Noriko moved swiftly, not even hesitating once Genos left her in favor of aiding Saitama and Metal Bat. She sprinted out from the other side of the ranch house, quickly slipping behind Kyou's ice shield to catch her breath. His presence made her a little nervous, but she knew that it was the safest place at the moment. There was no time to steal a glance at the monster that was attacking. "How long can this shield hold out?" she asked, unclasping the leash on her choker to tuck it into her pocket.
"They can chip away at it, but my body will produce more ice to refortify it. Unlike my sister, I don't run out as quickly." Kyou's long grey hair was falling over his face, but he was still visibly paler than usual as he closed his eyes. On the other side of the shield, the monster began to roar and claw at the earth beneath it. "What did she bring? Can you see it? Tell me how far away it is and I might be able to trap it."
She grimaced, already able to smell the beast again. It stank of rotting flesh and it reminded her of Kenta's corpse from months ago when she and the others found it. I don't know if my cat senses are magnifying it or what, but this is pretty horrible! Do I really want to see whatever this thing is? Her feline ears twitched, picking up Saitama's voice.
"Wow. What is this thing? Is it really alive?"
"Master Saitama, do not-!"
"Gross! Why did you put your hand in it?!" Metal Bat demanded.
"Heh! Heheh! You should really…see the look on your face right now! Low class hero Saitama! Stupid Saitama! What kind of idiot sticks their hand in something this nasty?" Kyona cackled on the other side of the shield, several feet away. "I just don't get it. What does she see in you? Any of you dumb heroes! I mean, just look at you! You're pathetic! One shot of my electricity to your hearts and you'd both be dead! And of course there's the metal bastard. Want to see how far I can paralyze you from?"
Rage coursed through Noriko's veins as she gripped the edge of the shield. She peered around it and narrowed her eyes on the hulking figure of the monster. It did not look human in the least, but its eyes conveyed great pain. The general shape of it seemed to be a very large rhinoceros, but the snout was deformed to more closely resemble a dog's and the ears drooped instead of standing upright. It had hands, but it was currently on all fours as it charged at the three heroes. Riding on its back, grasping hooks that dug deep into either side of its upper back, was Kyona.
When the catgirl moved behind the shield once more, she found Kyou glaring in her direction. "Hn. The monster is about fifty feet in front of us, but it's going after the others right now. And your sister is riding on its back. She isn't really looking this way."
"Doesn't surprise me; she has a one-track mind. Her number one objective is finding you, but until she sees your face, I know that she will be targeting the other heroes." As he spoke, Kyou began to gradually lower his shield and the ice receded back into his body. The second that the monster came into view, he cringed. "That thing…it's barely alive. I can tell by its movements that it's been altered. She's controlling it with electrical impulses."
She shivered. The thought of fighting a mostly dead creature was horrifying enough, but the thought of Kyona controlling the creature's body made it worse. This was a person at some point. A human being whose life Kenta destroyed by fusing its DNA with animal DNA. It would be a mercy killing. She unsheathed both swords and turned to Kyou. "Can you throw me?"
"What? Do I really look strong enough to throw you?" he demanded, raising an eyebrow. He shook ice shards from his fingertips and shoved his hands into his pockets. "My sister is dangerous. I need to be prepared for when she notices my presence because I'm not going to run away. I promised to do everything in my power to protect you and Koneko. And even if that thing's barely alive, that thing still has the Catgirl Enforcer commands engrained into its brain. That means that it still has the urge to hunt catgirls. If its willpower somehow overpowers my sister's control over it, it could try to kill you or our daughter."
"Okay, so can you make a ramp out of ice that I could launch myself off of? I need to get on top of that rotting sack of meat and kick your sister off of it!"
The smile that took form on his pale face sent a shiver down the girl's spine. "You want to launch yourself at it? What if she zaps you out of the air? You know…my sister is so fond of you. It wouldn't surprise me if she jumped on you the second you get close."
"Just…hn. How can you help me get up there? I'll figure it out when I'm-!"
"Use one of your swords to stick into its side so you won't lose your balance. Aim for the stomach for maximum damage and the limbs to slow it down. Brain to end it quickly, but that will be difficult. Ready?" Without another word, Kyou thrust a pillar of ice up from the ground and sent the catgirl's body flying through the air.
That was too fast! I'm not ready for this! I don't even-! She was hurdling toward the monster at a rapid pace and found her body colliding with Kyona's instead of the beast's side. Both girls were knocked to the ground on the other side of the monster and it instantly began to rampage. It rushed at Genos and Saitama as Noriko twisted to avoid being shocked by a thread of electricity leaving Kyona's hand.
When the grey-haired girl saw that it was her crush, she grinned and turned them both. Straddling Noriko's waist, her long hair brushed the catgirl's collarbone and her face drew close to hers. "I found you~"
"Are you…seriously going to pretend that I didn't just flying at you out of nowhere?!" Noriko snarled, snapping her fangs at Kyona's face.
"I'm so glad to see you! My little Nya-san! My darling little Nya-san!" Kyona rubbed her cheek against Noriko's, ignoring the way that the catgirl's swords slashed at her back through her sweatshirt. "I missed you! I missed you…heheh! I missed you so much! I was…craving you…this whole time! My little Nya-san! And here you are…throwing yourself at me! Just when I thought I'd never see my darling again!"
"Get off of me!" The catgirl turned them both, glowering down at her and hissing in outrage. "How dare you come here?! What kind of sociopath does something like this? Did you really think that-?"
"Heh! Heheheh! You're mad? Oh! Nya-san! I know what you're so pissed off about! I remember now! It's been months, but I remember now! This is where I killed that old hag! That ugly old hag that was getting in Kenta-sensei's way! I remember! You had…such a great look on your face! I've never seen someone so surprised! It was amazing!"
"Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up! You murdered an innocent old woman! You killed her in cold blood! She was like a grandmother! She was trying to protect me! Koneko looked up to Koto-san so much and you took her away! How can you be so proud of yourself for killing her?! You're a monster! You're just as bad as Kenta!" Her limbs froze in place, tensed as electricity ran through her body. Noriko's teeth were gritted as pain filled her senses.
Kyona smirked and pushed herself to sit up, forcing Noriko onto her back in the grass. She settled on the catgirl's waist and tilted her head as she regarded her crush. "You…called me a monster? Me? Really? Someone like you…calling me a monster? Heh! Heheh! That's just…too perfect! Okay, so we're both monsters! Rawr~!" Her long grey hair tickled Noriko's cheek as she leaned down. "You…kill monsters. So your own kind? You kill villains. You kill people. And don't even try to deny that! I know that you killed people; it's what assassins do! And I…absolutely love that predator side of you! The monster side of you! Can you really say that either of them love that side of you? Can you, Nya-san?!"
"Back off!" Metal Bat swung at Kyona's head, forcing the girl to duck backwards and off of Noriko. He made a grab for the female hero's upper arm and, ignoring the initial pain of a shock, managed to drag her to her feet. "What the hell are you doin' anyway?! You're over here having a catfight with this girl while we're-!"
"Move!" Noriko pushed him in time to avoid a strong electrical wave aimed at his head. He glared at her, but she ignored it and kept her eyes focused on Kyona. I'm glad that he came to help me, but I heard what Kyou said before. If the grip of his bat isn't rubber, this could be a really bad situation! I just hope he doesn't-! Before she could even finish her thought, the male hero rushed at Kyona again with his weapon poised to strike. She knew she had to do something, but there was very little that could be done. She could put herself between the two and take all of their attacks directly or she could attempt to stop at least one of them. "Don't...don't kill him! He has a family!"
Kyona looked past Metal Bat, dodging his attacks, and stared directly at Noriko. "Oh…I can't! Couldn't kill him if I wanted to! Kenta-sensei…and my father, too! They both want him alive! His death can't be by me! I'll just toy with him a little! I can't possibly…forgive someone for touching my precious Nya-san! It can't go unpunished!"
Noriko glanced over her shoulder as the ground began to rumble and gaped at the sight before her. The monster seemed to have picked up her scent and was now charging in the direction of the three humans. Genos was rushing after it to try to stop the creature and Saitama was checking on a now very pale Kyou. Even scarier than the fast pace at which it moved was the facial expression that the monster wore as it neared her. The way that it drooled and stared at her with dark, glassy eyes. It was painfully reminiscent of Kenta.
The beast was approaching fast so she knew that she had to react. While she was still aching from the electrical surge from Kyona and still slightly dizzy from being hurled through the air by Kyou, she was able to move quickly. Noriko turned to face it and leapt as high as she could, latching her swords into its side as Kyou had recommended and scaling up to its back. The creature drew back on its legs, bleeding hands clawing at the air as the girl struggled to hold on. Confusion was making it lose its mind as its prey settled upon its rotting flesh.
Genos saw her get on its back and paused to determine his next course of action. His plan had been to finish it off, but with her now on its back, she was also in danger. He ran alongside it as it fell to all fours and raced along the cattle fence. The livestock were running to the other side of their enclosure with their eyes wide. He managed to get in front of the monster and swung his leg hard against the inside of its elbow. It fell onto its face, nearly throwing the catgirl off of its back. The cyborg made a quick calculation and leapt up above its head. A Rocket Stomp came down hard upon it, crushing the monster's skull in a single move and destroying its brain.
Noriko felt it shudder beneath her and jumped off of its back, pulling her swords free of its flesh. As she walked around to the front of the monster, she saw a hole in its chest that could only be where Saitama had stuck his hand into it. Why did he do that? And how rotten did this thing's body have to be to give way under his hand like that? She heard cackling and turned to find Kyona keeping Metal Bat at bay.
Electricity was reaching off of her body like tendrils, threatening to electrocute anyone that got close. "You think you won? Just because you beat my little rental pet…you think you won? I only brought that thing out of its cage so I could use it to find my Nya-san! I don't care if it's dead! That thing was pathetic! I bet he was pathetic even before Kenta-sensei turned him into a monster! Heheh! Look at that! Still shuddering! But…heheheh…isn't that the best part?! Watching the body shudder right before the life leaves its eyes! Too bad I couldn't watch the old hag go out that way! I would've loved to-!" She was interrupted by a red-gloved hand flicking the back of her head from behind. Kyona turned to glare at the interloper and snickered. "Oh, it's just you! Low class hero Saitama. Loser Saitama. I can't believe that my Nya-san hangs out with low class zeroes like you and Metal Bat!"
"We're both Class S!" the dark-haired hero argued.
"My little Nya-san is still better!"
"I'm a higher rank than she is! I'm a way higher rank than Murasaki, you delusional-!" A thick strand of electricity shot toward him, but was stopped by a wall of ice.
Kyou glared down at his twin sister. The two were almost identical with the small differences of height and gender. Their face shape, hair color and length, eye color, and even body type were extremely similar. Although it was becoming clear by their facial expressions which one was saner. Kyona's eyes were wide and fierce as she gritted her teeth. "Leave. This is my place now and you're not welcome here."
"Heh! You think you're some kind of big shot now, Kyou-nii?! Just because you have a little independence now, you think you're better than me?" She grabbed the front of his hooded sweatshirt, dragging his face down to her level. "You think…that you stand a chance…with Nya-san? That's it…isn't it, Kyou-nii?" Her face contorted in pain as ice raced along her arm from where her hand made contact with his body, encasing her flesh in a coldness that seemed to permeate to the bone. Kyona threw her head back, screaming shrilly as it spread to her upper arm.
Noriko watched as blood oozed out around where the ice ended and quickly realized what was happening. He's…sinking shards into her! Is he trying to take off her left arm?! I know she's a psychopath, but that's still his sister! She just isn't right in the head! Her stomach turned as the screaming grew louder and was horrified by what happened next. Saitama moved to intervene, but it was too late. Kyona tried to pull her arm free of the ice, but when she stumbled backwards, it was without most of her left arm. Blood gushed from the wound and she flailed the remnants of her arm in horror, screaming in agony.
Kyou gazed down at his sister with a cold frown and his ice released the girl's arm. It fell in front of her in the grass, blood rushing out of it. Tilting his head, he pushed his hands into his pockets as if nothing was wrong. "Don't come here again."
Metal Bat stared in horror at the wounded girl and glanced to Kyou, now uncertain of where the other man's loyalties lie. "Why did you do that?!"
"She has to learn. She never learned from me telling her not to do something so I thought this might be the only way." With that, he turned his back on the group and walked toward the house. Kyou did not even spare them a parting glance.
Noriko, not entirely sure what to do, fell to her knees beside Kyona and did the only thing she could think of to try to console her. She hesitantly put her arms around the older girl and drew her to her side. "I-I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…Grey-san…w-we'll get you help. We'll get you to a hospital and-!" She felt Kyona's remaining arm wrap around her neck, pulling her closer. The grey-haired girl sobbed, tears wetting Noriko's shirt as she buried her face in the catgirl's shoulder. This was my fault! This was my fault somehow; I just know it! How am I going to fix this?!