Noriko bit at her thumbnail, her tail absently swaying side to side as she studied her options. It was past midnight. She knew that it was a bad idea to be out so late, but her stomach was growling fiercely. Genos hasn't left food lately. I haven't even seen him in the past few days, but I've seen Saitama. What's going on? It's really weird for him to not show his face.

She had been in City Z for a little over two weeks. It was pretty normal for her to wake up in the morning and find a container of food waiting for her outside of her building. It was the one actual meal she would eat every day. Otherwise she would get something from the convenience store and it was usually pork buns or junk food. That was where she had wandered to when she woke hungry.

Movement caught her eye and Noriko saw a figure step into her peripheral at the end of the aisle. Her right ear twitched beneath her hood as she inconspicuously studied the person. I'm so hungry that I didn't hear them come in. Wait…what are they? Is that a man or a woman?

They were dressed androgenously and they looked young. She figured they were probably in their early or mid-twenties. Their black hair was secured in a loose sort of top knot at the back of their head with several stray locks hanging loose around their face. They were wearing a black long-sleeved shirt and a pair of grey capris. A simple outfit, but not very girly or very masculine. What really threw her off was their face and build. They were thin, but in a healthy way. They looked toned, but not muscular. Their face was shaped in a way that struck her as oddly feminine. The strangest thing by far were the purple lines that they wore painted beneath their cold grey eyes.

She tried to look back to the food in front of her, but it was difficult. Is that a man or a woman?! It's really bothering me now! And…why do they have a blade on the back of their belt? It's sheathed, but I know a blade when I see one. A hero, maybe? Or just a weirdo? Her stomach growled and they glanced over, finally letting her break her stare. Noriko grabbed a bag of chips and hurried toward the clerk's counter.

Every time she went to the convenience store, it was the same clerk. A young man around her age with dark hair and dark eyes. He was always ready to greet her and seemed pleased to see her returning yet again. "Wait. This is it?"

"Hn. I just need a snack," she quietly replied. Her stomach growled again and she looked away, frowning. Again, her tail swayed side to side beneath her long coat.

He looked at her closely for a moment and raised an eyebrow. "You're hungry, right?"

"I just need a snack," Noriko repeated.

The young man was staring at the way her coat seemed to twitch. "You know…you don't have to hide your ears and tail." He saw her eyes widen a little. "I mean, I've known for a while."

"S-so why didn't you call the Hero Association…if you knew what I was?"

"Because. If you're a monster, you're a pretty cute one. Er…sorry. You probably think that was weird, right?"

"Hn. C…cute?" She felt a fluttery sort of sensation in her chest and frowned.

"Um. Anyway, you don't have to hide your cat parts. I mean, this store is in a pretty shady location anyway. If anyone comes in here this time of night, they don't want to be seen here so they won't draw attention to each other." He watched her push back her hood and immediately stared at her ears. "So…uh…c-can I make you some food? Something better than these chips?"

"…I guess so…?" Noriko watched him go to the back room and tilted her head, wondering what he planned to make for her. She heard food packages being moved around in the snack aisle and felt her face turning pink. Did that person hear all of what he said? Bowing her head, her pointed feline ears flattened against her head. I know that the clerk was just trying to be nice. I know that I'm a freak.

A little while later, the clerk returned and set down a steaming cup of ramen. "Okay so…I know it's probably not great, but I tried to make something you would like. It's got bonito flakes in it and some fried tofu pieces. I put a sauce on top that I like using so I hope you like it."

She sniffed at the cup and felt her pulse race with excitement. "Hn…thank you."

"If you want, you can eat here so you don't have to carry around the cup." He saw her nod and he smiled. "So you live in the ghost town?"

The catgirl nodded, using chopsticks to lift a bundle of noodles to her lips. She blew on the food gently and took a bite. This is delicious! Not as good as what Genos makes, but still a lot better than what I would normally eat at night!

"I think I've seen you in town before…with the cyborg hero Genos?"

Her ears perked forward and she nodded. "Yes…um…I've been trying to get stronger by training with other heroes."

"Oh! You're a hero?"

"Hn…Samurai Catgirl…Class A hero. But…my name is Noriko."

"Tsuyoshi. Nice to finally introduce myself," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "So how's the ramen?"

She licked broth from her lips and half-smiled. "It's very good. Just what I needed." When the cup was empty, she realized that the clerk had been watching her eat and she felt heat rise to her face. "Hn. So…heroes…speaking of heroes…have you heard anything about the Class C hero Saitama?"

"Saitama? Um…that guy that's sometimes seen with Genos? I mean, he's lower class. He walks around the city with that dopey look on his face. He really doesn't seem like he should be a hero. He looks kind of-"

"Wimpy," Noriko finished for him. "But I've seen him fight…and he's incredibly strong. Despite looking like a dopey wimp, he's really powerful. Genos is training under him, but…I don't see how he could hope to get strong like Saitama…when he's a cyborg. As much as he trains, his body is still mechanical and can only get as strong as his upgrades allow. Even if Saitama is that strong, he can't teach-"

"Saitama?" The voice was light and male, coming from behind Noriko. When she turned to see the speaker, her green eyes met grey ones. "You think that he's that strong?" The young man took a step toward her, gripping a bag of dried squid tightly in one hand. "So what are you? Some kind of fan girl?"

She felt her lips draw back subconsciously and bared her fangs. "You…don't know anything about me," she snarled.

"I don't think I need to. I bet I can guess what your problem is. You became a hero because you think that you can get strong and protect people. You think that will make people love you and you can get paid for it. So you're following Saitama now that you know how strong he is because if you can get stronger, you can raise your rank and you can get even more people to love you."

Her eyes narrowed and her tail whipped around violently. "I don't need love. I don't need attention and I don't need praise. I'm not doing this for some stupid, self-absorbed reason like that. And just what is your problem with Saitama?"

He was about to retort, but spotted the sword sheathes on her back. "You call yourself Samurai Catgirl?" he asked, amusement leaking into his voice.

"I call myself Noriko." She saw his hand wander to the sword sheathed on the back of his belt and her heart began to race. "You're not a hero."

"I'm Speed o' Sound Sonic. Maybe you've heard of me. Saitama's strongest enemy."

One ear twitched and she tilted her head ever so slightly. "Hn. Never heard of you." The corner of her lips lifted and she looked him up and down for a moment. "Are you sure…you don't have some kind of unrequited crush on him instead?" Behind her, she heard the clerk start snickering. In front of her, Sonic's face was growing red with outrage. "Did I hit a nerve?"

"I do not have some kind of sick crush on Saitama! If anyone does, it's that metal disciple of his!" To his surprise, he suddenly found Noriko rushing at him with both swords drawn. He lifted his own in time to block and smirked. "What's wrong? Did I hit a nerve?" he taunted. "Maybe it's the cyborg that you have a crush! I'm right, aren't I?! You have some kind of technophile crush on-!"

"Shut up or I'll make you shut up!" Noriko moved to kick him, but found him dodging her faster than she could follow. With a glance toward the clerk, she saw the young man's face draining of color. Damn it! I have to move this outside or we'll end up destroying the store! She gave the clerk an apologetic frown before bolting from the store, running out into the street. Shuriken rained down around her and she quickly realized that Sonic had scaled the side of the building to try to take her by surprise.

Small cuts opened all over her body, red blooming on the denim of her jeans and the light cotton of her tank top. Her long coat was tossed aside to give her easier movement and she leapt up to try to reach the man. He was ready for her and thrust his blade forward as if to stab through her abdomen. The catgirl twisted to the side and slashed with both of her swords. Sonic moved back swiftly to avoid her attack, a grin slowly taking form on his lips and spreading like blood in water. "What…is so…damn…amusing?!" she snarled, sprinting after him.

"You look so panicked. Like a cat that got too close to a mouse trap!"

Noriko did not stop in time to save herself. He had stopped moving and now wrapped an arm around her waist before turning to hurl her off of the rooftop. With his extreme speed, he was able to be back on the ground in time to meet her falling body and aimed a kick at her midsection. She slammed into the side of the building and spat blood, scowling. The girl's body trembled a little from the fierce attack, but she remained standing. She adjusted her grip and ran forward to retaliate, twirling to give herself more momentum to strike hard.

He continued to dodge her attacks while slashing at her with his own blade, still wearing that terrifying grin. Noriko bared her fangs and felt her anger rising, her grip on her control starting to slip as her rage built up more and more. "I might have an unrequited crush…but you know what? Hnhnhn! At least I'm not a man…with girly hips like yours! You call yourself Saitama's strongest enemy when you've got the hips and build of a woman!"

"That's it! You think that you can get away with saying something like that? I'll show you how strong I am! I'll show you how much of a man I really am!"

Shift P.O.V

The repairs were finally complete. His doctor told him that he could stay overnight and leave in the morning since it was so late, but Genos wanted to return to the apartment as soon as possible. The whole way there, his mind was on his tasks for the next day. Waking up early to make breakfast for both Noriko and Saitama, delivering the catgirl's food to her building, cleaning the apartment, picking up the mail, grocery shopping, making lunch and dinner, and then his nightly task that he had yet to let anyone else know about. Rain broke overhead, thunder booming and lightning flashing. It shattered his concentration on what foods to prepare.

He slowed slightly as he reached the ghost town of City Z. His hair and shirt were already drenched so it really made no difference how soon he returned to the apartment. There was something that he wanted to do before heading home. His nightly task of checking in on the catgirl. He knew that she dwelled in an abandoned building with no doors or windows. It made him concerned in the strangest way. He knew that she was strong, but he could not help worrying.

Tonight, he found her supplies, but not Noriko. Genos surveyed the area, hoping to find her just returning from the convenience store. He managed to pick up on a heat signature in the distance and hurried over, fearing the worst. The worst was almost what he came upon. The catgirl was bleeding and limping, her body battered beyond what a normal human could have endured. There were slashes along her arms, tears in her jeans that revealed bloody cuts beneath the fabric, bruises blooming on her chest and neck and wrists.

She was trembling, her clothing soaked completely through and her hair sticking damply to her forehead and shoulders. Her head was bowed as she walked, water droplets running along her swords and dripping a faint pink. The girl's left ear twitched and she swiftly lifted her gaze to meet his, struggling to try to lift a blade to defend herself. Her expression was one of exhaustion and pain, crumbling into relief when she recognized him. "Ge…nos…?"

The cyborg rushed forward to catch her when her knees buckled. "Noriko-san? Where is the thing that hurt you?"

Blood trickled from the corner of her lips as he set about putting her swords away. "He's…injured, but not…like this. I…need…"

When she went silent, he feared that she had died, but looked in time to see her eyelids flutter closed. Her body went limp as consciousness left her and he knew that he had no choice. Leaving the girl alone now was completely out of the question. Lifting her in his arms, he turned in the direction of the apartment building. Her head rested against his chest, her body trembling from blood loss and exhaustion.

Genos was soon carrying her into the apartment and setting her down on the floor near the table. He left her there to search for a blanket and some first aid supplies so he could tend to her wounds. When he returned, he found her crying in her sleep. He knelt beside where she was lying and rested a hand on her shoulder, hoping to make her feel better. "You are safe now, Noriko-san."

"Did you seriously bring a stray cat home with you, Genos?" Saitama looked over from his futon. "Whoa. What happened to Nya-chan?"

"Master, I need to turn on the light so that I see her wounds and take care of them," the blonde warned shortly before turning on the light. He focused his attention on her more obvious injuries first, completely aware of how Saitama was watching him. "She was in a fight and claims that her opponent was also injured, but he is in better condition than she is. Could you see if her opponent is still in the area? They would be wounded; her swords had blood on them."

"Seriously? It's almost three o'clock in the morning, Genos. Just wait until tomorrow and ask her about it when she wakes up." Saitama saw him start to pull up her shirt and raised an eyebrow. "Uh…Genos? Calm down; she's probably fine."