…triple…whatever they're paying you! Please just let me go! I won't tell the police and I'll get you your money right away!"

"It's…not even about that anymore. This isn't about money. This is about getting even. You hurt me. So now I get to hurt you! But don't worry…it won't hurt for long!" She drove her knife into his throat and closed her eyes tightly. To see it would be too much for her to handle and she feared that her feline instincts might make her want to eat him. When she went to meet with Sonic, she could tell that she was limping. More than one bullet had grazed her flesh and when she had been fighting, she had been so full of adrenaline that she had not noticed her wounds. Damn it. I hate showing up looking like this.

Sonic was leaning against the wall near the entrance and frowned when he saw the state she was in. The girl always wore a pair of baggy black pants and a black hooded sweatshirt when she went on assassination jobs with him to hide her feline ears and tail. The fabric was torn and bloody in some areas with holes showing the wounds beneath. He approached her with a stern look, but worried a little on the inside that she might have been gravely injured this time. "What happened? You had the easy targets."

"Hn. One of them had a gun," she muttered, wiping at some blood on her cheek. It smeared like war paint and she grimaced at the sticky feeling now on her hand. How can you still find someone attractive when they show up covered in someone else's blood? A look at Sonic showed that he was completely clean with no blood whatsoever on his skin or bodysuit. "How do you do it so cleanly?" She blushed when he took her chin in his hand, examining her face.

"Shuriken make it easy. What? You want to learn ranged attacks?" he asked, teasing her. She never used her twin swords during an assassination and had initially argued that shuriken were a cowardly way to fight. Leaning down, he could see pain clear in her eyes. "Did you get hit directly?"

"The bullets just grazed me, but…it really hurts." She let him hold her, leaning against him for support. Damn it! I know I look weak! The blood really doesn't help, either!

"So? Is it done?" The client entered the room with a look of slight fear, but he was trying his best to seem brave. The two assassins were quite intimidating, but he was determined to appear as if it was an ordinary occurrence for him to hire killers. "Oh! What-?"

Sonic let her lean against the wall and was swiftly upon the man, glaring down at him. "You said that the ones on this floor were unarmed."

"I-I thought they were! I could have sworn! Is your partner alright?!" He looked around the dark-haired man to the vaguely feminine hooded figure. What he could see of their face looked pale and their body was beginning to shake. He had paid extra for this accomplice to help the ninja, but now he was starting to regret it. "Are they-?"

"Hina is injured. Because of your negligence, she won't be able to work for a few weeks. How do you expect to compensate her for this?" he demanded.

The two left with a little extra money along with their payment, but they both knew that it hardly mattered. Their partnership was about more than just work and getting paid. They really did care for each other deeply. Back at the base, Noriko sat at the table and let him clean her wounds. She was able to wrap most of them herself, but let him do that as well. In a weird sort of way, she got a nostalgic feeling when he wanted to take care of her. It reminds me of Genos…he was always doing so much for me. No! I can't think about him! He almost killed me!

Grey eyes narrowed and he moved in close so his face was inches from hers. "What are you thinking about, Noriko?"

"R-ranged attacks. I think I want to learn them after all," she lied. Though she knew now that it would be wise to learn how to protect herself while distancing herself from her enemies. She was glad when he seemed to relax and settled behind her. "Sonic?"

"You want to learn ranged attacks? How are you going to pay me for teaching you? I don't do anything for free," he teased, his lips beside her ear.

She blushed pink and reached up, her fingertips trailing gently down his cheek. "I…can think of a few ways that you might like."