Noriko drifted through nightmares. Absolutely horrific dreams of the past and what she expected to be her future. Dreams of her death and Koneko's. Dreams of her boyfriend's face, his eyes full of hatred. When consciousness pulled her from the darkest depths of her mind, she found herself back in the apartment. She was lying on her side, her face hurting and her head aching worse. The light coming in from the balcony made her squint, pain flooding her senses. Why did he bring me here though? She quickly became aware of the fact that her arms were stuck behind her back by something tightly wrapped around her wrists. Why didn't he just finish me while I was unconscious?
"Oh, hey. I didn't know you were awake."
The girl turned her head and saw Saitama standing near the kitchen. She opened her mouth to speak, but decided against it. What can I even say? Do I just ask how long until they take me to jail? That has to be what they're going to do. They wouldn't draw it out if they were going to kill me…right?
He tilted his head, puzzled by her silence. "What? You're being quieter than usual." His eyes moved to the position of her arms and he frowned. "Oh. I forgot about that. Here, one second." The man crouched behind her and worked the knot loose on the clothes line. "There you go."
She quickly moved away from him and rubbed her wrists, seeing red impressions in her skin. Her green eyes narrowed on Saitama as she put her back against the opposite wall. He simply stared back at her, as if nothing was wrong. Licking her lips, she attempted speech again and paused. She looked around the room, glancing to the kitchen and toward the bathroom. "…Genos…?" she managed to ask.
"He's in the bathroom. Are you feeling okay today? You had a lot to drink yesterday."
Drawing her knees to her chest, she wrapped her arms around herself. "M-my head hurts…and my cheek hurts."
"There's coffee in the fridge. That should help with the headache."
With extreme caution, Noriko walked to the kitchen and retrieved a can of chilled coffee. Settling on the floor across from him, she took a few careful sips. "You're…acting like nothing's different. What's going to happen to me? Am I going to jail or am I going to die?"
"Is that why you ran off last night?" he asked, surprised. "I mean, I could understand being nervous, but you went kind of crazy. You jumped out that window and then you kept trying to get away after Genos brought you home."
Her face turned red with shame. "I-I don't remember that last part."
"I just couldn't believe you got so far after drinking for the first time." They both looked over as the bathroom door opened. Genos stepped out and walked through the apartment to the door before leaving, not once looking at them or speaking. "By the way, he's not talking to us."
"Why?"
Saitama shrugged. "He's mad at us, I guess. I mean, you kept a pretty big secret from him." His expression turned sheepish. "And I kind of kept a secret from him, too. I didn't really mean to. I thought he already knew."
"…knew what…?" Noriko sipped her coffee again, feeling the bitter liquid settle in her stomach. It is helping my headache though. I still don't understand. What's going to happen to me? He never said I wasn't going to jail. Or going to die.
"About Sonic having a crush on you. I thought Genos already knew."
"How long have you known?"
"Since the day you started strength training and he showed up. The whole time he was there, he kept looking at you." His expression turned serious now. "Let's go train."
"Wh-what?"
"Let's go. We can pick up Koneko and take her with us."
"Where's Mumen Rider?"
"Huh? Oh. Genos took him home last night. Look, don't worry about it. He was out cold when you told us about what happened. And I don't think the Hero Association needs to know you were part of that."
Three days passed, in which Genos refused to speak to his roommates. Saitama went to extra lengths to make Noriko feel as if everything was alright, reassuring her that she would not be going to jail. They trained every day, bringing Koneko along with them.
The third day, they were out for a run together when he noticed Noriko looking particularly bothered. She had been silent for most of the run, simply listening to his conversation with Koneko. "You okay, Nya-chan?"
"Hn…Genos still isn't talking to us."
"You don't need that creepy blonde guy!" Koneko protested.
"What did I tell you, kid?" Saitama gave her a warning look that made Koneko's ears draw back in guilt. "Nya-chan, he'll have to talk to us eventually. Did you see how he kept looking at us today? He wants to talk. Just give him some time."
Her head bowed as she ran and she frowned. I haven't seen Sonic since that day. It's weird. Usually he would be waiting to ambush Saitama or try to attack us while we're training. The thought of him made her start to growl at the back of her throat. That creep! That jerk! It's his fault that Genos is mad at me! She started to run faster, getting ahead of the other two. The air felt cold as it rushed through her long purple hair and she curled her hands into tight fists.
"Big sister, you're running too fast!" Koneko called from behind her.
Saitama lifted the younger catgirl onto his back and easily caught up with Noriko. "You know he loves you, right? As soon as he knew you had left, he went off to find you."
Though it made her feel better, it was only marginal. She parted ways with Saitama and Koneko, deciding to go home early. The second she stepped into the apartment, her tail started to twitch in anxiety. Genos was sitting on the floor with a laptop open, his eyes focused on the screen. Her ears went back and she moved quietly toward her bag to get clean clothes, intending to take a shower and bath. He won't even look at me, she thought with despair.
In actuality, he was watching her from the corner of his eye. True, he was still upset about her keeping such a big secret from him. What he hated more than that was the fact that she had thought he would really kill her or turn her in. It hurt that she thought he would turn against her so quickly. Though he could see it from her point of view. She was afraid of him for a good reason and he still felt terrible about nearly incinerating her in the past. He found himself turning his head to look at her as she dug through her bag. Noriko was wearing a pair of tight leggings and a black t-shirt that hugged her chest and stomach, the neckline dipping low. He tried to turn his focus back to the computer, searching for any hints regarding Kenta, but it was difficult.
Noriko went into the bathroom and sighed once the door was locked. I just want things to either go back to normal or just…I don't know. If I had gone to jail, it might have been better. It hurts. Knowing that he's mad at me and we can't even talk about it. She started the water and waited for it to heat up as she undressed. When the warm water hit her skin, she released a soft purr and stretched. This…is just what I needed. She washed the sweat from her training off of her skin, reveling in the scent of the soap and the steam rising in the air. Her tail curled at the end, the content purr continuing as she let the water rinse away the suds and sadness.
The girl closed her eyes and ran her fingers through her long violet hair, trying to determine what to do after her bath. Wondering if she wanted to bother with a bath. The thought of sitting in silence as she ran the water was becoming less and less appealing. She found herself thinking about Saitama and frowned. Since Genos started ignoring them, the bald hero had been talking to her more and more. He went out of his way to try to cheer her up. He's always sort of been like that, she realized. He's always been right there…ready to talk or cheer me up. Even if he makes that unsettling face, I guess he's pretty helpful.
"Noriko, is the door unlocked?"
Her heart nearly leapt out of her chest at the sound of his voice. "G-Genos? Um…d-do you need the bathroom? I'll leave. Um…" She quickly turned off the water and grabbed her towel to wrap it around her. He's actually talking to me! I can't mess this up! Snatching up her change of clothes, she moved to open the bathroom door.
He was waiting there and seemed almost startled when she opened the door for him. She was standing there, her hair still damp and her body covered by just a towel. The girl's cheeks turned red when she met his gaze and moved to slip past him to the sitting room. Without thinking twice, he put an arm out to stop her. He gently pushed her back into the bathroom and stepped in, locking the door behind him.
"G-Genos? I-I thought you needed the bathroom." Noriko lowered her head, ears back and tail twitching anxiously behind her. The feeling of his metal hands on her shoulders made her look up warily. "I…I didn't tell you…because I never wanted you to hate me. I was sure that you'd hate me if you knew and…and…" She felt his hands leave her shoulders and closed her eyes, certain that he was still angry. When the man's grip shifted to her waist and he pulled her against his chest, she felt her worries starting to melt. "…are you still angry…?"
He leaned down, putting his face inches from her own. "I am still angry, but I am tired of not speaking to you. Are you sorry for not telling me?"
"I-I am! I am sorry! I was just worried about what you'd think and-" Noriko was cut off by his lips pressing against hers. She felt her heart skip a beat and a giddiness seemed to overtake her. The girl put her arms around his neck and kissed back, letting her fingertips trace over the cool metal of his neck and shoulders. The hands on her waist tightened their hold and she found herself being lifted. Her legs wrapped around his waist as he moved across the room, pressing her back against the wall. She leaned back a little, breaking the kiss to meet his gaze. One of his hands left her hips and moved to the front of his pants. "S-so…do you forgive me?"
The corner of his mouth lifted into a smirk and he pressed forward against her. "Yes." It took little time to get his pants open and soon he was pushing the head of his member against her warm lower lips. Noriko's mouth opened in a gasp and he took the opportunity to capture her lips once more, his tongue running along her bottom lip. Her fingertips pressed harder against his back as he pushed his length into her. They both closed their eyes as he filled her completely and they stayed in this position for a moment as her muscles stretched to accommodate him.
She lightly bit at his lip, trying to urge him to start moving. When his hips drew back and then pushed back in, she threw her head back. "Ngh! A-aaaaah! Genos!"
"If you don't control your volume, someone might hear us," he teased, leaning down to the side of her neck. His teeth grazed over her sensitive skin and her back arched, hips thrusting forward to meet his. Instantly, he sped up. Moving at a faster pace brought forth more sounds from the girl and he did nothing to muffle them. Ignoring her had entailed more than simply refusing words. He had tried not to look at her. He had not touched her. Genos tried to remind himself that it had only been three days, but that did nothing to stop his lust for the girl. She was looking at him now, her green eyes shining back with a passion that rivaled his own.
Noriko's face turned pink at the direct eye contact and she soon looked away. Her pleasure was building quickly, her juices making his member slick and creating a small, wet sound each time he thrust into her. The girl was panting and moaning quietly, getting closer and closer to her climax. Just as she was about to reach it, she felt his member slide out of her and not return. He held her in place, staring down at her with a slight smirk. "Wh-what are you doing?"
"I said that I will forgive you, but I never said that I would forgive you without punishment." He lowered her to the floor and braced his body over hers, slipping a hand between her legs. His middle finger pressed against her clit and Noriko's hips lifted, grinding against his fingertip. His free hand went behind her head, but before he could act, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his face down to hers. The blonde was surprised by how aggressive she was acting, but did not object to it.
Her lips latched onto his as he rubbed circles over the bundle of nerves, edging her closer and closer to a climax. She broke the kiss as a loud moan left her, the girl's face turning red with shame. "Genos, p-please!"
"Do you want something?" The cyborg watched her with amusement. Her face was contorting with pleasure, lips parted as another moan escaped. Though he wanted release just as badly as she did, he wanted to draw this out just a little longer.
"I-I want…I want you…to f-fill me…please…" she panted. This is so embarrassing! Though she hated begging, she was glad when he obliged. He was soon thrusting into her, harder and faster than before. Her arms encircled his neck, fingertips pressing tight against the cool metal of his body. The girl's back arched as her climax hit, her chest brushing his as her towel finally came open. "Ngh! Genos~"
His release came seconds later and he pushed his hips into hers one last time. Seeing her stare up at him, panting and blushing, made him feel the mood coming back to him rapidly. He waited a moment, letting her catch her breath, before he started to thrust into her again. She winced, still sensitive from her last climax, and squirmed beneath him.
When they were finished, the two were alarmed to find Saitama sitting in the next room reading manga. Noriko went straight to the kitchen, trying to keep her back to him as she attempted to stop blushing. I can't believe he was just sitting out here while we did that! How long has he been home?!
He glanced up from his book as Genos sat near him. "Oh, you're done? That's cool. I wanted to know if you guys are up for a sale at the store tonight. We'll have to get there soon, but it's a pretty good deal."
"Yes, that sounds like a good plan."
There was a long, awkward silence that followed. Saitama turned the page in his manga and frowned. "So you're talking to us again?"
"I believe that my anger was misdirected. Noriko helped me to understand that."
The man gave Genos a blank look. "Through sex?"
Completely ignoring the question, the blonde continued talking. "The person I should be angry with is Sonic for putting her into that situation. I only wish I had thought of this sooner. I may have acted rashly."
At this, Saitama finally set his book aside. "Uh, Genos? What did you do?"
