The moon shone bright over the city, and lights lit the streets.
The protagonists walked down the road and entered a hospital. Kiro went straight to the staff.
"Hey, our friend needs help. Acid fell on his back, and he's unconscious," Kiro said.
"Of course. A doctor will see you right now," the man replied.
A few minutes later, Worh lay face down. The doctor examined the wound, put his skills to work, and finally bandaged it.
At 1 a.m., Worh slowly opened his eyes and breathed deeply, then turned his head to the right.
The hybrid was there, watching him from a chair, her ears twitching with mild discomfort.
Worh narrowed his eyes.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, his voice tense.
"Watching you, obviously," she replied.
He closed his eyes and opened them again, but before he could speak, the hybrid lay down beside him. Worh froze, struggling to process her audacity.
"Is something wrong? You look pale," she asked, curious.
His mind was chaos. *Why did she climb up here? The nerve.*
The hybrid noticed his expression and smacked him on the head, snapping him back to reality.
"What was that?" he said, annoyed.
"You weren't reacting. And don't talk to me in that tone," she replied, just as annoyed.
Worh sighed, draped an arm over his face, and closed his eyes. Sleep began to claim him.
The next morning, he jolted awake, feeling something in his nose, something soft and furry. He looked down and saw the hybrid with her head resting on his leg. Then he realized it was her tail.
"Looks like her animal instincts still rule her," he murmured.
The girl's ears twitched, catching the sound. Without a word, her tail curled around his neck. Worh sighed, but he quickly felt the tail begin to strangle him.
That was when Kiro walked in, his eyes going wide.
"I didn't know you had those fantasies, buddy," Kiro said in a teasing tone.
"What fantasy? She's choking me, hard! Get it off me!" Worh said, gasping.
Without another word, Kiro grabbed the tail and squeezed. The hybrid's eyes snapped open.
"Aaaah!" she yelped, her claws shooting out as she swiped at him.
Kiro leapt aside, and the claws barely grazed him. The hybrid jumped off the bed and glared at him. Worh finally drew a clean breath. He got up and walked to the door without waiting for anyone.
The hybrid followed right behind him. Worh felt her presence but said nothing, though a faint stiffness showed in his shoulders.
The air felt a little awkward. After the battle, no one had expected their enemy to turn up like this.
When he stepped outside, the sun hit his eyes at once, and he blinked hard.
"Ah," Worh grunted.
In the distance, he spotted a McDonald's. He began walking toward it, but suddenly sensed someone behind him.
"Are you still following me?" he asked quietly.
"Yes," the hybrid replied, her face bright with anticipation.
*I'll have to take her to eat. She's going to leave me broke,* Worh thought.
When they arrived, the guard held the door open. They went in and joined the line, waiting.
"Hurry up!" the hybrid shouted impatiently.
*Damn it, it hasn't even been two minutes and she's already embarrassing me,* he thought, feeling eyes on them.
Sure enough, when he looked around, people were staring at them, their faces full of confusion.
*God, please, someone come take my order.*
An employee who had been watching walked over to the hybrid.
"Do you need something, miss?" she asked.
"Just... that you serve us," the hybrid answered quietly.
An idea struck her. She began to wiggle her ears and tail and put on an adorable expression that made the hearts of everyone present skip. Without hesitation, they stepped aside.
*Silly humans. A little manipulation and they get out of the way, ha,* she thought with satisfaction.
Suddenly she took a smack from Worh, who had already reached the counter.
"I'd like a triple-patty burger and the largest order of fries," Worh said in a serious voice.
The cashier quickly added it to the order and pointed out a place to sit. Worh took the hybrid by the arm, and they sat down.
"Hey, and..."
"The burger's for you and the fries are for me," Worh cut in quickly.
While they waited, Worh noticed the hybrid's ears swiveling toward the counter.
*Why is she doing that?* he wondered.
He slowly reached out and touched one of her ears. She tensed, then relaxed at once and let him pet it.
*She's gotten pretty comfortable, not pulling away at all. Hmm.*
The employee arrived and set the tray on the table. Without waiting, the hybrid pulled away from his hand and snatched up the burger, devouring it without a flicker of hesitation.
"Don't eat so fast," Worh scolded.
"Shut up," she replied between bites.
Worh let out a long sigh, picked up a fry, dipped it in ketchup, and ate in silence.
She finished the burger, licked her fingers, and immediately grabbed all the fries and the ketchup, leaving Worh with the single fry he had already taken.
*I really want to hit her, but... ah,* he thought, tightening a fist and then sighing.
"You're ruining me," Worh murmured, staring at her.
The hybrid only nodded and finished eating, letting out a sigh of satisfaction.
"I think my stomach is satisfied, but if you want, you can buy me more food," she said slyly.
"No way. I barely brought any money, just enough for this order," Worh replied, his voice gruffer.
The hybrid puffed her cheeks in a pout. Worh felt a squeeze in his chest, but he quickly shook his head.
"Next time, okay?" he declared.
Her eyes lit up at once, her ears flicking from side to side while her tail wagged in anticipation.
Worh pulled out his phone and scrolled through social media. There was nothing interesting except coverage of yesterday's battle and one video he opened.
The video showed him throwing the Ultra Strike Plus, its energy blazing like fire. But one comment caught his eye.
"I only see distorted silhouettes."
*I didn't think our fights would look like that. I guess we're just really fast,* he thought.
The hybrid walked toward the exit, and Worh followed. Out on the street, the fresh air hit them, but then a heavy rain began to fall.
In the distance, they noticed something bright that had fallen from the sky.
Suddenly, when they looked up, they saw that the rain on that side of the city had cleared, as if someone had snapped their fingers to call them out for a confrontation...