NeonHorizon: Dedicated to a very special reader that's always been supportive and awesome _ Thank you, Miki!

She was surrounded by absolute chaos. People running down the street, screaming. Cars trying to weave through the crowds to escape the area. Miyu's heart pounded as she suddenly found herself face to face with the source of the panic. Fear froze her to the spot, but adrenaline made her curl her hands into fists and shift into a fighting pose.

The monster was clearly unimpressed. It was at least two feet taller than her and chortled when it saw her frown. "What's this supposed to be?" it taunted. A clawed hand reached out toward her, the wings on its back extending out to the sides to make it look even bigger.

Usagiyama Miyu was not a hero. Not even a real fighter. She was pretty good at dodging, due to past experiences, but her strength was low. Despite all of this, she refused to back down from this monster.

When she left home, she promised herself that she would become a hero. Someone that people could look to for help. Someone that could pull others out of despair. Because she never wanted to let someone else feel as hopeless as she had felt in the past.

Behind the monster, she could hear someone screaming in pain so she knew it had already hurt someone. Miyu wanted to go to them to help, but first she needed to deal with this monster. Without a word, she did the only thing she could think of. She rushed forward, dodged its grasping claw, and slid in close to its body. Gritting her teeth, she jumped up and rammed her knee between its legs with as much force as she could manage.

It shrieked in pain and its wings flapped wildly. A hand snatched the back of her shirt and she was sent flying off to the side, slamming into a storefront. Miyu heard it charging after her and struggled to stand before it reached her. She pressed a hand against her ribs and ducked beneath its arm, sliding between its body and wing before getting behind it.

I need to get it away from here. If I could lure it in front of a car, maybe getting hit would slow it down. Miyu glanced up and down the street, frantically searching for a vehicle, when the monster turned toward her again. Her blood ran cold as it lumbered toward her, its wide mouth pulling into a grin.

"You're a quick little bunny, aren't you? Ya know, I like rabbits. Taste pretty good." Rows of sharp, yellow teeth were revealed and when it huffed, the strong smell of blood wafted to the girl. Seeing her nose wrinkle subconsciously, it chuckled. "What's the matter, kid? I'll chew you up nice and-"

"Hey. What's going on? Are you a hero?" The voice came from beside Miyu and made her jump. When she glanced over, she saw a man with a shaved head and a somewhat obscene sweatshirt that read "Oppai". He looked both bored and confused at the same time as he regarded the monster looming over them both.

That's…! Miyu's cheeks took on a faint pinkish tint as she shook her head. She knew exactly who this was. Around the time she decided that she wanted to become a hero, Miyu had been watching television and noticed this weird sleek-headed guy in the background of some pretty intense monster attacks.

"You should probably get to safety then. Don't worry. I'll take care of this." He started walking closer to the monster with no hesitation, his hands tucked into the pocket of his sweatshirt. "You need to leave. You're making a mess and you wrecked the front of the supermarket. They probably cancelled the afternoon sale and now I'll have to wait to get the stuff I wanted."

Miyu backed away a few steps, but did not run. She wanted to see how this was going to pan out. After she had noticed him in the background of so many insane monster fights, she had come to a conclusion. This guy was powerful and humble. Strong enough to beat monsters on his own, but never took credit for it. This was why he was one of the three heroes she looked up to.

When the monster made it clear it had no intention of leaving, Miyu's heart started to race. How's he going to beat it? He must have a plan. I wonder what kind of technique-? Monster guts, blood, and body parts exploded everywhere when he lightly punched it in the midsection.

The girl's hair, clothes, and face were dotted with monster blood. Stepping back from him when he turned around, she felt the squish of innards beneath her sneakers. Miyu gagged at the sight of the exploded monster corpse and turned her gaze back to the hero. He was completely drenched in monster blood, but seemed unfazed.

"You okay? You should've left." He started toward her and raised an eyebrow. "You've got blood on your face. Here…uh…" He reached around in his pocket for a handkerchief, but it was immediately stained with the monster blood on his hand. "Oh. Oops."

"I-it's okay," she squeaked. Miyu took a few steps back again and held up her hands. I can't believe I'm meeting him…and it's like this. I had to be saved. Just like…every time back then. Even though I didn't run, I'm still not strong enough.

"Are you sure?" He shoved the stained cloth back into his pocket. "So you're not a hero? Are you a martial artist? You were standing up to that monster." A dopey sort of smile took form on his bloody face and stepped closer. "You looked pretty cool when you slid past it."

Miyu was too anxious to reply. She shook her head and stepped back again. I just wanted to help. I didn't even have a plan. But he came in and saved me. He beat that monster like it was no big deal. She took a deep breath and bowed. "Th-thanks for saving me, sir! You were…awesome!"

Both eyebrows raised and he rubbed the back of his neck. "Wow. I don't really know what to say. I guess, thanks? I usually just hear that kind of thing from Genos." It was extremely clear he had never heard this sort of compliment from a girl. It was also clear that he had no idea what the appropriate response would be to receiving that compliment.

"Ah…m-my name's Usagiyama Miyu. I-"

"Oh! Like "rabbit"?"

She blinked, a little thrown off by the interruption. "Yes. It's written…um…it's written with the characters for "rabbit" and "mountain", but-"

"It suits you. Your voice is pretty quiet and you look kind of…" He continued to drone on, saying the exact things she did not want to hear. Talking about how she looked cute and saying how shy she was. Things she had heard all her life.

This sort of thing was why she wanted so badly to become a hero. Since she was a little kid, Miyu was always picked on for her looks. People said she was weak and defenseless. They were hesitant to let her try to do something for herself. As a kid, whenever she played with other children, she was forced to play a princess or a hostage and let the kid playing the hero save her.

She grew up with parents that had her future planned for her. Cold, calculating people that knew what they wanted and expected her to fit the template they had in mind. They shot down her dreams. They refused to believe in her abilities and let her be independent. Which is exactly why she had run away.

"I-I don't want to be weak, though," she finally stammered. "I want to be…as strong as you are. I want to be a hero. C-could you teach me? Please?"

He stared down at her for a long moment and tilted his head. "Uh, no. You don't want this."

"I do! I…I'm studying and I'm trying to train for my exam! I want to be a hero, but I just…I need help to get stronger. Please…" Miyu's voice dropped to just above a whisper, her head bowed and tears forming at the corners of her eyes. "I want to be a hero…more than anything…"

"No way. I already have a student. Sort of. I already have a guy that lives with me and he's trying to learn how to get stronger. It's complicated. I don't have room for another roommate and I'm pretty sure you don't want your hair to fall out."

The last part was a little confusing, but she was still crushed by the rejection. The thought of saying she could pay rent crossed her mind. She had saved up her allowance before she ran away so she had a decent amount of money on hand. She quickly decided that this would be stupid; he would start to think she was a spoiled rich kid trying to use money to solve her problems.

"I-I understand. I'm sorry." Miyu shrank back a little more and bowed again. Turning without another word, she started off. She felt utterly defeated. Her ribs were throbbing from being thrown into the building, she had needed to be rescued, and now she had been rejected by someone she looked up to.

Miyu paid for a modest hotel room and showered to wash off the blood and guts. Collapsing onto the bed, she closed her eyes and tried to push away the memory, but it was still too fresh. Too vivid. That blank stare, the flat voice basically saying she would never make it as a hero.

She frowned and rubbed at her face, knowing that only one thing could cheer her up when she started to feel this down. Miyu sat against the headboard and rummaged in her bag for her hero guidebook. She flipped through it, studying each hero and becoming engrossed in the book quickly.

If she could become a hero, she could help others. Not just by saving them, but by lifting them up. No one would be able to look at her and see a cute little damsel in distress; they would see someone dependable and strong. If she could achieve this dream, she was sure that her parents would have to accept it.

Shift P.O.V

This was the easiest job he had ever taken, even if it was a little boring. Sonic was admittedly a bit disappointed. He wanted more of a challenge. Usually a job that paid this much would have at least a little danger involved.

About two weeks ago, he had gotten a call about a bodyguard job and met with his potential client. It was a man in his fifties that was dressed as if he was trying to convince Sonic that he was rich. He was, of course, but he was going above and beyond to try to look the part.

The job was pretty simple. The man's only daughter had run away from home the previous day. Apparently she had some ridiculous notion that she could become a hero, despite having zero training for it. The old guy was practically foaming at the mouth over her running away.

Sonic was a professional so, despite how weird the guy was being, did not question why he was so angry. He listened to the details of the job and agreed as soon as he heard the pay. All he had to do was track her down and keep her safe, without making his presence known to her. The father seemed convinced that she would realize how difficult it was out in the world and return to their home.

When he found Usagiyama Miyu, she was trying to fight off a pack of wild dogs in the wilderness between her hometown and the next city. She was actually doing an okay job of defending herself with a tree branch, but his professionalism would not let him just stand by. He incapacitated the dogs faster than she could see and they fell unconscious on the ground around her.

Watching her proved to be a good source of entertainment, at least. Miyu honestly did not look like she could defend herself. She had waist-length hair that was naturally a soft shade of pink and her eyes were a warm shade of gold. She was kind of short and she was thin so she looked like one hit from a monster would end her. Yet she still ran towards trouble every chance she got, as long as she seemed to think she was helping someone.

Over the past two weeks, Sonic lost track of how many monsters, wildlife, and shady people he had inconspicuously saved her from. Some of them, she was completely oblivious to. Once when he was particularly bored, he made a game of seeing how close he could get without her even noticing his presence.

Spending so much time following Miyu, watching her, he found a certain attachment forming. Not necessarily a fondness. She was entertaining, she was determined, and she was cute. Though it was more her mannerisms and expressions that he found cute. When she frowned after losing a fight, when she bit her lip each time she got embarrassed, the little squeak she made when she yawned.

The fondness he started to feel was almost destroyed when he saw that afternoon's fight. Sonic watched the fight from a distance, ready to rush in and put a stop to the monster if it took things too far. As soon as he saw her get thrown, he prepared to move in and end it, but then he spotted Saitama.

As soon as she started shamelessly bowing and talking to the hero, Sonic felt his stomach turn. When he heard Saitama reject her, a grin spread across his face. The sort of grin that would raise goose bumps on any normal person and make them back away.

Now he was settled into his hiding place in her hotel room, watching his charge flip through her hero guidebook. He had seen her pull it out of her bag countless times since he began shadowing her and it always seemed to soothe her for some reason. Even now, he could see her starting to nod off.

When she finally dropped the book at her side and fell asleep, he silently moved toward the side of the bed. The blanket was carefully pulled over her and he watched her nuzzle into her pillow. He frowned and turned away. Sonic had some things to take care of before she woke up.