A/N: Hey guys, welcome back to another chapter! So I got some interesting reviews, and I realised that Ayano is going to encounter a lot of males around her age. And females too. So y'all can ship her with whoever lol. But remember she doesn't have any emotions, so she can't feel love for anyone. Even her own parents.

Also Yandere Dev posted a new video... the maid cafe thing won't really be prevalent in the main story but I might make an extra chapter out of it lmao

Somehow, Ayano was now training herself even harder.

She wasn't satisfied until the punching bag had been knocked off its chain, or until she could run 10 kilometres without needing to stop for air. She kept doing push-ups until she could do them with one-hand. She did sit-ups until her back felt like it was going to snap.

"Go Yan-Chan!" Midori cheered, as Ayano lifted some weights. "Cheer her on, Kuu!"

"Whatever." Kuu huffed.

Midori gasped. "Hey, Ayano, I've got an idea! You should join the gaming club!"

Ayano stared at her. "Why?"

"Because there's a ton of fighting games!" Midori answered. "Maybe you can learn something from them!"

"Midori, we've talked about this," Ayano said. "Video games are not representative of reality."

"Aww, c'mon," Midori frowned. "Just one fighting game? It'll be really fun, I promise! Right, Kuu?"

"Ugh, who cares?" Kuu asked. "Fighting games are dumb."

"Are not!" Midori argued.

"You're right," Kuu agreed. "They're still less dumb than you."

Ayano knew Midori would never leave her alone until she did give in, so she sighed and decided to go along with her demands. An eccentric young man named Gema Taku watched Ayano with scrutiny as she played a fighting game. Weirdly enough, the game made her aware of some more combat moves. She actually felt more prepared. But even more so than that, she was stunned that Midori's advice had actually been helpful.

Finally, the day of the hero examination came at last. Ayano headed over to her local branch, sporting her athletic gear. She found Genos and Saitama waiting in a single line, behind many other candidates. Ayano grimaced. She could overlook the weak ones, but the ones that had potential, she would need to take into account. Not like she could fight them all just yet. She needed to train herself even harder, until she was strong enough to defeat them. That, or she could kill them before they got a chance.

"Sensei!" she called, running over to Saitama and Genos.

"Oh, hey, Ayano," Saitama faced her. "I thought you said you didn't want to become a hero."

"I changed my mind," Ayano replied.

Saitama smiled. "Hey, that's great news! Now you're both my official disciples."

"Female candidates please come over to the right!" a man's voice yelled. "Female candidates!"

"Well, that's you, Ayano," Saitama said. "Good luck!"

Ayano bowed. "Thank you, Sensei. To you too."

She walked over to the female candidate section. She followed her fellow females as they entered a large, open gymnasium-type stadium. There were different areas that had been walled off. They contained various candidates doing activities, such as running laps or weight lifting.

After getting changed into nothing but their sports bras and pants, the girls were ushered back out into the gym.

"Under 18's!" another voice yelled. "Under 18's! This way!"

Ayano was put into a section with a few other girls. Most of them were around her age, or a bit younger. She sighed, flexing her shoulders. There wasn't too much competition, but she still felt competitive.

"Heya!" a voice chirped beside her. "Aren'tcha from my school?"

Ayano turned to face a sporty, tanned young woman standing beside her. She had short, blonde hair with an ahoge and bright blue eyes. She was wearing a black and yellow sports bra, as well as shorts and some wristbands of the same colour. A pair of swimming goggles were on her head. She had an athletic build, like Ayano herself.

"Asu Rito?" Ayano asked, nicely. "President of the Sports Club?"

Asu grinned. "That's me!"

A rage burned inside Ayano. She was even more competitive now.

"You're Ayano Aishi, right?" Asu asked. She offered a hand after Ayano nodded. "Nice to meet you! Heard a lot about you from Itachi. Apparently, you're pretty strong!"

Ayano shook her hand. "Thank you." She paused. "I've noticed that you have been absent from school."

Asu grinned. "I've been training for the Olympics! I had to go to this special school. It was amazing and I had so much fun, but the food was awful."

Ayano fake-laughed.

"Hey," Asu fist-bumped her shoulder. "May the best woman win, Yan-chan!"

Ayano smiled. "Of course."

"Side to side jumps for thirty seconds!" a man's voice yelled.

Ayano put on her game face.

"Ready…" said the man's voice. "Go!"

Ayano leaped from side to side as fast as she could. She focused on nothing else. She was a machine, an impulse, a creature built to win.

"Next, 1500 meter run!" the man yelled. "Go!"

Ayano sped ahead of her competitors, only Asu and another young girl managing to keep up with her. Ayano clenched her fists. She went even faster.

"Next, weightlifting!" the man continued.

Ayano lifted the heaviest weight she could find. The others were astounded by her strength.

"Shot put!" the voice yelled.

Ayano chucked the discus as far as she could, almost 'accidentally' killing someone.

"Vertical jumping!"

Ayano jumped until she thought her knees would snap. She still couldn't jump like Genos or Saitama, but she was slowly getting there.

"Whackamole!"

Ayano whacked a lot of moles. She wondered why it was part of the exam.

"Punching machine!"

Ayano almost broke the machine. Her fist stung afterwards.

She scowled. She hoped it was enough to get her into at least Class A.

After the writing test, Ayano was taken to the locker room. She stretched her aching arms, rubbing a towel over her head.

"Hey, Yan-chan!" Asu Rito ran over to her. "That was amazing! You're way stronger than I thought!"

Ayano bowed. "Thank you."

"You'll definitely get into at least Class A!" Asu told her. She wiped her sweaty forehead. "Hope I do too! That writing test sure was a pain though. I've never been good with that kind of stuff, heh."

The writing test had been simple enough. Ayano was sure she would easily get a good grade on it.

"Now we just gotta wait," Asu replied, folding her arms. She leaned against the locker. "Y'know, you should join the Sports Club! One of our members went missing recently, so… we're being forced to disband. But if you join, then we won't have to!"

"I will think about it," Ayano replied, honestly.

"We've got plenty of gym equipment available," Asu said. "You'll get access to all of it if you join!"

That was a good point.

"Anyway, wanna go get ice-cream after we get our results?" Asu asked. "I know a great place not too far from here!"

"I can't," Ayano responded. "I'm meeting up with some friends."

"Oh well," Asu shrugged. "Maybe some other time."

Ayano wished she had her knife. She could make a quick job of this girl.

An hour later, the results came in. They were inside large, crisp letters. Asu opened hers first, excitedly. Only to fall into a storm of anger.

"Class B!" she raged. "C'mon! I'm an Olympian in training!"

Ayano ignored her rampaging, opening her own letter. She glanced at the result before her. Her eyes went red.

"No…" she whispered.

Class B.

"Huh?" Asu asked. She peeked over Ayano's shoulder. "Hey, you made it into Class B as well! At least we got in together, right?"

Ayano wanted to burn the whole association down. How dare they. How dare they put her in Class B, undermine her strength. She was worthy of Class S.

"Ayano?" Asu waved her hand in front of Ayano's face. "You there?"

Ayano blinked, her voice robotic. "Yes. I am okay. I need to find my friends now."

"Uh, okay," Asu said, slightly concerned. "You know where they are?"

"Ms. Ayano Aishi, please come to lecture hall number 3 for a seminar," a voice over the loudspeaker said. "Two men named Mr. Saitama and Mr. Genos await your arrival."

"Well, there you go," Asu chuckled. "See ya later, Yan-chan!"

"Bye." Ayano said quickly, walking away. She realised she wasn't strong enough yet. There were still so many threats. There had to be, if the Association deemed her worthy of only Class B.

Oh well. At least she could quit her maid job now.

After getting changed into casual clothes, Ayano reached the lecture hall, and saw her teacher and fellow student waiting for her.

"Hey, there she is," Saitama waved to her.

"Good afternoon," Ayano bowed. "How did you do on the test?"

"I achieved Class S," Genos answered, scowling, "while Master Saitama received Class C."

Ayano, at first, was fuming - Genos reached Class S and not her? But then again, she'd done better than Saitama. She was already leagues ahead of him.

"Shameful," Genos commented. "Master deserves far better."

"What about you, Ayano?" Saitama asked, before Genos lost his temper. "How did you do?"

Ayano bit her lip.

"Oh, God," Saitama sweat-beaded. "Don't tell me you got Class S too."

"No, Master," Ayano said. "I got Class B."

"Seriously?" Saitama asked. "You did better than me too? Come on!"

The trio was then welcomed into the room, which looked exactly like a classroom. Saitama sat behind a desk. Ayano sat on his right, while Genos sat on his left. The bald man noisily chewed some gum. The Class A hero Sneck stood before them. He was a very serious looking man with a rather angular face, sharp eyes, and spiky black hair. He wore a snakeskin suit with a black dress shirt, a white tie, and a pair of black shoes.

"Congratulations on passing," he told the trio. "Now to be honest, one of you only made it on a fluke. So unless you want your luck to go to waste, you'd better give it your all."

No one reacted.

Sneck glowered, pointing at Saitama. "Don't get cocky, got it? Keep your certified hero status in mind. I expect you to act modestly. After all, your faces will be posted all over the Hero Association website."

Saitama blew a bubble.

Sneck was even more furious. "Did you hear me? That bald head on your shoulders is going to be shown to the whole world!" He got up onto the table, and performed a series of ninja moves. "Aim to be a distinguished hero, like me!"

Saitama blew another bubble. Unfortunately, it got too big and exploded all over his face.

"Master!" Genos exclaimed.

Sneck scowled. "As a Class A hero, I have influence over the Association's decisions. So those who behave irresponsibly… will lose their points and get demoted! Have I made myself clear?!"

Saitama pulled the last bit of remaining gum off his face. Ayano just stared at her hands, and smirked internally.

"Apparently, the Hero Association was formed about three years ago," Genos explained. He, Ayano, and Saitama were all walking back home. Genos was holding out a pamphlet. "A monster attacked the grandchild of some millionaire named Agoni. The child was saved by someone passing by. When Agoni heard what happened, he created this system and founded the Hero Association. The rest is history."

"Well," Saitama shrugged. "They have some pretty boring seminars."

"In any case," Genos continued, "as new heroes, we will be known around the world. We will be respected and compensated. We can work with our heads held high." He then stopped. "Master. Ayano and myself are officially your disciples. Please continue to teach and guide us."

Ayano nodded in agreement.

"Uh, sure," Saitama sweat-beaded.

"Goodnight, Master," Genos bowed. He walked down the street, disappearing into the distance.

"He's pretty serious, isn't he?" Saitama asked.

Ayano nodded.

"And you're very silent," Saitama sighed. "Well, catch ya later, Ayano."

He headed off into his own direction. Ayano turned away, headed to the train station.

"There were three newcomers today," Sneck growled, glaring at his coffee. "Their attitudes were awful! I'm Class A rank 42, dammit. They didn't have a clue who I was. They don't understand how the world works! Bunch of amateurs. They'll be dead in no time."

"No," a worker replied, gazing out of the window. "Genos received perfect scores in both written and physical tests. He gained S-Class right off the bat. Saitama had terrible scores on the written test, but got a perfect 50 on the physical. That's how he was able to pass it all. He broke all of the Association's records. It's as if there's a god residing in that body. As for Ayano… she was quite strong as well. She almost made it into A Class. If it wasn't for Asu Rito, she would've got there for sure."

Sneck almost spilled his coffee.

"Genos has already out-ranked you, Sneck," the employee said, facing the hero. "And soon enough, the others will catch up."

Sneck glowered. That Ayano girl was already in Class B. If she was truly worthy of Class A…

Ayano gazed at the sunset setting over the sea, the wind blowing through the grass. There was no one around. Ayano read over Info-chan's texts, and scowled. She decided that Asu Rito had to die. If she hadn't been there, Ayano would've reached Class A for sure.

Her thoughts were interrupted by something moving across the grass. She turned and saw Sneck approaching her, hands ready to strike.

"The newcomer seminar isn't over yet!" he cackled, blocking her path. "In this business, there's a little something we like to call 'rookie-crushing'. A lot of us established heroes hate the prospect of being outranked. So we crush newbies…" he made his hand into a snake-shape. "... with moves like this!"

Ayano smirked. She moved out of the way, and appeared behind Sneck.

"Heh, you're fast!" Sneck jeered. "But you can't run from me!"

He managed to hit her in the cheek. She stumbled back, hitting her head against the pavement. She clenched her fists. Now she was mad.

Her smile became psychotic. She felt it once more.

She pulled out a knife, and sliced the hero across the chest. He fell backwards. She climbed on top of him before he could move, raising her knife. She brought the knife down into his chest. Blood spurted around. She cackled, bringing it down again and again.

He was dead. Ayano had killed her first hero.

Now to dispose of his corpse. Ayano dragged the body across the ground, and approached the beach. At least she could get clean afterwards. She dug a hole in the sand, disturbing some crabs. She shoved the body in the hole, and covered it up with sand. She then took a quick dip in the icy water. She didn't feel good, per say. But she did feel stronger. This was only the start.

"So glad you're here, Yan-chan!"

Ayano gave Asu Rito a fake-smile as the tanned girl put her arm around her. The other members of the club eyed the gray-eyed girl suspiciously.

"Oh quit it, guys," Asu said, rolling her eyes. "Yan-Chan's part of the team now!"

"So you're just going to ignore the fact that Unagi's still missing?" Hojiro Zameshiro, a club member, asked, folding his arms.

"We're gonna find him, don't worry," Asu assured him. "Ayano's going to help us find him! Right, Yan-chan?"

Ayano nodded.

Itachi rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say, sunshine. Letting in the weirdos."

"Itachi," Asu scowled. "I've told you, we're not allowed to judge people! Besides, Ayano's pretty strong. Anyway, enough chatting! Let's do some warm-ups! Then we'll go and find Unagi!"

As expected, the club had no luck whatsoever finding Unagi. His worried parents had no idea where he was, either. The club even contacted the police and put out a search party. But things didn't look hopeful.

"You know, the A Class hero Sneck has gone missing, too," Mantaro Sashimasu, the weakest member of the club, commented.

"Probably just a coincidence," Itachi replied.

That gave Ayano some food for thought. She couldn't kill too many people and have their deaths be a mystery. It would cause disarray! She knew she'd have to find new ways to dispose of her enemies that weren't so mysterious. And that's when she got an idea. She pulled out her phone, and sent Info-Chan a text:

Got any poison?

After more fruitless searching, Ayano met up with the Sports Club leader after school.

"Let's go out for ice-cream," Ayano told her.

"Sure thing!" Asu agreed. She followed the black-haired girl out of school, where they headed into the city. They went to a simple ice-cream shop at the end of a busy street. It was old-fashioned, and had no real security. The owner insisted she liked it that way, since it was like the 'good old days'. Ayano was thankful for that.

The girls sat underneath a colourful umbrella at a white table, outside the small building.

"I love this place," Asu commented, leaning back on her chair. "So, what you gonna get?"

"A sundae," Ayano answered. "Would you like me to get you one as well? I'll pay."

"Aww, that's so nice of you!" Asu grinned. "Go ahead! Remind me to pay you back!"

Ayano nodded, hiding her dark smirk. "Don't worry about it. It is my treat."

She went into the store, and ordered two of the restaurant's special sundaes. When no one was looking, she added… an extra ingredient to Asu's sundae. She then took the sundaes outside, and placed Asu's sundae in front of its owner.

"It looks so good," Asu drooled. "Thanks!"

Ayano smirked, placing her spoon into her vanilla ice-cream. Asu dug into her own sundae.

"So," Asu asked, swallowing a mouthful. "Whaddya think our hero names will be?"

Ayano smirked. "I don't know. A shame you'll never get to find out."

Asu looked confused. "What do you mean by-" Suddenly, Asu wrapped her hands around her neck, and began coughing. Blood dribbled down her chin.

"Asu!" Ayano screamed in fake-concern, standing up. "Oh, God, someone help!"

Employees and members of the public ran over, panic on their faces.

"Someone call an ambulance!" one of them shouted.

But it was too late. Asu had gone slack.

Ayano gasped, covering her mouth. "Oh my God! She… she… she's dead!"

She burst into fake-tears. One of the employees tried to frantically comfort her, but the girl kept sobbing.

"You poisoned her!" Ayano screamed. "You did this!"

"No, no, we couldn't have!" an employee argued.

"You did!" Ayano raged, glaring at him heatedly. "You killed her!"

"No!" the employee screamed. But he'd been the only one there. He'd tried to sue Ayano, but there was no evidence to suggest she did it. It was all on him. He'd been played by a criminal mastermind.

A few days later, the shop had been shut down.

"I see, that's his location?" a blue-haired man asked, holding his phone to his ear. He leaned against his sports car. "Thanks. I'll head there now. By the way, have you managed to find the location of Sneck? … Oh, how unfortunate. There is a possibly he may be… dead." He paused. "Huh? An ice-cream shop? … Well, it's been shut down. That's all that matters … What? Ayano Aishi? … Yes, that is quite odd…"

The man gazed at a picture of Ayano on his phone.

"Indeed," he replied. "... I'll be keeping an eye on her."

Ayano watched Saitama and Genos devour ridiculous amounts of udon. They'd entered some udon-eating contest, here at this udon restaurant. The winner would gain 50,000 yen, so they were both in. Ayano, since she did not enjoy eating, decided to spectate.

Other customers watched the men with awe. How could two people possibly eat so much udon without getting sick?

"So," Genos said, placing down his empty bucket. He didn't look bothered in the slightest, while Saitama had his head on the table. "Do I win?"

"Holy crap," Saitama commented, a noodle poking out of nose. "You're awesome."

Someone opened the door. It belonged to a tall, lean, young man with messy, shoulder-length blue hair. He had bright yellow eyes. He wore a white jacket over his gray shirt with a green circle necklace and black trousers.

The restaurant's owner turned to face him. "Welcome! Sit anywhere you… holy crap..."

"It's Sweet Mask!" a girl exclaimed. Her friends gasped, and began to gossip.

Sweet Mask walked over to the table where the trio was seated.

"You must be Genos," he said. "And Ayano Aishi, as well. How surprising." He paused. "I'm Sweet Mask, Class A rank 1. I'd like to talk to you."

Genos grunted. A man squealed and fainted.

"Let's talk outside," Genos said, standing up. "I was considering a walk to digest my food."

Genos followed the Class A hero outside. Ayano and Saitama waited in an awkward silence.

"Hey, how come he addressed you two and not me?" Saitama asked. "Are C Class heroes really that trashy?"

Ayano shrugged. Had she caught Sweet Mask's attention already? That wasn't good. He was dangerous, and she had a feeling she would not be able to overpower him at her current skill level. Sneck had been hard enough, and he was at the bottom of A Class. She would need to wait a little longer. She would catch the idol when he wasn't looking.

"Wonder if he's doing alright out there," Saitama half-heartedly mused, chewing on some ice-cubes.

A few minutes later, Genos returned. He turned his attention to Ayano.

"Sweet Mask wants to speak with you as well," he said. "He is outside."

Ayano bit her lip. She stood up, and went outside. The A Class hero was waiting for her.

"Ah, Ayano Aishi, Class B rank 104," he said. "Pleasant to meet you. Don't worry, I'll keep this brief." He pulled out a picture of Sneck. "I'm sure you've heard the news that Sneck, Class A rank 42, has gone missing. You were reported to be one of the last people to see him around. My question is, do you have any idea where he could be?"

Ayano shook her head. "No, sir."

Sweet Mask frowned. "What a shame. As well as that, you were around when the former Class B hero, Asu Rito, was poisoned and killed. A student at your high school, Unagi Denkashiza, has also mysteriously gone missing recently. Funnily enough… your mother, Ryoba Aishi, was accused of murder when she was your age. The evidence on her case was flimsy, so she was released, but… still, I find it very interesting."

"It seems to be a coincidence," Ayano responded, calmly. "I can assure you, I am not related to any of these cases."

"Is that so?" Sweet Mask asked.

Ayano nodded. She put some emotion in her voice. "I could never imagine taking a life… some horrible psychopath must be out there, preying on innocent civilians and heroes…" She wiped her teary eyes. "It's so disgusting. Oh, Sweet Mask, I hope you can find this horrible person and take them down."

Sweet Mask shifted, slightly. "Of course. You should keep an eye out too. This killer could be anywhere."

Ayano nodded, sadly. "Thank you, sir."

"And thank you for being more respectable than Genos," Sweet Mask chuckled. "Have a good evening, Miss Aishi."

He walked away, Ayano watching his back. His time would come, eventually.

Ayano found herself walking alongside Genos. She needed to bond with him, anyway. The more he cared about her, the more he'd let his guard down. That was how emotions worked.

"So," she said, gazing at the night sky, "what did Sweet Mask talk to you about?"

The cyborg frowned, holding some fraud money in his hand. "He 'welcomed' me to Class S. He also warned me to keep an eye on who I trust."

"Funny," Ayano replied. "He told me something similar."

"He mentioned a missing hero," Genos said, "as well as a hero that died recently."

"Ah, yes," Ayano's eyes clouded over. "Poor Asu Rito."

"I heard you were at the scene," Genos said. "I am sorry for your loss."

"It's okay," Ayano said. "Luckily, the man who poisoned her is in jail."

"Ayano," Genos' tone become serious, for a moment. "Your 'Yan-Vision'. What is it, exactly?"

Ayano shrugged. "My keen senses."

"I see," Genos replied. "Your strength is quite unnatural for a human. Are you a cyborg as well?"

Ayano shook her head.

Genos grunted. "Perhaps… I should like to learn from you too, Ayano."

"You can call me Yan-chan, if you wish," Ayano smiled at him. "It's what my friends call me."

Genos gave her a rare smile. "Yan-chan… I can do that."