NeonHorizon: Hn. The next chapter will be romantic. I promise.

The catgirl supported Mumen Rider's weakened form with his arm across her shoulders, half-dragging him down the sidewalk to safety. Behind her, Genos was standing staring at the dark-haired cyborg. The fur of her tail was standing on end, chills running down her spine each time she thought of how Kenta had looked at her. What he had said to her.

She pushed open a shop door and looked around for someone that could help her fellow hero. Mumen Rider's face was bleeding profusely from a claw mark across his face. Blood kept him from seeing so he held tightly to Noriko for support. The girl saw a few employees standing near the cash register and dragged the man over there.

"Um…c-can we help you, young lady?" One middle-aged man spoke to her as his younger colleague stared in horror at the hero's bloody face.

"I…need someone to watch him…please." Her tail was limply curled behind her, her feline ears flat in humiliation. She hated to ask normal people for help, especially looking as odd as she did. Please don't think that I'm a monster! Please just help me! I'm not asking for a lot!

The younger employee came around the counter and knelt down as Noriko lowered Mumen Rider to the floor. "What happened to him?" The employee used her sleeve to dab at the bloody marks.

"That man…outside. He looks kind of like me, but…he's evil. Please. Just watch Mumen Rider until that man is gone." Noriko's sharp green eyes met the woman's dark brown ones and she saw the woman nod. "Do you…think you could call a hospital…? Just tell them that he'll be coming."

Running back outside, she could see that Kenta was watching Genos intensely. His tail was twitching side to side, a brief warning before he lunged forward. The blond cyborg easily caught his punch and blocked another strike, still gripping Kenta's fist in his left hand. I have to stop this! Kenta hasn't been awake for long; I can tell by his movements. He's adjusting to that new body, but I know that it won't take long.

Her own tail started to swish back and forth as she pondered the best way to disable the dark-haired cyborg. When his left hand drew back and started to glow, she knew that she had to act fast. With no knowledge of what sort of attack he was about to attempt, Noriko sprinted down the street. One sword was drawn from her sheathes as she neared him and she leapt up above his head.

She aimed the tip of the blade, hoping to sever his left arm at the shoulder, but her plans were forced to change when he turned toward her. The cat man licked his lips and lifted his left hand. With no chance to duck or dodge, still being in midair, Noriko had no choice but to take the attack. A blast of energy hit the center of her chest and sent her flying backwards into the side of a building. Falling back to the ground, she coughed red droplets onto the cement and glared at the man. Blood streamed from the corner of her mouth, bruises blooming on her back and chest. She could feel a dampness in the front of her shirt and was afraid to look at what the blast had done to her.

To her absolute terror, Kenta finally wrenched himself free and raced toward her fallen form. Her heart raced, stomach churning with disgust as she saw drool glistening at the edge of his lips. No! No, no, no, no! Stay away from me! In her injured state, she knew that her chances of outrunning him were slim, but she had to try.

She pushed herself to her feet and stumbled a few steps before breaking into as quick a run as she could manage. Noriko knew, even without looking, that he was getting closer and closer. Clawed fingers skimmed the tip of her tail as he reached for her. Moving on reflex, she twisted and crouched, slamming her own clawed hand up into the pit of stomach.

Kenta was sent falling back a few steps and smirked. "Huhuhuh! Aww! My little one wants to play? Come on! Let's do this! Let's have some play time before I throw you back in your cage!"

Noriko's eyes widened as a metal fist shot toward the two cat people. The Rocket Punch slammed into Kenta's back, throwing him forward. She rolled out of the way in time to avoid being caught in the attack and watched him soar into the side of the building. There was a loud crunching sound when he hit it and she saw something dark drip down from his body.

A look toward Genos showed the hero's eyes narrowed upon the other cyborg. He retracted his arm and advanced at a run, reluctant to let her be alone near Kenta. The blond kept his eyes on Kenta's figure as the cat man pushed himself free of the building's hard exterior. He fell heavily to the sidewalk as Genos stood between him and Noriko. "Go back to Grey Corporation and tell them that you were unable to find her," he ordered.

Kenta's whole body seemed to spasm and twitch as he pushed himself onto his knees. More of the dark liquid dripped from his chest and mouth as he shook, his tail hanging limply and his ears turned down. He looked toward the two heroes and smirked, his lips shining black with the liquid. With great effort, he managed to stand up straight and studied them.

"Was your ability to hear damaged from the impact of my Rocket Punch? Or are you as stupid as Noriko made you sound? I heard that you were promised an alteration from Grey Corporation if you delivered a young specimen for them to experiment on so you slaughtered her family and brought her to them. Only someone with a small intellect would fall for something like that."

Still twitching and now creaking loudly, Kenta took a step toward them. "I'm…so fuckin' cool now! Cooler than any guy from my high school! I'm even cooler than you! Well, almost. Ladies love a hero, don't they? Is that why you became one? To get girls? I see a bunch of them staring at you." Another step was taken and his left eye rolled a little, his pupil and iris pointing off to the side as the right eye remained locked on them. Dark fluid ran down the side of his face from a crack above his left eyebrow. "Huhuh! Look at my little one, cowering behind you! Like a scared little kitten! Come here, kitten. Come tell me how fuckin' cool I am now!"

"Hnn…damn creep! I'll destroy you, Kenta!" She lifted her sword, prepared to keep fighting him. He's falling apart already. Genos hit him hard enough that it must have really damaged something in that fancy metal body. If I can destroy his brain, that will be the end of him. She tried to get around Genos, but the cyborg held her back. "What?!"

"You will tell Grey Corporation that you were unable to find her," Genos repeated, glaring across at Kenta. "I will destroy you if you refuse again."

Liking the dark ooze from his lips, Kenta smirked. "I see…so that's how it is! I didn't know it was that serious! Too bad she's mine; my perfect match, the other half of my soul, my little one! You put your hands all over her, didn't you? Did you taint her?!" His right hand started to twitch even more violently, starting at the fingers and quickly working up to his shoulder.

Noriko's green eyes widened as she saw him lift his arm. The pale metal panels of his forearm moved beneath his kimono sleeve, a bright glow visible through the white fabric. "Genos-!"

"I will destroy him, Noriko." He rushed forward to take on the other cyborg, prepared to crush his metal head beneath his shoe. When he saw the beam charging, he was sure that he could disable the arm in time.

A scream tore from her throat as she saw it hit Genos and send him flying down the street. Even in her battered condition, she was able to race after him to see if he was alright. The impact hit him so hard that when he smacked the ground, his head and face cracked. She saw his body twitching, the hero struggling to push himself up. He looked to her and part of his face crumbled away, showing the metal beneath.

"…Noriko…"

"Hn! It's okay! I'm here so it's okay! Just…stay here. I'll finish him off, so-!" She turned to run back and was met with a clawed hand striking her across the face. Noriko's head was forced to turn to the side, pain shooting through her neck and her cheek burning. Blood dripped down onto her chest and she bit back a cry. The catgirl turned toward Kenta, baring her fangs and hissing as her back arched. "Touch me again…and I'll shred you! Hn! I promise it won't be quick, either!"

"My cute, sweet, beautiful little one. Huhuhuh! You think you're free? Look at you! You weren't meant to be free! You weren't meant to be out here by yourself in the world!" He forcefully grabbed her chin, a fingertip pressing hard into one of the claw marks on her cheek. "Look at that pained expression! It's almost hot!"

"Hnn…let me go!"

"You know we were made for each other! Look at how you're blushing!" Kenta leaned down to her pointed feline ear, his free hand pressing at the center of her chest. Both of her hands gripped his wrist, trying desperately to pull him away. "You got distracted. That's why you're so fuckin' weak today. I thought you weren't taking me seriously with this new body, but you're just weak! First it was the guy in goggles, now this crumbling scrap heap! This is what happens when you worry about other people before yourself!"

Noriko felt warmth breath tickle her feline ear and she closed her eyes tightly. The hand on her chest gripped suddenly, the claws piercing through her shirt and flesh. Her head was thrown back, a scream tearing through her as he gripped tighter and sank his claws in deeper. "St-stop! Hnnneeeeoooow! It hurts! It hurts, it hurts! Stop it!"

"When I get you back to Grey Corporation, you'll look back on this and think that it tickled! You're going to start obeying and-!" Kenta's claws were torn from her flesh, a shriek escaping her lips as he flew backwards over the cement. When he slammed into the base of a shop, his body was not whole. The impact had forcibly knocked his left limbs from their sockets and his left eye came out, dangling by a handful of wires.

Staring at Kenta through blurry, teary eyes, he looked like a broken doll left to sit on the side of the street. His limbs were on the cement in front of him, a trail of metal bits leading to his body. Her shirt was now soaked in the front, but she managed to ignore the pain of her wounds and looked over at Genos.

His body was twisted, his upper half supported beneath one arm and his lower half lying damaged behind him. He lowered his hand, the glow fading away now that the attack had been performed. Genos met her stare for a moment before collapsing.

The tears of pain ran down her cheeks as she pulled him closer, his head resting on her lap. "D-don't die, Genos! I'm calling Saitama!"

He stared up at, his expression unreadable. "I will not die from a minor attack. My body simply needs repairs. I need to see Doctor Kuseno."