NeonHorizon: Shout out to the lovely readers leaving reviews! I appreciate everyone, but reviewers have a special place in my cold, twisted little heart _ Also, in this chapter, Ayano finally crosses paths with Saitama again.


"Your teacher doesn't know that you're a hero?!"

Ayano winced and gave a slight shrug. "Well…it doesn't really matter."

"But you just made it to Class B! That's a big deal, Sword Girl!" Mumen Rider pushed up his glasses and peered at her from across the table. It was clear that she was bothered by something.

When he had crossed paths with her out in the street, it felt oddly like fate. They were both out casually running errands in their free time. Neither of the heroes had plans for the afternoon. Neither had eaten lunch yet. He immediately knew what he had to do. Mumen Rider had to really try hard to persuade her to accept his offer, but now they were celebrating her moving up a class.

"My teacher…doesn't really care about it," she argued. Sonic was still under the impression that she was a bounty hunter. So far, he had yet to catch her in this lie, but she worried that he might eventually catch on. "And I'm proud of myself. I just…really wish I'd ranked higher."

He saw the disappointment in her eyes and leaned forward, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You'll make it. You're really determined, Sword Girl. I know you'll be able to reach your goal."

A sad half-smile crept onto her face as she looked away. "You have more confidence in me than I do."

"Well, we're friends, right? Friends lend you their confidence when you don't have any," he pointed out, returning to his meal.

Ayano sipped her tea and could not help frowning as she set the cup back down. "We're…friends?" Her voice was quiet as she asked this, afraid that he would protest and say that he had made a mistake. After all, he was a hero she looked up to. Even now, despite the fact that she was a class above him. His determination and sense of justice was beyond admirable.

Steam had clouded his glasses, but he still smiled. "Well, yeah. Er…if you want to be friends, I mean. I probably shouldn't have just assumed that without asking," he replied, rubbing the back of his neck.

"N-no! I mean, you don't have to ask! Of course I want to be friends. Ah…that didn't come out right. Sorry. I mean…um…" Ayano slouched, sighing in defeat. "It's just that…you're cool. Really cool."

"A-are you kidding? I've been nervous this whole time we've been eating! I'm not cool; I just really like being a hero and helping people. I mean, you're seeing it firsthand. I'm…not very good in one on one situations like this."

She moved to adjust her glasses at the exact same time as him and paused. Both heroes released a nervous sort of chuckle. "Thank you again for this."

As they went outside to part ways, Mumen Rider asked if she wanted to exchange cellphone numbers and she timidly gave hers to him. I'm a Class B hero now. I shouldn't be so awkward, she thought as she went her separate way. If I ever became popular, I would need to be able to deal with fans. Wouldn't it be really off-putting to ask a hero for a photo together and they just stood there frozen in fear? Or if you asked for an autograph and their hands were shaking so much that it was illegible?

Ayano remembered the shopping list that Sonic had given her before she left and decided to get that done so she could hurry back. After eating with Mumen Rider, she felt drained. It was fun, but socializing had never been her favorite activity.

She was in the fruit and vegetable section of the supermarket when the girl became aware of someone watching her. This was nothing like when Sonic stared at her. This felt more like a vacant sort of stare, whereas her teacher's gaze felt more like she was being monitored. Ayano turned to look around and instantly locked eyes with someone that she was not ready to see again.

It had been over a month and they had only met once, but she still recognized him. He had a really uncommon face. Quickly taking a step back, she held up her shopping basket in front of her in defense. "Do you…need something?" she asked, trying to keep her voice steady.

Saitama blinked slowly and a rather dopey little smile formed on his face. "I recognize you now. You're Sonic's girlfriend, right?"

Ayano's face went bright red and she started to wave the basket in a panic. "I'm not-! It isn't like that! I'm not his girlfriend! Sonic and I aren't like that!"

"Oh." He watched her settle down a bit and leaned forward to look into her basket. "What're you getting?"

"That's…that's none of your business!" She moved to take a step back again and her back struck something solid. Ayano tensed and looked over her shoulder. She had to tip her head back a little to properly see his face, but when her eyes met a pair of gold and black ones, she felt her pulse start to race. No way! The Demon Cyborg?!

The Class S hero was intimidating to her before, but now that she was face to face with him, she felt cold adrenaline starting to pump through her veins. He was taller than her and wore a rather unconcerned expression on his face as he looked from her to Saitama. The cyborg's blond hair was in a slightly messy fashion and his clothes looked a bit tattered, leading her to believe that he might have fought a monster just moments before entering the store.

"Master, is this person bothering you?" A hand darted out to grab her wrist when she tried to slip away from the interaction.

Ayano was tempted to scream for help, but stopped herself. I'm a hero! I'm a Class B hero so I can save myself! She twisted and tried to get free, but felt the metal hand gripping tighter.

"No; it's fine. I was just talking to her," Saitama replied. He stepped closer to Ayano and leaned down, eyes locked on the knife sheathed on her belt. His expression was completely neutral as he reached toward it.

She moved quickly, lifting her right leg and aiming a kick at his head. A hand closed around her ankle, holding her leg up, and the man raised an eyebrow. Slowly tilting his head, his vacant sort of smile returned. Ayano gritted her teeth, struggling to escape from both of them now.

"You got faster. I bet Sonic taught you, right?"

Fuming, she narrowed her eyes at him. This creep is holding my leg too tightly. I can't get free. And his student is holding my arm back now because I moved too much. I have to get loose somehow, but they're both holding on really tight. Ayano's free hand rested on her knife sheath when she saw Saitama staring at it again. Other people are starting to stare. I need to get out of this fast!

"P-pervert…back off!" she snarled, keeping her voice quiet. Color rushed to her face after speaking, tears of embarrassment forming in her eyes. If I have to scream for help, that's just how it has to be. A hero like Demon Cyborg won't keep this up if I do that. It's bad publicity.

"Pervert? What?" Saitama's eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly and then seemed to realize that the girl was in fact wearing a skirt. He was still holding her ankle up and she was wearing a skirt. This looked terrible to the casual passerby. "Oh. I didn't even notice." He released her ankle and watched the girl swiftly shift into a fighting stance, struggling slightly with the cyborg still holding her arm behind her back. "Hey, Genos. Let go."

"Master-"

"Come on. You probably shouldn't have done that anyway." The older man stared until her arm was released and then awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. He apologized and stepped back a few times to put distance between them.

She rubbed furiously at her eyes with a sleeve and grabbed her shopping basket from where she had dropped it on the floor. Ayano grimaced and stomped toward him, her irritation growing when he showed no signs of concern. "Creeps like you…are part of why I became a hero," the girl growled at him.

"Hey. I apologized. And I said that I didn't mean for that to-" He cut himself off mid-sentence and raised his eyebrows. "Wait, you're a hero?"

"She's a Class B hero named Sword Girl," Genos answered. He approached the girl's side, but she quickly stepped away from him and held up her basket as a blocker. His eyes narrowed slightly, mouth twisting into a faint scowl as he turned from Saitama to Ayano. "How dare you call Master Saitama a pervert. You were the one that tried to attack him. You will show more respect to my master. He could have easily annihilated you for attacking him."

"Does Sonic know that his girlfriend's a hero?" The bald man stepped toward her and seemed completely unfazed when she jolted back.

"You're a hero and you associate with that pervert?"

Ayano could feel her face turning red and she stomped a boot against the floor. "He's not a pervert! He's not the one that exposed a girl's panties in the middle of a supermarket like five minutes ago!" This time, she raised her voice.

All of the shoppers in the area had been casually looking over, but now they were staring. Everyone began whispering among themselves and women shrank away from the vicinity, holding their purses closer and watching Saitama warily. The man immediately tried to diffuse the situation, attempting to explain what had happened, but it was too late at this point.

In this confusion, Ayano took the opportunity to slip away and abandoned her shopping basket. Her face was still burning pink with humiliation at using such a tactic to escape. I need to get away from here, she decided. I can't be anywhere near here when they come back out. And I can never go to that store again!

She hurried along the sidewalk, trying to blend in with the crowd. It was as she turned a corner that she felt a metal grip close around her wrist. Her arm was twisted behind her back, her body forced against the cold bricks within an alley, and she bit her lip hard in the struggle. A glare over her shoulder revealed a pair of gold and black eyes glaring back at her from the cyborg's face.

This is bad! This is really, really bad! I'm nowhere near strong enough to try to fight the Demon Cyborg and now he's got me pinned against a wall. Where's Saitama? These two…perverts…are going to…Tears of panic spilled down her face, but she refused to let her fear show in her voice. "Let go of me…before I make you regret it."

"You tried to make a fool of my master. Now I will-"

"I didn't make him grab my leg!" she growled through gritted teeth. "He could have dodged my kick. He made his own choice."

"Let go of Ayano before I make this really ugly." This excited threat came from behind the cyborg. Sonic grinned when both heroes looked toward him. "I don't know what happened, but I'm actually glad to see you. Now I can go all out and show her some real power."