"Probably shouldn't have told her about Kyou, huh?" Saitama was looking over the cyborg's shoulder at the computer screen. More specifically at an article detailing Noriko's arrest for attacking Kenta. He sipped his tea and frowned, glancing over his shoulder at the increasingly messy apartment. The past few days had been spent searching for her so little time had been spent worrying over the accumulating dishes and snack food wrappers that Koneko left lying around.
"I did not expect her to get herself arrested." The answer was simple, stated without spite. Though it was obvious that Genos was bothered by the turn of events. "Master Saitama, we have to go and-"
"And what? Break her out of jail? If we go there and try to break her out, it might make it worse for her." He yawned now, scratching at his stomach with his free hand. "Have you seen Koneko this morning?"
"She left earlier to join Mumen Rider on a patrol. She said that she was going to feed Koto-san's cows when they were finished." He stood and surveyed the mess behind him with a frown. "We need to do something."
"I don't really want to tackle this yet," the bald hero remarked. "Hey. Why don't we go look for stuff to prove Kenta's evil? I mean, if we can find some kind of proof, Nya-chan might get released. He's got to have something, right?"
"Master, if you want to go ahead of me, that is fine. I want to make sure that the apartment is clean."
Saitama tilted his head, one eyebrow raised. "Okay? I guess I'll get going then. I'll call Koneko and tell her what's up."
"Do not tell her that Noriko is in prison."
"Yeah, yeah. I know." He changed into a comfortable pair of pants and put on a hooded sweatshirt over his t-shirt. The air outside was warm on his scalp as he walked down the street. He pulled out his phone and scrolled to Koneko's number, vaguely wondering if she might be fighting a monster or villain.
The phone rang a few times before she picked up and her voice was cheerful when she greeted him. "Sensei! Finally woke up, huh?! I thought you were going to sleep all day like that one time! What's up? Did my mom come home yet?"
He winced at her enthusiasm. "Uh…no. Not yet. I think she's taking care of some stuff in City G. I've got some stuff to do today and Genos is coming with me so-"
"What? Hey, wait for me! I'll go with you! You're going to clear out that compound, right?!" There was a rushing sound of air in the background as well as traffic noises.
Are they stuck in traffic somewhere? The thought made him smile a little. "No, don't worry about it. We'll wait for you before we go back there. It's something different today. You've got a key to the apartment, right?"
"Yep! Genos-senpai got me a key!" she confirmed. "What's so important anyway?"
"Just stuff, okay? Can you give the phone to Mumen Rider?"
"Fine! One minute!" There was a pause and then the sound of tires skidding. "Sensei wants to talk to you! I don't know what it's about, but I'm going to grab some taiyaki!"
"Um…Saitama?" The other man's voice was quiet as he spoke.
"Hey, Mumen Rider. Is the kid a good distance away?" He waited for a confirmation before talking again. "Okay, so Nya-chan's in jail again. I guess she went after Kenta so she would get arrested so she could try to help Kyou. Not really the best plan, huh? So I'm going to look for evidence to prove that Kenta's a creep. I'm not sure how long it's going to take. I'll try to be back in City Z tonight, but if I'm not back by midnight could you stay with Koneko?"
"Of course! But how are you going to find evidence?"
Saitama scratched at his cheek, frowning. "I don't know. Maybe there's something on his computer or his phone? Or I guess if I could catch one of the monsters that work for him, I could get a confession out of them. I'm sure Genos will have some ideas."
The phone was handed back to Koneko when she returned and she sounded irritated. "Sensei, they didn't have the strawberry kind! Mom said that was the best flavor, but they never have it! So what did you say to Mumen Rider?"
"Nothing important. Just grown up stuff. See you later, Koneko." He put his phone away and pushed his hands into his pockets as he continued walking down the street. Nya-chan keeps leaving. I get that she wants to repay Kyou for helping, but getting arrested was probably the worst thing she could do. His mouth turned down at the corners as he imagined the catgirl huddled in a jail cell, shivering and crying. Try as he might, he could not picture her in any other way while in prison. Why did she have to do that? She hasn't been back for very long. I haven't really been able to talk to her much.
People walked past him on the sidewalk as he made his way into the populated part of the city. Everyone moved without acknowledging him, which was fine. He preferred to be left alone with his thoughts to try to focus. Though it was proving difficult. Those first few days after she came back, everything felt like it was back to normal. Except that Genos was being repaired. And then, when he came back, it just didn't feel the same. Why does it feel this way? Why does it make me feel bad? And thinking about her being in jail really makes me feel bad. I get why Genos wants to break her out, but what if it makes things worse? But, on the bright side, at least Sonic isn't there this time.
"Master Saitama, I have located the address of Kenta's current base of operations," Genos announced as he approached from behind. "Master Saitama?"
"Huh? Oh. That's cool. Where is it?" He looked at the screen of the blonde's phone and raised an eyebrow. "Biogenic Mechanica Corporation? Oh, yeah. That's the company that Kyou's dad owns, right?"
"It is owned by Grey Kazuo. Age 53. A high ranking administrator in the Hero Association. Before joining the Hero Association staff, he owned various companies and sold a majority of them after being hired, but he left Biogenic Mechanica Corporation in the hands of Grey Kyou and Grey Kyona. The corporation specializes in robotics, computers, pharmaceuticals, and biological developments that include rare diseases and experimental regeneration."
"Wow. So they do a lot of stuff. You think Kenta will be at the office?"
"I do not know. It makes no mention of Kenta, but we know that Grey Kazuo has interest in him. He must place Kenta at a higher priority than his own children; he was the administrator that determined Kyou to be a threat and demanded that a Class A hero be sent to collect him. Master Saitama, do you think that this man could be a threat to Noriko? Do you think that he would use his influence to cause her harm while she is in prison?"
"Uh…not really something I wanted to think about. Let's just try to make this quick so we can get her out of there before something really bad happens."
Shift P.O.V
"What are they doing?" The voice was familiar and sent a chill down Noriko's spine as she tried not to turn and look at the owner. "Who is that and why is he touching her?"
"Sonic! You got yourself arrested?" Puri Puri Prisoner beamed at the ninja's arrival and watched him step into the cell. His smile soon turned to a frown as he noticed where the man's grey eyes were directed. "Don't waste your time with her. She came here for him."
Noriko's eyes were closed, but her ears twitched as she heard his footsteps approaching. The catgirl was seated on the floor, facing Kyou as he applied a fresh layer of frost to the bruise on her cheek. As he had said, it made the pain extremely dull and seemed to decrease the darkness of the bruise. When she felt his hand pull away, she half-opened her eyes and fidgeted with the tip of her tail. "Thanks."
"No, thank you. It gives my ice a better outlet than the floor." Since her arrival, Kyou seemed to perk up a little. He studied her now with his pale grey eyes and tilted his head. "Does it hurt when I touch it?"
"No…it's fine. It feels better." She saw Sonic standing at her side now, his arms crossed. "Hn. Why are you here, Sonic? Did Genos catch you again?"
"I saw that you were arrested. I told you before that if you were arrested that I'd have to break you out."
Noriko glared up at him now, her left ear twitching. "How are you going to do that if you're in here, too?"
He scowled. "I'll figure something out."
"It's getting too crowded in here, Noriko. Why don't you go for a walk?" Puri Puri Prisoner suggested. He batted his eyelashes at the two men, but it went ignored.
She sighed and stretched her arms over her head. "Hn. Yeah…sure." The girl stood, pushed her hands into her pockets, and walked past Sonic. A small half-grin began to take form on her lips as she moved down the walkway. Voices echoed up from below as prisoners shouted insults or whistled when they glimpsed her out in the open. The level that she inhabited was empty with the exception of herself, Puri Puri Prisoner, and Kyou. And now Sonic. I knew he wouldn't be able to resist coming here. I just wish he would have thought it through better. How does he expect to break us out of here if he's locked in here with us?
The catgirl had reached the end of the walkway on that side and yawned to herself. The previous night had been spent sleeplessly watching the open cell doorway while her companions slept. Fatigue had taken over earlier that day and she passed out on the floor, but it was for a very short amount of time. She considered a nap as she moved to turn around and was only slightly startled to find Sonic standing directly behind her. Leaning back against the hard, cold wall, she tilted her head. "Hn? What? You look like you have something to say."
He nodded toward the cell they had come out of, scowling. "Who is that guy and why are you so close with him? Puri Puri Prisoner said he was the reason why you got arrested."
"He's Grey-san's brother. You haven't met?" She flinched when a hand slammed against the wall to the side of her head, the dark-haired man's face drawing close to hers. "He kept Kenta busy while we were in the compound. I'm just trying to repay him by keeping him safe."
"I don't like it. And why was he touching you?" Sonic stared at the discolored patch on her cheek and gently poked at the frost. "What is this?"
"I got hit by someone when they put me in here. He put frost over it to keep it from hurting. Look, just…are you going to help us escape?"
"And just what do you expect to do when you're out of here? You attacked another hero so your little Hero Association thinks you went crazy. They said on the news that you're dangerous. You might even have rabies. So where do you think you'll be able to go when I get you out?" Sonic moved even closer to her now, his chest pressing against hers. "Here's a better question. What do I get out of helping you escape? I don't do anything for free."
She bared her fangs and pressed closer against the wall. "What do you want?"
"You know what I want."
"You're not getting that so pick something else." Her sharp green eyes stared back into his grey ones as she tried not to let her fatigue show. I'm tired. I want to sleep so badly, but I know that I can't. Puri Puri Prisoner said that I'm safe in that cell, but I don't trust him. I can't trust anyone in here. And now that Sonic is here, I'm sure Puri Puri Prisoner will be even less likely to help me if I'm attacked. Looking at Sonic, a terrible realization began to set in. The realization that he really might be her only chance at escape. The only thing that would really be able to stop the prisoners below from tearing her apart. "Hn. We can negotiate a payment, okay?" she asked, running her fingers through her hair.
He caught her wrist in a tight grip and grinned down at her. "If I really wanted to, I could just take what I want. I don't think your little friend could stop me."
"So you don't really want that then?" the catgirl taunted.
"I never said that; I'm just restraining myself right now. Why? Are you trying to tempt me?" Leaning down to her feline ear, his grin began to spread wider. "Be careful, Noriko."
A low growl emanated from her throat as she leaned up to the side of his neck. Her fangs scraped lightly over his skin and she felt his hips press tight to hers, the hand around her wrist tightening before pinning it above her head. What is he doing? Does he really think this is the time or the place for something like this? Her cheeks were burning pink with a blush, but Noriko fought the urge to give in. "You're the one that should be careful. You know we're being watched, right?"
Sonic pulled back and smirked. "What? Are you afraid of someone seeing us?"
"I'm not…hn. I need to get back and check on Kyou." She was able to pull her wrist free, but as she moved to walk around him, his arm wrapped around her waist. "What are you doing?"
"I'm not stupid, Noriko. I know you well enough to tell when you haven't been sleeping." He put the girl over his shoulder, one arm crossing over the back of her knees and his free hand pressing on her lower back to keep her in place.
Her tail's tip twitched in anger, but she resisted the urge to bite him. "So, what? You think that just because I'm tired, I'll be easier to-?"
"Shut up. I'm taking you somewhere to sleep."
"I'm not tired, okay?! I don't need to sleep; I need to make sure Kyou stays safe!"
Sonic paused outside of an empty cell and frowned. "If I have to knock you out so you'll sleep, you're going to regret it. How much help would you really be if you're too tired to fight anyway? Besides, he looks like he can take care of himself."
Noriko was carried into the cell and dropped onto the bed inside. To her irritation, she bounced a little when she was set down. Her ears drew back as she glared up at Sonic, who was now standing at the end of the bed. "I'm not going to sleep if you're going to stand there watching," she growled.
"Go to sleep." The two locked eyes, staring each other down as neither was about to back down. He crossed his arms as he looked down at her, his expression one of vigilance and determination. "I'm not leaving. I'm going to stand here until you fall asleep."
She snatched the blanket and covered herself, curled up on her side on the bad. Just don't think about it. Just don't think about the creep standing at the end of the bed. The mattress dipped near her feet and she pulled her legs tighter to her chest. "…thank you for coming…"