It was almost as if things were back to normal. Almost. Noriko could still feel a tension between her and Genos. Like he doesn't completely trust me. I don't blame him though after I kept a secret like that from him. She stretched her arms over her head and purred, nuzzling her head against the hand petting behind her ear. Wait…what? Her eyes snapped open and she frowned. The girl had been napping in her usual spot on the floor and was now looking up at Saitama, somehow having sprawled across his lap in her sleep. Thankfully, his eyes were on the television screen so she was spared the embarrassment of being seen blushing.
The apartment door opened and Genos entered just in time to see Saitama rest a hand on the catgirl's exposed stomach. He frowned upon seeing this and contemplated saying something, but decided against it. Instead, he went to the kitchen to put away the groceries. He did glance over as he worked, watching the man's fingers skim over her pale skin as he absently watched an anime. She squirmed a little, but seemed reluctant to stop him. A guilty look crossed her face when she saw Genos staring and he realized why. "Master Saitama, her feline instincts are bound to kick in if you keep doing that," he spoke up.
"Huh? Oh. I didn't even realize I was doing that. Sorry, Nya-chan." He drew his hands away from her ear and stomach, not the least bit embarrassed at his actions. "Genos, did you get the mail?"
"I did. I will bring it over when I am done here."
Noriko sat up, moving a few feet away from Saitama as a blush settled on her cheeks. I need to get better control of my cat instincts. I can't keep rubbing my face on his hand and letting him pet behind my ears. I'm a person. I'm not a pet cat. She looked toward the rat monster's phone, perched on the top of the bookshelf. No calls or text messages had come through. It seemed that Kenta knew what would happen if he did make contact. I wish he would say something so we can at least figure out his location. Genos has been running searches on him, but there's nothing online.
The cyborg sat between her and Saitama for a moment before rethinking it. Wrapping an arm around her waist, he pulled her onto his lap and began sorting the mail. Though he was never going to admit it, he felt a pang of jealousy when he saw her and Saitama getting along so well. Without a word, he started going through her mail right in front of her.
"…why do you do that…?"
He froze. "What?"
"You always go through my mail before giving it to me," she pointed out. Even as she spoke, he continued to tear open envelopes and quickly skim the contents before putting it in one of two piles.
"I am filtering out the obscene letters and photos," he finally answered after a long pause.
"Are you sure you're not looking for something from Sonic? You never did tell us what you did." Saitama's attention had shifted from the television now.
The blonde silently sorted through the rest of the mail, suddenly refusing to acknowledge either of them. When he came across one particular letter, he frowned and put it in front of Noriko. "This girl wants you to send her a picture of your boyfriend."
"Hn. Junko from City G?" She took the letter and grimaced. Yeah, she's asking for a picture of my boyfriend. I don't want to do that, but she did give me some valuable information while I was in City G. I do owe her a little, I guess. Leaning back against his chest, she tilted her head and wondered if Genos would even let her take a picture of him.
"Hey, do you guys want to go do something? This is a rerun." Saitama turned off the television and found both of his friends looking at him. "What? Did I miss something?"
If I sent a picture of Genos, wouldn't that make Junko want more? That would get really annoying. Her tail flicked back and forth, lightly tapping the cyborg's side. "…want to take some pictures…?"
The three were soon outside, walking down the street in the chilled autumn air. Noriko purchased a digital camera and gave it to Genos, who seemed confused by her plan, but agreed to go along with it. She walked alongside Saitama and he snapped a couple of pictures to test it out. While she was certain that sending a picture of Saitama would deter Junko from wanting more, Genos thought that it might redirect the girl's interest to his master. He lowered the camera as he watched the two converse ahead of him, feeling that pang of jealousy again. When he was not speaking to them, they seemed to have grown closer. Shaking his head, he tried to convince himself that nothing would come of it.
"What's your type anyway? You said before that Mumen Rider isn't your type. So are you just into blondes or something?" Saitama asked.
"Hn…I don't know. Before I moved here, I never really interacted with any guys other than Kenta. I just know that Mumen Rider isn't my type." She bowed her head, biting her bottom lip for a moment as she fidgeted with her bottle of juice. "I kind of like black hair."
Immediately, he looked to Genos. The blonde's eye seemed to twitch. "Don't."
"What?" Noriko followed his gaze and frowned. "G-Genos? Um…I mean, I love you. I didn't mean…you know…"
"No. I understand. You prefer black hair."
"Genos. I'm serious. Don't think about it. She likes you the way you are." Saitama gave him a firm stare until the cyborg seemed to calm a little. "Alright?"
"Yes. Alright." He snapped a photo of the two staring at him, simply trying to break the awkward tension now hanging heavy in the air.
"Can I have some?" Saitama asked, his eyes shifting to Noriko's bottle of juice.
"Uh…I already drank from it."
"So? What, you have germs or something?" He accepted it from her and drank half of what was left. Handing it back, he wiped his mouth and smiled. "You know, I used to have black hair before it fell out."
I don't think Genos can handle much more. Is Saitama purposefully trying to agitate him as revenge for when he ignored us? Her ears went back as her phone started to ring. Answering it only brought trouble. "Hello? Hn…yes. Mm-hm. Alright, I'll…try to be there soon. Yes, I'll bring him with me." She turned toward her friends and saw that Saitama was suddenly missing. Tucking her phone into her pocket, she ran her fingers through her long hair. "Saitama…?"
"He remembered a sale at the market. Was that the Hero Association?" Genos gave her a curious, almost hopeful look. As if he needed the stress relief of pulverizing a monster.
"City K is being attacked by monsters," she replied. "They said to bring you with me."
Noriko was able to run most of the way herself, but at some point had to be lifted onto his back. Her arms wrapped tightly around him from behind, her face lowered to keep the wind from stinging her eyes as he ran. I know I'm getting stronger, but I still wish I could run as fast as they can. Damn it. I just hope this doesn't take too long. I hate when it takes forever to take down a monster!
They arrived and found the trouble almost instantly. There were five massive doglike monsters wandering the shopping district in a pack formation as if they were hunting. A few people had already been seriously injured or killed, strewn on the sidewalks like litter. The monsters stood taller than both heroes, easily breaking ten feet in height, and seemed to be capable of shifting onto their hind legs. Standing around the corner of a building, Noriko watched the five monsters walk down the center of the street. "…they're not armed…?"
"Why do you think they would ask for a Class S hero to accompany you? There must be some reason-" Genos went silent as one monster opened their mouth and released a powerful blast of fire onto the exterior of a building. Another began to claw its way up to the roof of an electronics store. He pushed Noriko behind him and he prepared to launch a blast at the group. "I do not want you to get close to them. Do you understand? Allow me to handle these monsters."
"I can fight them! I'm not as weak as you seem to think I am!" she argued.
"They are dogs and you are a cat. What do you intend to do? What if your feline instincts take over and you act rashly? Allow me to handle them, Noriko."
She unsheathed both swords and scowled. "I'm not…letting you protect me like some weakling! I'm going to fight them!" she argued.
By now the monsters had sensed them and were turning their heads. One of them, its belly large and rubbing the ground as he waddled toward them, began to drool. He tilted his head and then threw it back, laughing hysterically. "Oh, did we scare the little humans? I didn't think they'd send out a dogcatcher and a nasty cat, but I can smell it in the air!"
Another lifted its head, sniffing at the air. "Girl cat," it stated in a growl. "Rip up girl cats! Useless creatures!"
"Girl cats good fun before you rip up," another argued. "Catch girl cat and use before rip it up."
"It's so considerate of the humans to send us a little chew toy before we get to the real fun!" the fourth chimed in. "Tasty girl flesh and bones and blood! Been a while, hasn't it?"
"Hold on." The largest monster stopped in his tracks and sniffed the air for himself. "You smell that metal? Did they send some sort of machine with her?"
"Tasty machine?"
"Killing machine!"
"Kill the machine!" two of them roared at once.
Noriko gave Genos an expectant look. "So…I'm still helping. There are only five. They don't seem too bright. It shouldn't take long if we each take two and then team up for the last one."
He turned his back on the monsters to give her a stern look. "I do not want you to be put in danger. I will take care of them and-" The cyborg's shoulder was grabbed and he was yanked backwards, his body flying into the side of a building.
The girl swore and dodged a snap of the jaws of the attacking dog monster. With the blunt end of her right sword's handle, she bashed it on the end of the snout. It crouched to hold its injured nose and she leapt over its hunched back, intending to get to her boyfriend. She narrowly dodged a swipe of a massive, clawed hand as another monster tried to swat her out of the air. Noriko ducked and moved quickly to avoid each one as she sprinted to where Genos was pushing himself to stand up. "I didn't think they looked that strong," she remarked, nervously biting her lip. "What do you think? Should we call Saitama?"
Determination filled his eyes as he looked from her to the monsters. If he let her call for his master, he would no longer be protecting her himself. This was his chance to show that he could protect her without Saitama's help. "We can do this without him," he stated with confidence.
Her eyes widened as she saw the drool from one dog hit the street with a sizzling sound. Is that one…drooling acid?! What is that? If either of us gets hit with that, we'll…She glanced at Genos, who was preparing to attack the largest monster. "…you're sure about this…?"
"I am certain that I can do this. I want you to stay out of the fighting. If one of them comes near you, yell for me and I will be here to protect you." His gold and black eyes met her green ones. "Only call for Master Saitama if I tell you to, alright? I am perfectly capable of protecting my own girlfriend from some mongrels." Genos lifted her chin and pressed his lips to hers briefly before turning to rush at the monsters.
She stood there for a moment, stunned. Her eyes took in every detail as he became airborne, blasts of fire coming from his shoulder blades as he drew back an arm and curled his hand into a fist. The dog monster shifted quickly to face him, seeming to sense his approach, and caught his fist in a clawed hand. A smirk overtook its features before it snapped at the cyborg's face. Rows of sharp teeth scraped over the blonde's face, leaving deep gouges in the material and taking out a chunk of blonde hair when the monster snapped its head back.
A second monster turned its attention toward Genos and the largest one as the other three looked toward Noriko. Just what did he think the other ones would do while he fought the big one?! She brandished her swords and glanced at each one. The middle monster and the one on the left were both scrawny, drool running from their jaws. The one on the right seemed to be more muscled and watched her with eyes that reflected intelligence and mirth. Damn it! Of course, the fat and stupid one went to Genos! I have the one that breathed fire and the one that drools acid! She set her mouth in a straight line, not wanting her fear to show. "Look. If you leave the city now, I'll let you live. If you attack me, I'll make sure that you regret it."
"Girl flesh." The left one sniffed at her, taking a step closer. "Sweet girl flesh. Tasty girl flesh? Smells tasty sweet. Good bones for crunching! Want to chew those girl bones!"
"Girl cat flesh," the middle one corrected. "Cat flesh always tasty. Cat bones fragile. Snap, pop, crack! Fun sounds from cat bones! Girl cat bones make same sound?"
The one on the right smirked and leaned in toward the girl, snout stopping inches from her chest. He towered over her in height and his fur seemed to bristle at her scent. "Girl bones. Girl cat bones. They all taste the same, if you ask me. The real question should be the taste of the flesh. She looks soft enough to bite clean through."
"Want a taste! Want a taste of girl cat flesh!" The middle monster lunged forward, but her hands caught the top of his head and the bottom of his snout before he could fully reach her.
She was struggling to hold her swords as well as she threaded her fingers into the dog monster's thick brown fur, but she managed it and glared down into its golden eyes. "Hn. Did you think I'd just let you?" Her knee drove up sharply, slamming into its chin and making it reel back in pain the second she released his fur. Noriko leapt back and away before the monster on the left could snap its jaws on her head. A quick glance at Genos showed that the two monsters he was fighting were actually proving a challenge. What are these?! That one was so sneaky and so strong that he threw Genos like he was nothing! And that one that breathes fire and the one that drools acid! What are these things?!
The monster on the right seemed to grin before rushing forward. A clawed hand grabbed her by the throat and lifted her so that her feet dangled over the ground. "I'm going to tear open your stomach and watch your insides fall out," the monster hissed in her ear. "That mechanical human you came with will see us feast on your organs and brain. Now let me hear you scream!"
Noriko kneed him beneath the chin, forcing his head back, and tore from his hold. Falling to the ground, she quickly put distance between herself and the monster. Damn it! Now what?!
