"Hey, isn't that Samurai Catgirl?"
"What?! Whoa, it is! What's she doing in a game store? And is she hanging out with Loli Catgirl? Wow! She's so cute and little! And Samurai Catgirl is pretty hot!"
He glanced over after hearing the word 'catgirl' and was not disappointed. True to what the teenage boys were saying, there was a taller catgirl and a shorter one standing a few aisles away. Wow. They're both really cute. They look like characters from a dating sim. He could feel his heart beating faster the longer he stared. The shorter girl's tail was shifting back and forth as she looked at the shelf of games in front of her. Why are they in a game store?
"Which one, big sister?"
"Hn…don't know. A fighting game maybe? Which one do you think he'd like?"
"Sensei wouldn't want a stupid game."
"…that really doesn't narrow it down…"
He wondered if he should try to say hello to them. It was common knowledge that Samurai Catgirl was a Class A hero and that she was pretty strong so it was a little intimidating, but he did want to get a closer look. His heart was racing now and other game store patrons started to edge further away from him as it became audible.
"You heard, right? About Samurai Catgirl getting kidnapped by that assassin? It was during that fight with those dog monsters a while back," one of the teenage boys whispered.
"I heard that the assassin broke out of jail to get to her. And you know who put him in jail right? That cyborg hero Genos! People say that he put him there to punish him for liking her!"
"No way! Isn't that kind of harsh?" There was a brief pause in their conversation and when they started to speak again, their voices were full of nervousness. "Hey, maybe we shouldn't ask for an autograph. Isn't that him standing right outside the store?"
King looked toward the store window and spotted the cyborg standing out near the street, staring into the game store intensely. The sight of Genos instantly made up his mind for him. Samurai Catgirl looks pretty busy. I probably shouldn't bother her, he thought as he began to sweat. When he turned away from the window, he jumped a little at the sight of the smaller catgirl staring up at him. "Uh…"
"I've seen you somewhere before," she stated in a high-pitched voice, tilting her head. The girl grinned wickedly. "Hn. You're a hero, right? I remember now. When I was hunting blonde guys, trying to kill Genos-senpai, I saw you. Interesting. You didn't do a thing to stop me then, did you?"
"Koneko." The taller girl was came up on his other side now and walked around him to the child. "Sorry…is she bothering you?"
"Uh…no." He glanced toward the window and saw Genos approaching the store's entrance. "I need to go."
"Wait. You're…King, right? The Class S hero. This is perfect. Saitama said that he played a game with you a while back. Um…could you tell me what it's called? We wanted to get him a gift for something he did recently and we thought a video game would be-"
"This." He grabbed it off the shelf and offered it to her, sweating profusely now and hoping that she did not notice. The catgirls were both much cuter up close.
"Oh. Thanks." She smiled and was left behind with her sister when he bolted from the store.
Shift P.O.V
"I am the great Sumo Rat! Tell me where to find Samurai Catgirl or I will begin killing-!"
"I don't have time for this." He darted forward and severed the rat's right arm just above the elbow. Immediately, it threw back its head and started screaming. Though he was irritated and incredibly impatient, he stood and waited for it to stop. "Are you done? Because I have a proposition for you."
"I refuse to work with a disgusting human! Tell me where-!"
"Do you really want me to cut off the limbs you have left and disembowel you?" He narrowed his eyes, watching the monster closely for signs of another attack. "You have contact with Kenta." The rat nodded, looking uneasy. "And Kenta must know approximately where she is. You weren't going to stop here. I can tell that you were heading somewhere else."
"J-just what are you trying to say? Spit it out!"
Sonic felt his lips drawing into a smirk. "Take me to where she is and maybe I'll let you live. Or at the very least, I'll make sure your death is quick."
"Y-you're going to kill me anyway! Why should I help you?! Why do you want to know where she is?"
"Let's just say that I have my reasons. So are you going to accept my proposition or not? I don't have all day to wait for you to make a decision. I'd like to find her before sunset."
The rat monster seemed to think for a moment before nodding, his rolls of fat jiggling. "Yes! Yes, alright! I'll work together with you, but please let me live!"
"I'll decide what happens to you when the time comes. Now crouch down; I'm riding on your back."
Shift P.O.V
"Did you find what you were looking for?"
"Yep!" Koneko held up the video game triumphantly and smiled.
Noriko was carrying the bag with the actual game system in it, watching Koneko interact with Genos. It really does seem like they're both making an effort to get along. I mean…I kind of get why he's doing it. But maybe Saitama convinced her to be nicer to Genos. Their group of three started down the street, hoping to reach home by sunset. She still wanted to try to arrange for the old rancher to look after Koneko, but for the time being it seemed safer to keep her close.
"I saw a hero in there. It's kind of funny because I tried to kill him once because I thought he was you, Genos-senpai. Isn't that weird?" Koneko giggled, but the humor was lost on the cyborg.
When he turned to Noriko with a faintly curious look, she shrugged. "It's not good to kill people, Koneko."
"I don't anymore though! I won't unless it's a bad guy or a monster that's trying to hurt you, senpai, or sensei!" the child exclaimed.
"Perhaps you should test to become a hero like us," Genos pointed out. "Master Saitama said that you fight very well. You could strive to become a Class A hero like Noriko."
"Hnhnhn~ No way! I'm going to reach Class S! That's the strongest, right?! Isn't that what Saitama-sensei is?"
Noriko shared an amused glance with Genos. "Uh…you know what? He's so strong that Saitama can't even be put into a class," she awkwardly said.
"Wow! Sensei is even cooler than I thought!"
You and Genos both now? I guess as long as everyone is getting along. She listened to them talk back and forth as the child asked questions about the test, including how Genos had scored on it. The older catgirl found her thoughts wandering as they talked. She remembered the strength training session from that morning. Saitama seemed distracted today. Is it because Genos and I are back? Was it really that weird with us gone for a few days?
The sound of chaos and destruction drifted down the street, accompanied by the screams of citizens. Noriko turned around in time to get tossed aside by a rat monster's massive snout slamming into her ribs. She crashed into the side of a building and winced at the pain. Damn it! I should have guessed that…Her bright green eyes widened as the rat monster loomed over. "Wh-what the hell…am I looking at here?" she muttered.
"Did you think that you could get away from me that easily? I told you that I would never…" Sonic frowned from his seat on the monster's upper back. "Why are you staring at me like that?"
"Why are you riding piggyback on a rat monster?" She supposed that she should be terrified. Here was the vicious ninja that she had just recently escaped the clutches of and a rat monster. A huge, hulking rat monster with a jiggling stomach; standing at least eight feet tall and missing half of its right arm. Despite these frightening things, her mind could not move past the fact that Sonic was perched up near its shoulders like a small child being carried by their parent.
The man fumed and brandished a shuriken. "I'm not riding piggyback! Now as I was saying-!"
"Wait…" Noriko looked around and was glad when she saw that Koneko was safe. Genos had grabbed her to get her out of the way of the charging monster was now standing off to the side, telling the girl to stay put. "Where's my bag?"
"Don't ignore me! I'm here to-!"
"That bag was important! Help me find it!" She spotted it a short distance away and pushed herself free of the brick wall, staggering over to the bag. Damn it! A corner of it got chipped! Well I guess I can trade it in and just pay a little more to get a new one. What a waste of time though! Noriko felt her ears flatten in anger as she glared over at Sonic. Her tail flicked back and forth. She tossed the bag to Koneko, frowning. "Take that home, okay? Don't talk to anyone unless it's Saitama or Mumen Rider, alright?"
The child nodded in reply before turning her head toward Sonic. "You hurt her and you answer to me, creep! Got it?! Don't even think about it!"
Noriko watched her go and was glad when Genos appeared beside her. "So…are you going to explain why you're riding on a rat monster or can we get this fight over with?"
"Who was that small child?"
"None of your business! Why are you here?"
"I was wondering when you would come out of hiding again. I have been waiting for this opportunity." Genos glared fiercely at the ninja, but was ultimately ignored.
"So tell me. Who was it that broke you out?" Sonic taunted the catgirl.
She smirked, subtly shifting her position so her back was no longer to the wall. "Saitama broke me out. By the way, I don't appreciate that you hid my belongings from me. So what's this about? You want me to go back with you?"
"If you already know then why don't you make it easier on yourself and come without a fight?" He slid down from the monster's back and stood beside it, crossing his arms.
"If you think that I will let you take her again-!"
"This doesn't concern you. Stay out of our conversation."
"Don't talk to Genos that way," she snarled. She ducked as shuriken flew at her. The girl's left feline ear was nicked and blood ran down the side of her face. Damn it! Holding the injury, she hissed at the ninja. "Really?! You really just did that?"
From the look on his face, it was clear that he had not meant for it to actually hurt her, but he tried to cover it up with an evil grin. "Don't think that I won't do it again."
She looked at the blood on her hand and growled lowly. Her eyes lifted first to Sonic and then shifted quickly to the rat monster beside him. "You know, this isn't your fight. Kenta sent you, right? To collect my body. I can tell that's why you're here. Let me guess though; you ran into this creep and he promised not to kill you as long as you showed him where I was?" The rat nodded, rolls of fat jiggling in a disgusting fashion. Noriko reached to her swords, unsheathing them swiftly and tilting her head. "You don't want to die." It shook its head. "So I'll give you the chance to run away. You want to do that?"
"Kenta-sensei will destroy me!"
A cruel smile took form on her lips. "Well…this fight is going to be awkward then, isn't it? I can smell your fear from here. It smells like urine. It smells nauseating. My feline instincts want me to tear open your throat. Now…if you had agreed to leave, I might have been able to fight the instincts for longer. But that's not the case." Her eyes glimmered with ferocity and she lunged up at its neck.
Her actions started a bizarre chain reaction. She latched her swords into the monster's neck as it screamed and began to run on all fours, her body dragging along beneath it and tearing open the back of her shirt from the friction. Her skin was becoming bloody and bruised, but she held on tightly. Hot crimson liquid spilled from the monster's throat, painting the street a dark red as it raced down the rows of stores. Citizens fled into the shops and down alleyways, screaming in terror. Sonic watched this for a brief moment before sprinting behind the monster at full speed. Coming up beside it, he set his sights on Noriko and reached for her sword sheaths. Before he could even attempt to drag her away from the monster, he was forced to dodge a blast of fire from Genos, who suddenly appeared on the other side of the monster.
The other rat monsters didn't run on four legs! Why did I latch onto the only rat monster that does run on all four legs?! Damn it! Bad idea, bad idea, bad idea! My back feels like it's on fire! She closed her eyes tightly and tried to listen for the footsteps of either man. Noriko knew that if she let go of the monster, she would slide out into the open as it continued to run and then she would become an easy target for Sonic. Pretty sure I'm alone! I'm going for it! She slid her blades free, still marveling at how lively the creature was for having a pierced throat, and flattened against the ground as it passed over her.
When it was clear, Noriko pushed herself to sit up and winced at the intense pain in her back. The cement was sticky with blood beneath her in a sickening mixture of her and the monster's blood. Alright, I just need to get my bearings now and-! Her eyes widened as Sonic seemed to drop on her from out of nowhere, a blade in his hands. She struggled to lift her swords in order to block a blow that would otherwise bisect her, but the blade stopped before it could reach her.
Genos was in front of her now, blocking the sword with his forearm and glowering at the ninja. "Master Saitama said that you have a crush on Noriko. Did no one ever tell you? Hurting someone is not showing them that you like them!" He pushed forward, forcing Sonic to back away from them. With his other hand, he reached back to Noriko in a silent offer to help her up.
She took his hand and let him pull her up to stand. Tears of pain made her eyes burn, but she focused her glare on Sonic. Behind them, she heard the rat monster thrashing around in agony against the side of a building. Of course, she was now worrying about the welfare of the citizens down the street, but she forced her focus upon Sonic. "Well…looks like no more piggyback rides, huh?"