NeonHorizon: Hn. I've got a weakness for dark-haired villain types. I'm using every ounce of self-control to not let Noriko end up with Sonic the way she did in Persistence. My self-control is not great. Here's the new chapter.

"Ah…is it a girl wearing a cat-ear headband? Is that what you mean?"

"No, no! He means like a hero or something, right? Why would the Demon Cyborg be looking for a cosplayer?" The high school girl scrolled through her phone, eyes narrowed. "I'm pretty sure…"

"Yes. I am looking for the hero Samurai Catgirl. She is a Class A hero. She followed me to this city earlier today and has not returned home yet. Have you seen anyone fitting her description?" Genos watched as one girl continued to scroll through her phone as the other one pointed off down the street.

"I don't know about a girl, but we saw a guy with cat ears earlier. He said he was a cyborg. He was pretty hot, actually! Like a rock star or model!" This girl was becoming more excited as she spoke, eyes alight with interest. "I think he called himself "Kenta". Right?"

"Ugh. He was so full of himself! He wouldn't even take your number!" the other girl argued. "He kept going on about how there was only one girl for him and he was looking for her! Something about wanting to "become one with her". Such a creep! And when I said I wasn't impressed, he said he was too cool for us! He said he could get any girl that he wanted! I mean, if you can get any girl that you want, why are you stalking some girl that's obviously not into you?!"

Genos looked in the direction that the girl had pointed. "When did you encounter this man?"

A frown formed on the first girl's face. "I don't know. Maybe fifteen minutes ago? We saw some people taking his picture and I wanted to talk to him."

If I knew when Noriko arrived, I could determine whether she encountered Kenta or not. So far, no one has been able to give me concrete evidence that Noriko was here. No one has seen her. The cyborg suddenly found a cellphone being held up in front of his face. He accepted it from the girl and stared at the image.

Noriko was crouching on top of a train that seemed to have just arrived at the station. The high school girl reached up to swipe to the next photo and then the next. Noriko standing in front of the train. Noriko walking down the street, wearing a pained yet determined expression on her face. The very last photo of her showed the catgirl's back as she ran away from the girl. There was a clock in the background of the last one, showing the time as being early afternoon.

"Samurai Catgirl is a Class A hero from City G. Age eighteen. Genetically modified with cat genes. Right? Why are you looking for her? If you don't mind me asking." The girl took her phone back, raising an eyebrow.

Genos had already turned and began to walk away. He remembered what Mumen Rider and Emiko told him. A woman from Grey Corporation had appeared and sent a monster after Noriko. Now two people from the corporation were searching for the catgirl. He was fairly certain that he could fight Kenta and win, but the Grey woman was different. He did not know what she was capable of and what sort of monsters she might have at her command. She could potentially have a means to counter cyborgs since she seemed to be connected to Kenta and he doubted that anyone could control him with ease.

The blond questioned a few more people, trying to discern what had Noriko had done after getting off of the train. It took a number of tries before he found anyone with helpful knowledge and when he learned of the fight, he knew that time was of the essence.

Not only had she been wounded by the Grey woman, but also Kenta. She had been spotted fighting him, blood smeared around her mouth and nose, with a ninja at her side. The realization that Speed o' Sound Sonic was involved only made the situation more dismal. She was wounded, possibly dead. If Genos did not find her soon, she could be killed.

I will not return without her. I will search all night if I must, but I will not wait for her to come back on her own. Noriko is more likely to be at a Grey Corporation facility, if Kenta and the Grey woman accosted her. I do not believe that Speed o' Sound Sonic is actually capable of holding her captive. If I am unable to find her at the facilities, I will begin searching for him as well. With his route determined, Genos set off to find his girlfriend.

Shift P.O.V

Noriko jolted awake and slumped onto her side, hissing. She struggled for a moment, forgetting where she was and what had happened. When reality came back to her, she huffed and tugged at the chains binding her wrists. During the night, Sonic had put them behind her back to make escape even more difficult. Now she was having trouble sitting upright again.

"Hn. Ouch…" The catgirl's tail whipped at the floor as she gave up. Her body was weak from hunger and blood loss. Closing her eyes, she released a sigh of frustration. What am I going to do? No one knows where I am. He's just toying with me, isn't he? I'm going to die here and when Saitama eventually does confront him, he'll just hand over my lifeless corpse.

The thought was not appealing, but she had a terrible feeling that it could actually turn out that way. The previous night, Sonic did not seem overly concerned with alerting Saitama to where she was. Instead, he began to question her on her training and then asked about Kenta and the other modified humans.

He wants a strong opponent. That's what it's about. She heard the door across the room open and her muscles tensed in a subconscious preparation to fight. "Hnnn…I need food!" she snarled. Her eyes snapped open and she glared at the ninja standing in the kitchen area.

Sonic appeared confused for a moment and then smirked. Stalking across the room, he crouched in front of her and grabbed the back of her neck. "I didn't know if you'd wake up. I almost thought you were dead when I left."

"Let. Go." Noriko's neck was released and she bared her fangs.

He straightened and walked back to the kitchen, grabbing a towel to wipe away his sweat. He had just returned from a workout and had genuinely expected her to sleep the whole time he was gone. Now he was rummaging in the fridge for some water and food. Sonic settled a water bottle in front of her with a wrapped rice ball beside it. His hands went behind her to briefly release her wrists before securing them in front of her again. "Here's breakfast."

"Hn…creep." The catgirl immediately pushed herself to sit upright. She brought the rice ball closer and unwrapped it, watching him closely as he retrieved one for himself. As she ate, she felt her irritation rising. Why does he have to sit with me while I eat? Does he really think that I'll be able to escape if he looks away for a second? Rolling her shoulders, she wince. Every muscle ached from sleeping in such an awkward position and her wounds felt like they were burning.

As he ate, he kept his eyes locked on her. Cold, grey eyes staring directly at the catgirl as he chewed. When he saw her upper lip twitch, he started to grin. "What? Is this intimidating?"

Her pointed, feline ears were flat against her head now as she stared back at him. The girl viciously tore into her rice ball, doing her best to look threatening despite the pain she was in. When she had finished, she gulped down some water and wiped her mouth on the back of a hand. "Hn. When are you sending your challenge to Saitama then?"

"Are you that eager to get back to your master?" he taunted.

"No one is my master." Her voice was a low snarl, the fur on her tail bristling. "He's barely even a friend. You know, he's not going to come running. Hn. Not for me. Saitama is apathetic. Even Genos shows more emotion and he's a cyborg. If you really expect that you can make Saitama come here to rescue me, you should think of a different plan. I'm nothing to him."

Sonic's grin spread wider. "You look mad."

"Hnn. Who would be angry over a fact?"

"You really think that you're not good enough bait?" He stood and moved to crouch in front of her again. That evil grin was growing even more now. A strong hand held her chin as he stared down at her. "What should I do with you then? If I can't use you as bait, what do you think I should do? I guess I could just kill you. It would be cheaper than having to keep you fed."

The catgirl's fangs bared and she felt her tail swatting hard against the floor behind her. "Back off or you'll lose a finger."

"You have some fight in you, even with those wounds? Okay. I can still use you, I guess. Maybe I'll use you for practice. I can try some new techniques on you before I use them on Saitama. Or I could just use you for a human shield." He ran the pad of his thumb over her lip and brought it to his mouth, licking away a grain of rice that he had wiped from her face. "I didn't think cats were such messy eaters."

"Hn! Back off!" Noriko thrashed, pulling free and scowling at him through her dark violet hair. If he touches my face again, I'm taking off a fingertip! No question about it! I can't let him think that I won't really hurt him; I won't put up with this kind of treatment! The catgirl growled when she felt him ruffle her hair, tensing when his fingers brushed the back of her left ear.

Sonic walked back to the kitchen area and then disappeared into the bathroom. At that moment, Noriko tried to collect her thoughts and puzzle through how she could stay alive. Death was not an option. Not when she still had to destroy Grey Corporation and kill Kenta.

"Turn around."

She jolted, having not realized that he was back. The hero glared up through her bangs and tilted her head. "Hn?"

"I have to clean your wound. I'm not going to let my hostage die from an infection before I get any use out them. Turn around." He waited for her to comply before tearing open the back of her shirt completely. The fabric slid down her arms, down the girl's chest, and collecting around her bound wrists. Before she could protest he doused the damaged flesh in antiseptic and winced at the piercing scream that came from her. "I can make it worse if you squirm."

She gritted her teeth and felt him wipe at the stitches, her tail bristling again and her ears going back. The catgirl leaned her forehead against the wall, trying not to show her pain any more than she could help. "So I'm still a hostage?" Her voice was hoarse from trying not to scream, a slight strain to her words. She needed to distract herself from the searing agony taking place in her back, shoulder, and side.

"I can still get something out of keeping you around. "Hostage" is just what I'll call you for now." He scrubbed harder, ignoring her hiss. "You're overreacting." When he finished, he looked at the raw, pink flesh and ran a fingertip along her stitches. "Next I'll show you the first way you can be useful."