It was starting to wear on her. Throughout her recovery, Sonic took care of Ayano and watched over her closely. Every day, she thought about how she had failed him. How she had been beaten by the catgirl "hero". It hurt her worse than any wound ever could.

He put so much time and effort into training me…and I lost. Ayano blinked away tears and tried to focus on the meal she was cooking. It was futile. Her thoughts kept returning to that fight. To the way she was beaten. To the way she had to be rescued.

Though, she had to admit that Sonic looked amazingly cool when he appeared that day. When he got between her and the catgirl, driving the false hero back, he had actually looked rather heroic in Ayano's eyes. Each time she thought about that image, her heart skipped a beat and she found herself blushing.

He's…wonderful. She felt her lips drawing into a small smile as she squinted down at their meal. Sonic had rarely left her side during her recovery. Only to get groceries or medical supplies. Currently, he was running an errand.

Ayano knew he would return soon. He was sure to be impressed with the fact she was standing. When the catgirl had thrown her down the stairs, Ayano had acquired deep contusions all along her left leg and the left side of her chest. They were still healing and it hurt to be putting weight on her leg, but she was determined to make herself useful now that her fever had gone down.

She had no idea what happened to the catgirl after she and Sonic had left. The last she saw of the false hero, Genos was hurtling toward her with his arm drawn back to strike. She knew she could call him. Pulling her phone from her pocket, she squinted at the screen.

It would be easy to just call Genos and ask what happened to the class A hero, but she was afraid. She was fearful of what he might ask, what he might say. It was unlike her to care about what Saitama's disciple had to say, but even thinking about speaking to him made her hands shake.

Instead, she sent a message to Mumen Rider. It took a few tries since her vision was so blurry, but she managed it after a while. Seconds after the message was sent, simply asking about his condition, her phone started to ring.

Ayano jumped a little, nearly dropping it into the pan of vegetables and meat. "H-hello?" she finally answered.

"Sword Girl, are you alright?! Did he get to you in time?"

"Yes…? Ah…how much do you know?" The girl stirred the contents of the pan, frowning as held the phone between her cheek and shoulder.

"That cyborg you defeated was part of an underground organization! The Hero Association issued a warning that there would be others like him probably coming to get revenge! I wanted to warn you earlier! Are you alright?"

He doesn't know? She turned the burner on the stove to low and leaned against the counter. "Sonic rescued me and…Genos went to fight the catgirl."

"A catgirl?"

"She called herself a hero. She said she was a class A hero. Samurai Catgirl."

"Ah! I've heard of her! She…she's supposed to be really sadistic! When she kills monsters, she has a big smile on her face and when she gets blood on her face, it sends her into a frenzy!"

"Yeah…I got to witness that." Ayano moved to push up her glasses, on reflex, and paused with her fingers in front of her face. I need new glasses. I can't keep living this way. I'm getting headaches and I hate taking so many painkillers.

The conversation continued for a while longer. Apparently Genos had failed to inform anyone of his fight with the class A hero. It was unclear if Samurai Catgirl had survived or if she had gotten away. The lack of loud property damage in the ghost town suggested that Saitama had not needed to get involved.

Once the call ended, she felt disappointment resurface. I have to get stronger. I have to be able to defend myself next time. She was a class A hero. Amai Mask is, too. I'll never be able to beat Amai Mask if I can' even handle a lower ranked hero.

Shift P.O.V

"This one."

"You sure about that, young man? I've got better ones."

"This one," Sonic repeated. He stared down at the option he had selected, grinning in a way that unsettled the poor farmer he was currently speaking with. "I want this one."

"Okay…? That's gonna be-" The old man blinked at the handful of money being held out to him. "Huh? You really think it's worth this much?"

"It's worth it to me." He picked it up, looking it over again. "It's perfect."

The man counted the money again, his eyebrows lifting. He whistled in amazement. "You say this is a gift for someone? Girlfriend?" He saw Sonic give a curt nod. "Well, I hope she likes it."

To any normal person, it would be a long walk from the little farm back to the ghost town portion of City Z, but for Sonic it was just a brisk run. He held his new purchase closely and continued to grin as he imagined how Ayano would react to this gift. It had taken some asking around and a bit of searching, but he found exactly what he thought she would want.

Ayano's fever had finally gone down. Her injuries were still healing and she was partially blind due to her glasses being broken, but at least her fever was gone. Now he had to find a new base for them. However, before he did that, he wanted to get her something special.

This gift also served a purpose. This would be for security. It could keep her safe when he had leave her by herself. It could probably even help with her hero work, if she wanted. He had chosen this gift very carefully, put a lot of thought into it. Sonic was sure this would be perfect.

When he entered the apartment building, he held the gift closer against his chest and moved quietly. He really wanted this to be a surprise. Each step closer to their door made his heart race faster, his grin spreading wider.

Sonic finally reached their door and opened it slowly. He had to keep his excitement bottled up. The ninja felt almost giddy with anticipation as he looked at Ayano. The girl was standing at the stove, working on making their dinner. "Close your eyes."

She jolted, head snapping toward the partially opened door. Thankfully, her vision was too blurry for her to be able to see him clearly. "Sonic? What-?"

"Close your eyes," he repeated, frowning when she hesitated. "You won't regret it. Do you trust me?"

"O-of course, I do!" Her face flushed bright red and she closed her eyes tightly. "Okay…?"

He made sure that her eyes stayed close as he closed the door behind him and approached. Carefully, he put her gift against her chest and he began to grin again when she wrapped her arms around it. A gasp escaped the girl when she felt the fluffy fur of the puppy against her arms and the smile she wore made his heart pound. Sonic knew this would be perfect.

"This…this is for me?" Ayano's eyes widened as she stared down at the puppy in her arms. If it could still be considered a puppy. It had to be at least six months old and was a little bit heavy, but it still had fluffy puppy fur. It stared up at her with pure black eyes, its curled tail wagging excitedly as it leaned up to lick her cheek.

"Don't spoil it. I got that to act as a guard dog when I'm working. So we're going to teach it some simple commands." The ninja's smirk grew a bit as Ayano thanked him. "You like it that much?"

"It's…it's so cute! I love it! Look at his fluffy little tail! And his little ears are still droopy! I love him so much! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She hurried forward and hugged him, careful not to squish the puppy between them.

His eyes widened a bit. Sonic had never seen her get this animated about something so small. Normally when she talked this much, it was during her fever or if he was commanding her to talk during certain adult activities. He had no idea she would enjoy the gift this much, but he was very glad.

Pulling away a little, he leaned down and pressed his lips against hers. Both arms wrapped around Ayano's waist and he felt her free arm wrap around his neck to keep him close. The puppy was gently set down and Sonic felt the hero press tight against him.

His hands settled on her hips and he deepened the kiss. Lips parting, the tip of his tongue skimming along her lower lip. The girl's hips were pulled to his and he turned, pressing her lower back against the counter and lightly bucking his hips into hers. A whimper tried to escape her, but was muffled by his mouth. He sucked her lower lip between his lips and ran a hand down to the back of her thigh, wanting to lift her onto the counter.

Shift P.O.V

"Ngh!" Ayano held tightly to Sonic, pain racing along her left leg. He immediately removed his hand and frowned. "I'm sorry. Sonic…"

"You're still healing." He drew back a little, grey eyes skimming her up and down for a moment. Holding her chin with one hand, he smirked and ran his thumb along her lower lip. "We'll have plenty of time for that later, won't we?"

She flushed red and shifted her gaze from his. He repeated the question, leaning closer again. "Y-yes."

"So you're not leaving me again?" he asked, in an almost teasing sort of tone.

Remembering how she had feverishly begged him not to leave her side, Ayano's face heated even more and she felt like her cheeks were on fire. "I…left most of my things at Saitama's apartment," she muttered.

Instantly, Sonic's pleased expression fell to irritation. "I'll just have to take them back then, won't I? Just stay here-"

"No. I…want to go. I want to know what happened to the girl that I fought." Ayano saw his frown deepen, but she was undeterred. "I'll take Bun with me…and I'll be out in a few minutes. But…I want you to escort me there."

"Bun?" He looked down at the puppy that was staring up at them curiously, head tilted. "You're going to name your guard dog Bun?"

"His fur is the same shade of golden brown as a bun," she explained, starting to feel embarrassed.

Sonic still seemed opposed to letting her go back to Saitama's apartment, but finally agreed. "Tomorrow," he determined. "Tonight, I want you all to myself. You're okay with that, aren't you?"