NeonHorizon: A special shout out to a particular reader! I had their livestream playing in the background while I wrote this and I kind of feel like I managed to recapture some of the old Persistence in this. I did alter someone's personality a little, but it's definitely for the better! I really enjoyed writing this chapter!
The monster gave a final, shuddering breath and stumbled forward. Its jaws opened, its innards spilling forth from between its teeth and from the massive hole in its gut. The ground trembled beneath it, the concrete cracking. Its eyes rolled back into its head and the body seemed to collapse in on itself.
He glowered down at the monstrosity that was once human and turned his steely gaze to the citizens that were steadily approaching. They moved with caution, all eyes on the monster that had been previously tearing apart the market. His hand lifted, pale metallic fingers curling into a fist as he surveyed the crowd. "Any more monsters?"
An older man stepped forward, wearing the green apron of the market employees. "I-I don't think so. Thank you so much for defeating the monster! He came in and started to ransack the junk food section and-!"
"I'm looking for someone. I wonder if you've seen her."
"Eh? Oh, I'm sorry. We haven't seen any other heroes around this part of town today," the man confessed.
"Heroes?"
"Yes. Of course, you must be a hero! You're so much stronger than the rest of us and you killed that monster like it was nothing! And you look-!"
"I know how I look; I look fuckin' cool, don't I?" He took steps toward the man, grinning and baring sharp fangs. Leaning down to eye level with the old man, he planted his hands on his hips. "Well? Don't I look so fuckin' cool?"
The man began to visibly sweat as he took a step back. "Y-yes! You look cool!"
Satisfaction settled on the man's pallid face as his pointed feline ears perked forward. "Yes! I look so fuckin' cool that I could get just about any girl, right? I mean, look at them! They can't stop staring!"
His eyes slid to the side, looking at a group of high school girls taking the man's photo. He nodded shakily. "R-right! Any of them!"
The man nodded, the wind rushing through his long obsidian hair. "Any girl I want. But there's a special one that I'm looking for today. You want to see her? Maybe a quick look will jog your memory. You'll see and you'll remember seeing her somewhere, right?"
"Ah! M-maybe! Yeah, probably! I'll probably recognize her if she's from around here!" The store employee had been happy to speak to him right after he killed the monster, but now he was becoming a little nervous. There was something a little 'off' about this man, besides his feline ears and tail. Besides his metal body and the strange kimono he was wearing. "L-let me see! Do you have a picture of her?"
The man's smile grew. "Of course I do! What kind of…huhuhuh…what kind of idiot wouldn't want to carry this with them everywhere?" He dug in his kimono and produced a small photograph of what looked like another cat person, but younger. This cat person was female and wearing a ragged white shirt and pants. She was huddled in a corner, her mouth bleeding and her cheek bruised. Long, tangled violet hair fell over half of her face and one fierce green eye was glaring at the camera.
The cat-earred man looked from the store employee to the photograph and shoved the picture closer to his face. "See? See?! Isn't she…huhuh…so cute? My girl. Have you seen her? I need to find her!"
To the old man's disgust, drool began to run from the corner of the "hero's" mouth and he practically blinded the clerk with the photograph. "I-I'm sorry! I haven't seen someone like her around before!"
Disappointment twisted his features and he looked down, realizing that he had been gripping the front of the man's shirt. "Ah. It would be a waste anyway. I couldn't expect someone like you to recognize her beauty. My beauty." He looked to the photo again and stroked a thumb over it. "She's so precious. I want to eat her up. I want to eat her mind, body, and soul."
Lifting his gaze from the picture to look around, he saw that people were staring at him intently. He wiped his mouth on the sleeve of his white kimono and started to walk away down the street. Have to find you. I have to find you. I have to have you. I have to assimilate you into my very being!
Shift P.O.V
Noriko ran along the sidewalk, a chill running down her spine. She had left Emiko back at the apartment building with the order to guard the building from harm. With her canine nature, the child would feel compelled to obey the command and she seemed happy enough to patrol the building looking for intruders. There was no way that she could bring the girl with her.
She was alone for this mission. After all, it did not involve Genos or Saitama. It only really involved her and Emiko. I know that Genos said he wanted to help take down Grey Corporation, but I couldn't let him do this! He would want to take care of it himself and this is something that I need to do! She saw it on the horizon; a market with the front windows and door smashed to pieces. Lying on the concrete in front of it was a pile of guts and flesh in a large pool of blood.
The Hero Association had called for her to investigate, but gave no further instructions. It was as if they knew that she wanted privacy with this opponent. A man had been spotted in the area. A man with long, dark hair, a feline tail, and pointed feline ears on top of his head. Supposedly, he was a cyborg and had killed a monster that was rampaging in the market.
Noriko paused at the store, surveying the damage. The monster was definitely dead and practically unrecognizable as ever being alive. It was battered, its flesh was torn, bones broken. He was here, she thought with some certainty. But where is he now?
"Excuse me! Young lady!" a voice called from within the store.
She turned toward the source of the voice and frowned. Her tail swished to the side, ears cautiously drawing back. She was wearing a hooded t-shirt and shorts, still a little anxious about leaving her ears exposed in front of people. "Hnn. You need something?"
His eyes widened as she stepped closer and he stumbled backwards. "Oh! Aah! Y-you're…you're…!"
"Hn. A monster?" There was a tinge of spite in her voice as she stared down at the cowering old man.
"No! Your face! I've seen it! He was looking for you!" Seeing the confusion in her frown, he stepped closer. "The cat-man cyborg! He was looking for you and he had the lewdest expression on his face when he showed me your picture! It was horrifying! I've never seen so much drool!"
Her tail lowered a little in nervousness. So he was here. He was definitely here. Looking around warily, she reached for one of her swords. "Where is he…?"
"He took off down the street when I said I'd never seen you! I don't know why he's looking for you, but you should be careful! He's really strong and-!"
Noriko shook her head. "I…know that already. Thank you." She spared the monster's corpse a final glance before jogging down the street in the direction the old man pointed. I have to find that bastard before he does some real damage! Am I strong enough to face him though?! I knocked him into a coma last time we fought! If she brought him out of it, that means she might have upgraded him!
The thought of facing him in a fight terrified her. He was scary enough out of combat, but when he fought he always went all out on Noriko. He had brought her to the edge of death over and over since their transformations and it seemed to bring him immeasurable joy. Shaking her head, she kept her eyes focused on the street ahead of her.
The sidewalk was getting crowded as she moved, becoming clustered with people on their way to see the carnage at the market. Noriko had to carefully push her way through and soon found herself stumbling out into the street. A bicycle came to a screeching halt, nearly striking her, and she tensed. A low hiss left her as she glared at the man, but she soon relaxed her stance. "Hnn…Mumen Rider?"
"Noriko-san! Are you going to the intersection of _ street and _ street?" he asked, staring past her at the street ahead.
"What's there?" She hopped onto the back of his bike without waiting for an answer, having a bad feeling in her gut.
"Someone reported a man in a white kimono bothering people. He has cat ears and a tail and it sounds like he's looking for someone. If we help him find them, he should go away, right?" Mumen Rider began pedaling at high speed, wincing when he felt her sharp nails dig in through his shirt.
Noriko gripped his sides tightly, frowning to herself. "Hn. I'm the one that he's looking for." Her fangs dug into her lip as she watched the approaching traffic light above their destination. There was a large group of people gathered up there and she had a terrible feeling in her gut now.
She knew what to expect, but she could still feel the fear bubbling up inside of her. I can take him, right? It's just me and Mumen Rider, but we can do this. He's been out for a while so he's probably still adjusting. If he had been awake, they would have posted him at the City W facility instead of Emiko. Her heart was racing, her stomach twisting in knots. The anxious chewing at her bottom lip became more frantic and she tasted blood.
"S-so are we going to fight him? It just sounds like another cat person. Are they from…uh…was it Grey Corporation?"
"He's not like me. Hn. He's a cyborg. And he works for them." Noriko saw him now. Through the crowd, she saw a tall man with long black hair and cat ears. He was wearing a stark white kimono and no shoes. Damn it. Damn it, damn it, damn it. She did upgrade him. I can see it. His body has a sleeker design for speed and he…looks less robotic. Is she trying to-?
"Let's go, Noriko-san!" Mumen Rider parked his bicycle and ran ahead of her to approach the man. "Excuse me! I heard that you were looking for someone!"
"Hnn! Wait! Don't just run up and-!" Noriko's eyes widened as he came flying backwards, slamming into her chest. The catgirl was knocked to the ground, the breath forced from her lungs, and she gasped for air. Clawing at the ground, she tried to drag herself out from under the male hero. There was already blood pouring down the side of his face. "Mumen Rider!"
"Huhuhuh! There you are…my precious girl~" Kenta stepped out of the crowd, a line of drool forming at the corner of his mouth. He grinned down at her, his tail whipping side to side like a cat's when they eye their prey. "It feels like forever! Huhuh! But here we are now! And look at you…underneath another man! Is this your type, little one?"
"He is not her type; I am."
Kenta's grin fell and he looked over his shoulder at the approaching blond cyborg. "Huh. And just who the hell are you?"