NeonHorizon: Hn. Should I make this rated M like Persistence or do you like it rated T? I can't decide.

Three offices nearby. One in city W and two in City V. It would be easier to hit the one in City W because the facility should be smaller. Noriko clicked on the link for the City W Grey Corporation office. It showed the address and listed the services that the office could provide. As she read through it, her tail curled at the end. It was a smaller facility, as she had expected, and would have fewer staff members to deal with. I have to start somewhere, I guess. This shouldn't be too difficult. I just need to show them that they can't get away with…what they're…

Noriko's ears flattened against her head as she lifted her gaze from the laptop screen. There was a figure standing across the room from her, looking around a little in puzzlement. "Hn…who let you in?" she asked, closing the laptop.

"You don't have a door. Or windows. Or anything. I thought you'd at least have a burner or something to cook with," Saitama remarked. He crossed the room, hands in his pockets, and stared down at her. "What're you doing anyway? I thought you'd be out training at this time of day."

"I'm just…doing some research. So why are you here?" She pushed herself to stand and put away her laptop, knowing that she would be unable to achieve much more while he was there.

"Did you eat yet?"

"…no…why?"

"I wanted to get lunch, but Genos isn't back yet. And I know you just eat junk food when he doesn't bring you stuff." He saw her bare her fangs and tilted his head as a smile crept across his face. "You're hungry, aren't you, Nya-chan?"

"Hnn…I could eat," she muttered, running her fingers through her violet hair. She grabbed her jacket and was putting it on as she noticed him looking at her bag. "What…are you staring at?"

"I thought girls usually had a ton of clothes."

"…have to travel light…" It was the truth; Noriko only owned three pairs of pants and two different shirts. She had scavenged them from a bin in a store where everything was extremely cheap, back when she first escaped Grey Corporation.

"Because of your revenge plan?" He saw her nod and followed her out of the building. "How's that going?"

She looked over at the bald man, absently running the tip of her tongue over her fangs. "Just…difficult to know where to start. But I've got a lead at least."

"Yeah? Well that's good." The inside of the building had been kind of dim so he had not noticed before, but now that they were outside, he saw something a little strange about her. "Uh…are you okay?"

The catgirl grimaced, realizing that her injuries were now revealed. Her cheek had a large cut across it, her forearms wrapped in gauze to protect a handful of other slashes and bruises from her fight with Sonic. Things had gotten heated after he nicked her chest with his blade. She was still unsure of why he had let her live. The fight ended with her forced to her knees and when her eyes met his, the man's grin seemed to widen beyond what she thought a human's mouth was capable of. Her phone was taken, his number was entered, and he left her with the invitation to challenge him again when she was even stronger.

"Hn…I'm fine. Just a little banged up," she replied. The girl absently rubbed at her wounded cheek, her frown deepening. Why did he want to fight so badly? He looked so happy. It was…creepy. Noriko shook her head and glanced over at Saitama. "There's this…ninja…that keeps picking fights with me."

"A ninja?"

"Yeah. It's this ninja…they say they're a guy, but…they look kind of feminine. And they call themselves Speed o' Sound Sonic," she continued. Noriko watched his face for signs of recognition, but the man simply stared blankly. "He said he was your enemy…?"

"Uh…oh. That guy." He frowned and looked forward. "He's pretty annoying. He keeps picking fights, but he never wins."

"…I figured…" The two arrived at an udon shop and ate in silence. She sat watching the other hero eat, astounded at how absentminded he was. Sonic says that he's Saitama's enemy, but Saitama barely seemed to know who he was. How can he claim to be someone's rival when they don't even know who he is? And…I'm still not fully convinced that he's a guy. She snickered and lifted some noodles to her lips.

Saitama finished eating first and stared at her from across the table with his typical deadpan expression. "So how are you going to take down that business? And how did you escape anyway? Genos said that their facilities are pretty secure."

"Hn. I escaped…because my door was left open." She frowned, remembering the day that she had managed to flee the facility. Her cell door had been ever so slightly ajar that morning and she had found the corridor vacant of guards. It seemed that every door that she needed to be unlocked was unlocked and she was ultimately able to slip out and to freedom. "I…had help. I know that I had help because…I was just too lucky that day. I just don' know who it might have been that helped me. The guards were all vicious and the scientists were…unsettling. I can't imagine them helping me."

"Huh? Oh. Sorry. I wasn't paying attention," he admitted, looking up from digging through the remaining partial noodles at the bottom of his bowl.

The catgirl tilted her head, one ear twitching faintly. "You know…you're kind of…" He raised an eyebrow and she just shook her head. "Never mind. So where's Genos today?"

"Fighting a monster or something. He got a call earlier and just kind of took off." Saitama let her pay for their meals and when they set off back for the ghost town, he seemed to be in good spirits.

She walked with her hands shoved into her pockets, reflecting on her fight with Sonic. It had felt strange from the start and the fact that she now had his number was beyond peculiar. Why would he give me his number? Why does he seem so dead set on fighting me again? An idea sparked within her and she grinned, drawing her phone from her pocket.

"What're you doing?"

"I just…had a wonderful idea," she murmured, unable to hide the excitement from her voice. She typed out a message and it was sent. The phone was hurriedly tucked away again and she stretched her arms over her head, feeling her back pop a little. "So…what are you doing now?"

"I'm going home. It's hot out here."

"Hnn. Yeah, it is," she agreed. Noriko could feel sweat forming on her forehead and beneath her arms. The thought of returning to her door-less, air conditioning free home was dreadful. She waited, hoping that he might ask her to go with him, but the man seemed to not even consider it. Alright. I guess I'll just tough it out.

The air in the building was stifling. She sprawled on the floor, her shirt discarded and wearing just a sports bra and shorts. Even with the extra layer of cloth gone, the heat was still unbearable. I can't believe…it got this hot so fast. This morning was so nice…and it was even nice on the walk to the restaurant. So what happened?! The catgirl's ears flattened, her tail weakly thumping against the floor at her side as she tried to think about cold weather to make her feel better.

A few hours passed and Noriko finally decided that she had suffered enough. Sitting upright, she glared at the empty doorway across from where she was. She put her shirt back on and stood, gritting her teeth as every movement seemed to make her even warmer. "I'm getting in…whether he likes it or not! Wait. Hnn. Perfect! This is the perfect plan!" She grabbed her wallet and set off.

The convenience store was nice and cold when she stepped inside. It almost made her want to just stay there, but she wanted to be able to relax. A glance toward the counter showed it empty and she soon picked up on footsteps approaching from her other side. She turned her head and felt heat rise to her face. "H-hello," she greeted the young clerk.

"Hey. So…um…g-getting ice cream?" he asked, observing her position near the frozen treats.

"…it's really hot out there…"

"You look really hot. Er…I mean…um…w-well you look pretty warm. I mean…" He rubbed the back of his neck, his face bright red. "S-sorry, Noriko-san."

"No…it's…fine," she assured him. The catgirl turned her attention back to the ice cream selection, her tail shifting and curling behind her. With the heat, she had decided to just leave her coat behind at the building. As he had said before, not many people went to that store.

The young man smiled a bit shyly and looked down for a moment before returning his gaze to her. "M-my shift ends pretty soon. If you don't mind waiting for a little bit…I-I mean if you want…I-I could…treat you to better ice cream."

"…better ice cream…?"

"Yeah! There's this place near the train station and it's really, really good! They have better flavors, too! S-so…if you don't mind waiting…we could go there and I'll buy us both ice cream."

Shift P.O.V

The plan was to get some ice cream to surprise Noriko and Saitama. After all, she was most likely at the apartment. There was no way that the catgirl would be out in this heat or even in her stuffy hideout. Genos was sure that she would rather be indoors so she would go wherever she could cool off.

When he returned to City Z, he just happened to see it. The sight made him pause on the sidewalk and he frowned. The catgirl was outdoors, on the sidewalk outside of the train station, with a young man around his age. The two had ice cream cones and the catgirl appeared immensely pleased.

What really bothered him was the boy's face. He was blushing and seemed really happy to be walking with the girl. Genos watched them for a while before setting off for the apartment. She said that she wanted to have our relationship progress slowly, but she is eating ice cream with someone else as if she has been with him for a while. When did she meet that boy?

"Oh, hey. You really missed out today, Genos. Nya-chan treated me to lunch," Saitama told him. "Huh? Hey. You okay?"

"Noriko is with another man."

"Uh…what? Wait, are we talking about the same girl? Nya-chan doesn't seem like the type to have friends."

"I saw her today with another man, eating ice cream." The blonde closed the door behind him as he entered and frowned. "I will talk with her tonight."

"Just take it easy, okay?"