He couldn't wait to get back to Miyu. It had taken some digging to try to find information on an actual cure for her affliction so it took longer than he expected to return. Though he still didn't have a cure for it. At best, Sonic had learned about how to prevent her from changing more.

There has to be a way to reverse the changes. Her parents were giving her injections of something to keep her from transforming. But interrogating them was useless. Sonic reached for the spare key he'd been carrying for Miyu's hotel room and looked down the long hallway to her door.

A grin drew at the corners of his mouth, pulse getting quicker at the thought of seeing her again. Miyu was a good girl; she would've done as he told her and stayed in her hotel room until he came back. He'd stocked it with enough food for her to last at least a week so she really didn't have any excuse to leave.

Sonic had spent their time apart searching for a cure and getting a ton of blood on his hands. They really didn't have much time together after he told her how he felt so he wanted to make up for that now. She probably wanted to know more about him and the he knew she was curious about the details of his contract with her father. He'd gladly answer her questions.

Unlocking the door, he expected to find the pink-haired girl sitting on the couch or maybe making some food in the kitchen since it was close to dinner time. Instead, Sonic opened the door to find himself alone. There was no sign of Miyu and he immediately noticed the bloody medical supplies in the trash.

He crouched down near the big box of fanmail as he called Miyu's phone. Sonic liked to think he was a patient man. He liked to think he could keep calm and professional in any situation. The sight of the blood and the fact that she wasn't home sent his pulse racing in the worst way.

Sonic counted how many rings it took, scowling as he looked into the big box of letters. When he finally heard the click of her answering, he didn't give her a chance to greet him. "Where are you?"

"I'm…ah…I'm not at home right now." Miyu's soft voice sounded so hesitant that it only made him worry more.

"I know that. I'm standing in your room right now." Sonic pushed himself to stand and he began pacing as he spoke. "I thought I made it clear to you that you needed to stay home. If you push yourself too much, you're going to trigger more monster traits to come out. What happened? And where are you?"

"Um…I don't really know where we are right now. Sonic-san, I'm sorry, but I just…I couldn't just stay inside. I wanted to get stronger. I wanted to be able to help people, but now I think I messed it up," she confessed.

It was like his chest had been pierced with a blade. He'd never felt this kind of panic before. "What are you saying?"

Shift P.O.V

"Ngh." Miyu winced at the tone of his voice. "Sonic-san, I'm really sorry, but I can't come back right now. I helped a monster and…now I'm running from the Demon Cyborg." She whispered the last part and lowered her head.

There was a moment of silence and she almost thought he'd disconnected the call, but then he spoke again. "Look around for landmarks and tell me where you are. I'll be there soon to protect you from him."

Protect me…Her scarlet eyes half-closed, her lips twisting into a frown. Sonic-san really doesn't think I can protect myself. He's just like all the others. All the kids from school, my parents. None of them think that I can do anything on my own. I…thought he was different.

The rabbit girl pressed her face into the back of Garou's shoulder and bit the inside of her cheek as she tried to think of what to say, what to do. "I'm a class A hero. I can take care of this myself." She ended the call, turned off her phone, and tucked it into her pocket again.

Garou's hold on her legs tightened as he slowed his steps. They were using alleys to try to avoid running into Genos again and they were nearing the edge of City Z. Neither of them had spoken until Miyu's phone rang.

"You okay?" He turned his head a little to look back at her and quirked an eyebrow when Miyu's right arm draped over the front of his shoulder. Her delicate fingers clutched at his shirt and he knew something was wrong. "That fight messed you up that much? What'd he do to you?"

Her left shoulder still hurt, her ankle throbbed, she was sure she had bruises forming on her back. What had Miyu burying her face in his shoulder was something completely different. The girl's face was a bright shade of pink than her hair and her pulse skipped as she remembered her conversation with Saitama. The moment when she realized that she liked Garou.

She had clutched his shirt subconsciously as her pulse sped up and now she let go. "It's n-nothing. I'm okay."

"You sure? Your shoulder's still out of its socket, right? Want me to pop it back into place?" Garou stopped and carefully lowered her onto her feet.

Miyu stumbled and leaned against the wall for support. She quickly looked away when he turned to face her, trying to hide her blush behind her hair. "I-I'm serious! It's not a big deal! We have to keep running-!"

"You won't even be able to fight if I don't fix your arm." He held out his hand, expecting her to offer her arm. When she didn't, his eyebrows furrowed. Garou's sharp yellow eyes narrowed and he took a step closer to her. "What's going on, Miyu? You're acting weird."

"I'm not acting weird. I just think we should keep going! The Demon Cyborg is trying to hunt me down like a monster and I need to protect these eggs for "Mother"! I can't let him catch me or I'll be letting her down!" Tears blurred her vision, but at least the world didn't appear red-tinted. They were safe, but she knew it could be a very short-lived safety.

Garou took another step closer and then his eyes lowered. He tilted his head and the corner of his mouth twitched into a half-grin. "What're you wearing?"

"What?" She looked down at the hoodie she'd borrowed from Saitama and her face went bright red. The word "oppai" was printed across the chest. She was wearing an "oppai" hoodie in front of her first real crush and as the embarrassment set in, she worried her knees might buckle.

Miyu turned her head to the side and she bit her lower lip. "I…borrowed this from a friend. I didn't want anyone to see my tail and this was the only hoodie long enough to cover it," she mumbled, feeling like her face was glowing red.

The pale-haired boy snickered. "You fought the Demon Cyborg wearing that?" He reached out and ruffled her long pink hair, grinning down at her.

Before she realized she had a crush, Miyu had never felt butterflies in her stomach when he ruffled her hair. Today was different. It was almost unfortunate that Saitama helped her realize she had a crush because now she was hyper aware of how warm Garou's fingers were and how her pulse skipped when he gave her that wolfish grin.

"It was all I had." The rabbit girl sighed, feeling a little frustrated. I need to let him fix my shoulder, but I'm really nervous. I never felt this nervous around him before. Is this…really how it feels to like someone? She turned her eyes to him again and they widened.

"Okay, take it off." Garou was stepping back and slid his shirt off over his head. When he saw her hesitate, he tilted his head again. "You're embarrassed to wear it, right? I'm gonna tie my shirt around your waist to hide your tail and I'll wear that stupid hoodie. I don't care how I look."

"Oh! Right…um…just a second." She started to drag up the edge of the hoodie, but winced at a burst of pain in her left shoulder. "Ngh!"

He got closer again and handed his shirt to her. "I've gotta fix your arm first. It's gonna hurt, but I'll try to make it quick." Garou grabbed her left arm and told her to look away. To his credit, it was fast. It still made her yelp, though.

Fresh tears pricked at the corners of her eyes, but at least now her left shoulder was back in place. She flexed her fingers and rotated her arm, frowning. "Th-thanks." Miyu pulled off Saitama's hoodie and when she turned to hand it over, she felt blood rushing to her face again. I forgot that he wasn't wearing a shirt! Why am I so embarrassed? I've seen him like this before and I was fine! Why do I feel so nervous around him now?

Garou slipped the hoodie on over his head and paused with the fabric bunched around his neck, leaving his chest exposed. "What? Do I still have some blood on me?" He leaned down, bringing his face a few inches from hers. "Why's your face turning red?"

"I-it's nothing! I just…um…" She tried to take a step back, but bumped into a wall. Saitama said I should just tell him, right? But when I think about telling him, it makes me feel like my words are getting stuck in my throat! How can I tell him? What if he doesn't like that I like him?!

"Miyu? What? Are you sick again?" He started to lean closer to press his forehead against hers, but she held up her hands. "What's the problem?" Garou stepped back to finish pulling on the hoodie and shifted his weight to one hip, crossing his arms. "You're acting weird today."

She looked off to the side, trying to summon forth some courage. It felt like her heart was going to pop from beating so fast and her stomach was in knots. If I tell him and he doesn't feel the same way, we can still be friends, right? Will he still want to be friends? What if I ruin everything?

He ruffled his own wild, pale hair and frowned. "You didn't want me to carry you, right? Look, I know what you're capable of, but I was just-"

"That's not it!" Miyu's hands curled into fists at her sides, her claws digging into her palms as she forced herself to look up at him. Her watery crimson eyes met his narrow yellow ones and she knew her cheeks were flushing pink again. "I'm not mad about that! Garou, I…I don't think I could get mad at you!"

"Yeah?" The boy smirked and he leaned down, tapping a fingertip to her forehead. "So what's the problem? You like me or something?" He said it with a joking tone, but it didn't quite match the look in his eyes. It didn't seem like he was really kidding about it; like he actually wondered if she liked him.

"Give me that shirt." Garou took his shirt from her and slipped it around her. He tied it around her waist to cover up her fluffy pink tail, but didn't look at her again right away. "Hey. When you were a kid, did you go to a park with a wooden playground? It looked kinda like a castle and had some swings."

A lot of Miyu's early memories were fuzzy, but that did spark a hazy memory. At the time, her parents were cycling through housekeepers trying to settle on one. There was a middle-aged one that Miyu remembered who would take her to different playgrounds saying that it was so she could learn how to interact with all kinds of different kids, but she never paid Miyu much attention once they got to the playground.

It was a vague memory, but Miyu could remember the wooden playground. As soon as they'd arrived, the housekeeper urged her to go play with the other children. A group of boys had hurried over to her and demanded that she be a princess so they could be knights that would save her. By this point, Miyu was used to this being the role everyone put her in, but she hadn't wanted to play. She'd cried and tried to ask her housekeeper for help.

When her housekeeper didn't offer any assistance, a boy her age had stood up for her. He got between her and the other boys. He offered his hand and he led her over to the swings. He even pushed her for a while before he took the swing next to hers and they tried to see who could go the highest. Miyu had spent the entire afternoon with that boy and when it was finally time to leave, her housekeeper had to drag her, crying, away from him.

It had only been for one day, but she and that boy had become such good friends. Miyu never connected with anyone that way again until she met Garou. Her eyes widened, her nose twitched, and when he stepped back, she threw her arms around him in a hug. "You're…?"

He wrapped one arm around her to reciprocate it, smirking. "We can talk about it later. We've still gotta get those monster eggs somewhere safe."