NeonHorizon: If you're into Speed o' Sound Sonic, I recommend checking out my story Sword Girl. I won't have any more Sonic x Noriko in this story. I mean, not like romantic stuff. Obviously, they still interact, but yeah. Sword Girl is pure Sonic x OC. Here's a new chapter. I had fun writing it ^_^

"Hnn." Noriko's eyes opened half-way and then closed tightly against the sunlight filtering in through the blinds. She turned away from the light, burying her face in the pillow. Arms were wrapped tightly around her from behind, somewhat boney hips pressing at her bottom and pinning her tail against her legs. The chest that was pushing against her back gave off a lot of heat and Noriko slowly realized that this chest was made of flesh, not metal.

Her eyes opened again, wide, and she tensed. The catgirl's ears drew back as she felt warm breath against the side of her neck. His breathing was labored and she could hear a small sound of discomfort escape from his lips. "Hn…Sonic?"

"I think my fever is getting worse," he mumbled, still groggy.

"Okay. I need to get some medicine for you." She tried to push herself up, but he buried his face in the space between her neck and shoulder. "Sonic! I need to get medicine so you have to let me get up."

"I'm cold."

"Sonic, let go! Hnn! I won't tell you again-!"

"You're not leaving!" he snarled, struggling to hold tighter.

Noriko sighed in frustration and heard movement in the kitchen. Emiko approached the futon, clearly confused about why the man she had saved was now cuddling against the catgirl's back. "Hn. Emiko, listen. He needs medicine, okay?"

"Ah! I can do it! I can get the medicine for Oniisan!"

"Wait!" Noriko held out her hand. "Get my phone. Please." She called for Mumen Rider to meet Emiko and go with her, leaving the details of why she needed the medicine a little foggy.

When the little girl was gone, the catgirl attempted to relax again, but it was difficult. The assassin sharing her futon was clinging as tightly as he could in his weakened state. He was awake, but tired, and complained that he was too cold to fall asleep again.

What am I going to do? I can't stay like this. Glaring at Sonic over her shoulder, she struggled to try to get free again. "Hnn. I need to get up," she snarled. "If you let me up, I'll make some tea or something. That should help you warm up."

His arms wrapped tighter around her waist, fingertips digging at her ribs. "I need your body heat," he argued.

"If Genos or Saitama comes in and sees this, you'll be out in the rain again. You're lucky I didn't make you leave last night." Her ears flattened against her head as a low growl began at the back of her throat.

"You wouldn't let that happen." Sonic's voice was weak as he shivered, teeth beginning to chatter.

"Hn. Don't press your luck, okay? I'm a hero, but I'll only tolerate so much. I've got things to do. I need to patrol and make sure that Kenta isn't in the area!" Noriko tried again to get free and soon found herself in a different position. Sprawled on her back beneath the blanket, the ninja was lying on top of her and clinging closely to her. "Sonic!"

"Keep me warm." His eyes narrowed on hers, a flush to his cheeks that indicated the severity of his fever. Burying his face in the crook of her neck, his body went completely limp on top of hers.

Is he…? The catgirl prodded his hip with a fingertip and received no reaction, but she could hear him breathing. He's asleep. Well at least he'll be quiet now. But I'm stuck. He's heavier than he looks.

Staring up at the ceiling, she released an exasperated sigh. It was beginning to feel like she was going beyond just repaying his efforts to keep her alive when he had captured her. After all, that had only lasted a few days and his care for her was mediocre. So far she had supplied him with the necessities to survive, treated his wounds, allowed him to take shelter in her home, and now she was letting him sleep in her futon with her as he leeched off of her body heat.

Noriko never thought she would be in this position. She doubted that anyone would guess that they could end up like this. She should be out searching for Kenta or at least planning which Grey Corporation facility to destroy next. Instead, she was providing warmth to a clingy, whiny ninja.

It felt like hours later that the apartment door opened and Emiko bounded over to the futon with a bottle of antibiotics. Cocking her head to the side, her canine tail whipped back and forth as she stared down at the hero and their guest. "Neechan, he's still alive, right? I wasn't too late, was I?!"

"Hn. He's still alive," she confirmed. Noriko heard a second set of footsteps enter the apartment, followed by the door closing. Don't tell me…

"Noriko, do you need help?" Mumen Rider peered down at her from the other side of the futon. "Uh…is that-?"

"Help would be appreciated," she confirmed. Noriko squirmed a little, hoping to jostle Sonic awake. He mumbled something, but it was clear that he was still asleep. Thankfully, Mumen Rider was able to flip him over onto his back beside Noriko. The catgirl sat upright and ran her fingers through her hair indignantly. "Thanks."

The other hero frowned as Emiko went to get a glass of water for Sonic. "What happened to him?" Noriko pulled the blanket back and Mumen Rider winced in sympathy. The bandages on Sonic's lower legs were soaked through with blood and what he could only assume was some sort of infection fluid. "What happened to him?" he repeated, face contorting with worry.

Noriko moved behind the ninja to prop him up so he could try to swallow the pills, having him lean his back against her chest for support. "Hn. Basically, his knees and shins got skinned. He was trying to evade the authorities and…got a really bad infection. Emiko wanted to help him so she brought him here."

"Is Oniisan going to be okay?" The child offered the bottle of pills and looked at Sonic with worry.

"He'll be fine," Mumen Rider assured her, smiling. "You did the right thing by bringing him here, Emiko-chan. You and Noriko are doing a good job of taking care of him so he should heal fast."

The ninja's eyes half-opened and he scowled when he spotted the male hero. "What is this?" he demanded, still groggy.

"He helped get your medicine, Oniisan. Here." Emiko held out two pills to him, as well as the glass of water.

Sonic stared down at the child's offerings with confusion. "What's this?"

"Medicine! Take your medicine, Oniisan!"

"It's antibiotics. For your infection." Noriko waited for him to take them, but he simply slumped against her and closed his eyes again. "Sonic, come on!"

Shift P.O.V

"Those two are being kind of loud today," Saitama remarked, nodding toward the wall that separated his apartment from Noriko's. "What do you think they're doing? You think a monster got in or something?"

Genos was washing the dishes and paused to look at the wall. He could hear shouting and something crashing onto the floor. "Master, I'm going to go check on them. I will be back-"

"I'm not doing anything; I'll go with you. Besides, I want to see what the noise is about." The older hero stood from the table and stretched. "I hope it's something cool."

The cyborg walked ahead of him, his thoughts shifting between possible causes for the activity in Noriko's apartment. It could be Kenta or that woman from Grey Corporation. If it is Kenta, I will subdue him as quickly as possible. I won't give him the chance to injure Noriko. He braced himself for the worst as he opened her apartment door, but even that could not prepare the blond for what lie within the catgirl's home.

Emiko was sitting on the floor of the main room, crying and trying to clean up some broken glass and water. In front of the balcony door, Noriko was struggling to keep Speed o' Sound Sonic pinned down while Mumen Rider frantically attempted to open a bottle of pills. The ninja was wearing a tight lavender t-shirt and a pair of women's pajama pants, which Genos instantly recognized. When the catgirl shoved her fingers into the ninja's mouth and pried it open, Saitama caught sight of what was going on.

The bald man looked to the cyborg's face and saw his expression. "Wow. So that's what instant regret looks like."

The sound of his voice made Noriko look over. While she was distracted, Sonic bit down on her fingers and she hissed in pain. Pulling his mouth open more, she snarled and her tail whipped around behind her in frustration. "Just take your medicine!"

"Ah! Saitama, can you open this?" Mumen Rider crossed the apartment as Noriko continued to fight with the man currently thrashing beneath her.

Genos saw her straddle Sonic's chest and decided to take action. The cyborg briskly strode over to the two and kneeled down near Sonic's head to forcefully pry open his mouth. "Master, bring the pill bottle."

Despite having no idea what was going on, he at least understood that Noriko's intention was to get the villain to take some sort of medication. She held up two fingers to indicate the dosage and Genos slid the pills to the back of Sonic's throat. A glass of water was handed to him and he poured a little into the ninja's mouth to help him swallow.

When the pills had been gulped down, Genos lifted his gaze to Noriko and saw relief in her face. "What is this?"

"Hn. This idiot's delirious. He thought we were trying to poison him," she replied. "It's just antibiotics; he's got an infection."

Looking past her to the soiled bandages on the man's legs, he instantly understood. "You were attempting to care for him after everything that he did to you." Genos was unable to hide the edge to his tone as he held her gaze.

The catgirl's ears drew back, her tail limply lying beside her. "Emiko wanted to help him," she stated. "That's the only reason."

"Get off of me before I slice open your throat," Sonic hissed, seething beneath the girl.

"That is tough talk coming from someone that had to be taken care of by his enemy," Genos retorted. Leaning down toward him, his gold and black eyes narrowed. "You will treat Noriko with respect. She is doing you a service by keeping you alive."

Saitama tilted his head, staring down at Sonic's flushed features. "Must be a pretty bad fever. You should let Nya-chan take care of you instead of fighting."