Among the rubble and the charred wood, Vei searched for a long time with Genos inside the house. It was a simple two-story home. Two bedrooms, one for the parents and the second for the child. She and he were both in the parent's bedroom alone, awkwardly looking around in silence. Broken glass was littered before a crushed in coffee table, next to the queen-sized damaged bed. She noticed it was glass when she stepped on it with her foot, alerting Genos in the process. "What happened?" He asked then turned to face her and saw that his back was to her.

"Broken glass... I wonder why," She answered, knelt down, and picked up a shard from the small pile.

He stepped up behind her and viewed the glass. There was a small photo beneath it all and a picture frame under the broken bed. "Look, there's a picture right there," Genos had stated and leaned over to get it, causing Vei to step aside. When he held it up to see, she peered over his arm and took a peek. A boy and his parents, that's what was in it. The little boy's head on the picture was half scorched, so it was difficult to figure out who it really was. "His parents, they look happy together but the boy can't really be seen. This photo must've gotten burned in the fire for his head to be blackened like this. There are even some burn marks on the corners," the cyborg said and looked over at Vei.

"No kidding... No sense in trying to figure him out, when you can't even see his face. Let's keep looking." she replied. She walked off and was about to head over to the boy's room until Genos spoke up.

"Speaking of which. What were your tiger parents like and how did you meet Isabelle?" Blinking his yellow eyes, his question received a sigh from her lips and caused her to halt in her pace.

Her back to him and her hand fiddling with the feather on her cat toy-like hair clip, she answered. "They were caring...protective, even. They taught me how to hunt my prey and survive in the wild. To skip all the drama and make it brief, let's just say after I got older, I told them I was gonna head out to find my real parents. That's when I met Isabelle; I was in a park hunting rabbits when she found me. I was bloodied, she saw that and she pretty much figured I was lost. So she took me in and taught me everything else from there. I didn't grow up in darkness or ever had a depressing past, I just lived a life where all my questions were left unanswered. That's all..." Her green cat eyes peeked over at Genos when she looked past her shoulder. "I was raised to be a damn animal and trained by a human... Any other questions...?" Her strict eyes were glued on his frame, he was a little taken aback by her brief explanation.

"Just... Just a few," The cyborg began and stepped closer to her. "After all this is over, what will you do? Become a hero, be apart of the Hero Association or...be a villain?" He hoped it wasn't the latter, he didn't want to take her down if she chose that.

"I don't know...but, I'm not cruel enough to be a Villain so don't worry about that," Sighing through her nose she replied, then looked forward and was about to leave.

"Then why not become a hero? You would be a very good one. We don't have any ninja heroes or anything. Besides, at least with that, it'd be hard for villains to unmask Rin and find out who she is. Look how many people have been trying to uncover you? Before we discovered who you were, it took my master, the villainous Speed O' Sound Sonic, and I to unmask you; look how long it took to even do that. It'd take even longer for an average hero to do that and you've been a mystery for a decade now." He was about to continue when Vei overran him with her words.

"Shut up already... It all depends on how it ends after Ebon Metal is gone and my parents are found! I may not have had a horrible past but that doesn't mean I'm not going through shit right now!" She started, jerked her head around with furious and mournful eyes. This shocked the cyborg, his eyes widened, and stood there listening. "Genos, I'm hurting! Not physically, but mentally! I don't care about saving other people, I don't care about hurting people or being a Villain! My emotions aren't controlled enough or taken care of to even consider any of those ideas!" Now tears began to trail down her cheeks, she never knew she had this all bottled up inside.

Feeling her heart throbbing and blurting out how she felt, she never knew she had it in her to do it... To admit something like this to someone. "I'm lonely! I had to be alone before when I was looking for clues and I still am! I had to push people away so they wouldn't get in my way and wouldn't find out who I was! Rin had to fight off both hero and villain so they wouldn't get in our way, and I was mostly forced to lay low during the day so no one would catch on to me! I can't get close to anyone or they'll either die on me, betray me, or assume I'm crazy and send me to an insane asylum! Let alone point met out as Rin, since we share the same eyes and abilities! Someone like me... Can never fit in with other people or fit as a hero! After all of this crap is over with, I'll most likely hide with my parents until the day I grow old and die!" She screamed out, her face appeared red from embarrassment and crying. Once again she was about to storm off until the cyborg himself hugged her from behind.

"Vei, you don't need to do that... You deserve to be happy just as much as the next person. My master and I are your friends, aren't we? Even Mumen Rider, wouldn't dare betray you or send you off somewhere. Neither I or master would..." His lowered voice held reassurance, as he stared forward over her shoulder with a contemplative gaze.

Without warning, Vei brushed him off and made him let go. "I don't know yet..." That was all she replied with before walking out of the room, through the hallway, and into the boy's crumbled down bedroom. Genos remained in his spot, frowning as her backside disappeared when she shut the door. Concern was evident on his face, he only hoped after this whole mess was over, that she'd at least consider them as friends.

Outside of the building, Sai was viewing the blacksmith area and the smelter with a rather bored look. He scratched his butt and examined all the charred rubble, humming in thought. "Hmm, maybe the lava caught the house on fire..." He assumed and looked down around his feet. Coal and bones...now that caught his attention. When he bent over, he grabbed one of the bones and shook off the black soot. The said substance clouded the air around him and his head jerked back a bit to avoid coughing. With his fingers plugging his nose, he lifted it up to his eye level and examined it.

"Did you find anything?" Drive questioned a few feet away and was holding a blackened vase in one hand. He saw the baldy look his way, nod, and skip on over out of the flying soot.

Taking a deep breath from holding it in and lowering his hand from his nose, he showed Drive the bone. "I found some bones over there, must be one of the parent's," he said.

"Yes, it's an adult bone off of one of their biceps," Drive answered, viewed the bone, and noticed how it was covered in the same soot as the building. "My only guess is that one of the parents was caught in midst of the fire after they were killed by the villain," he said.

"Ah, they must've been shoved into fire or something; Cremation, maybe," Sai said and tossed the bone up and down, catching it easily with his one hand. Drive was about to say something until a familiar voice to Saitama's ears rang.

"Hey, you were with Vei before right?!" Gratta Quall was seen running up to them both, waving a hand above his head in a friendly gesture. Out from behind a few trees and up the grassy hill where the home was, both Drive and Sai peered over at the suspicious man.

"Yeah, you're that...Gato...guy, aren't you?" The baldy asked and blinked his simplistic eyes. Once Gratta got up to them, he was lightly jogging in place with a grin on his face.

"Ga...to...? No, I'm Gratta Quall, remember? Anyway, does that mean Vei's with you?" He asked, finally decided to stand still and put his hands on his hips. He wore a black tank top this time, with white shorts that were just above his kneecaps, and black and white sneakers.

"Why do you want to know?" Drive grew suspicious about his timing, about him appearing out of the blue.

"Just curious is all, she's really cool. I came jogging down the road nearby and saw you guys up here on this hill. I wanted to know what you guys were up to; and who're you?" With his grin still plastered, he pretended to pant as if he ran a long time. Though he pretended beforehand too when he got up to them...

"I'm Drive Knight. The S-Class, rank 9 hero... You must be the man whom I was told about," he said, glanced over at Sai, and saw him nod slightly.

"Told about? I'm guessing Vei talked about me.~" Gratta asked and stated at the end, blushing at the thought with his hand scratching the back of his head. Closed eyes and a few chuckles escaping his lips, Saitama spoke up to answer.

"She did. If you wanna go see her, she's in that run-down house behind us," With his thumb jerking behind him, Sai directed him and knew in his mind, that he needed to spy on this man. He knew Genos would pick up anything about him if something was wrong. Considering just how fast Gratta was with snatching a piece of her hair strand a while ago, he figured it'd be best for him to watch the man closely. For someone who tends to forget easily, it's hard to forget about someone who's so fast that only HE could follow. When Gratta thanked him and jogged up to the house, his brown eyes followed the man until he went inside.

"I'll keep an eye out here. You need to go watch him... You know him a little better than I do, seeing you two have already met; so you would be able to point out anything unusual." Drive spoke up and walked over to the blacksmith area, passing up the baldy.

"Sure," That's all Sai answered with, before lazily trotting on over to the door and entering the house.

Inside, Gratta looked around and his features appeared stoic. His facade had dropped the moment he stepped foot inside the home. His fists clenched, eyes narrowed more and mouth formed a tight line. It was as if the house caused a regretful or bad memory. Maybe he just didn't like the idea that others were around. He knew that Sai was behind him, but pretended that he didn't know. So, he just walked up the staircase and looked around, keeping his ears open for Vei's voice. I know she's up here, I heard footsteps. Gratta stated in his mind and looked to the right, seeing a door. His ear pressed against it to listen and heard faint feminine mumbling, this caused a smile to form. With little effort, he opened the door and chirped out. "Hi, Vei!" He yelled out cheerfully and swung the door wide open.

"Shit!" She screamed out, jumped back, and fell behind a burned down bookcase. Her legs dangled over the edge of it, only soft groaning occurred from behind it after she sat there for a second. Slowly she rose up with her hand clasping on to the side. Now she was sitting, scowling and grabbing a handful of ash from where the books used to be, then comically flicking it at the man's face.

Arms to his sides, he tightly shut his eyes and huffed out air to get the ash out of his mouth. "Now, that's no way to treat an acquaintance," A smile plastered, he wiped his face off with his palm and chuckled.

Vei saw Sai behind him with a serious face and watched him give a strict nod her way. She smirked and stood up, dusting herself off. It only appeared for a second until she frowned again, crossing her arms in doing so. "I don't like people..." she said then sighed. "Anyway, what do you want...?" Her question made him gasp and appear hurt, only to do a muffled hmph sound.

"I just wanted to check up on you. Haven't seen you in forever, what you up to?" His smile was still there, if he ever so slightly dropped his act...his brother would see it and so would everyone else that could possibly run into the room they were in.

"Just looking around... Exploring... Saw this house up here, so I thought I'd take a peek," When she answered, just for a fraction of time his smile faltered. Turning into a frown, then back into a smile.

"Well, if that's the case let me join! I want to look too!" Cheerfully Gratta exclaimed and gave a thumbs up, with a wink added. Vei sweatdropped and expressed an annoyed look on her face, her sunglasses kept her eyes covered too.

"Fine... Just, go somewhere else and look around," Vei waved her hand in a shooing motion and turned around with a squat, examining the bookshelf.

"Is... Is it ok if I look in here? I promise I won't get in your way," Quall pleaded and frowned, he hoped she'd say yes so he could watch her in closer quarters.

"Whatever..." She didn't really care, as long as he was out of her way she didn't. Her hand just waved and started brushing ash off one of the shelves.

"Great, thank you!" With glee, Gratta chirped, before rushing over to the other side of the room and looking at something that piqued his interest.

Quickly, Vei peeked over her shoulder with a serious face and mouthed I'll be fine. Just stand a good ways away outside of the room and be ready, in case something happens. Seeing him nod and back away with the door closing quietly, she turned to face the shelves again. "In case you freak out or something stupid... I shut the door," She knew what she said wasn't necessary, but she figured it would eventually make Gratta show some sort of unusual behavior considering the suspicion she had towards him.

"Thanks!" The man grinned and acted like he was interested in a piece of glass that was slightly charred with black. Though something caught his attention...animal bones. They were almost halfway buried under the black soot that was near the burnt up bed. He frowned, he knew exactly what or who that was... It was his first kitty he had ever gotten. It saddened him really; to know that his beloved cat was burned alive by the flames in the house, he knew who did it too and it irked him. His hand that held the glass shard clenched into a fist and broke it without realizing it. This alerted the young woman on the other side of the room, so he looked over and saw her puzzled face. "S-Sorry, I was just angry! There are some bones over here under this stuff that belonged to a cat. It...made me angry that someone would leave the poor thing here, to die..." he said and gave a mournful expression. That certainly wasn't an act at least, it was his cat...and he loved it so much. "Do you... Like cats, Vei?" Asking that, he glanced over at the said woman and stared expectantly in hopes of an answer.

"Yeah... Why?" she asked in a low voice, before heading over to a chest of soot-covered toys. She looked through them and picked up a tiny car that was also blackened from the ash.

"That's cool... I do too. They're cute, cuddly, follow you around, purrs around you, and even wants you to pet them. They have their nasty sides but, if you tame them just right, they can be your teddy bear at night or your best friend for the rest of your life," His voice was low and mournful, and a sad smile graced his lips as he looked down at the cat's remains. With thoughts of Rin coming to mind though, his cheeks turned red... Even more so when he thought about Vei and how much he's learned of her as of late.

He had not realized, that the more he studied her from afar or when he's undercover, the more interested he becomes; romantically and curiously. He didn't know she was staring at him with confusion, he never looked back over at her. His heart started pounding and Genos in the other room who scanned the house, after being told Gratta was there, saw his heat signatures rising. "I... I like you a lot, Vei. When I'm near you my heart throbs and my blood boils. I may not have been around you a lot but I really do like you," Soon, he peered over at her and walked towards her. The sad smile still evident and sorrowful silver, brown eyes locked on to her hidden green ones. 

His arms stretched out to the sides as if gesturing for a hug and tilted his head ever so slightly. "Would you like to go on a date with me, some time?" He knew he couldn't let his emotions take control, he had a task at hand and didn't want them ruining his plans. Though right now, he doesn't have any will to stop them. The feelings he felt, were getting all mixed up with his desire of wanting to study her and learn about the mysteries she holds. He knew she and Rin were the same person now, he just wanted to know how they were the same.

Vei raised her guard, lowered her face to let shade cast over it, and continued looking at the car. "I don't know," Her answer wasn't very satisfying to him, so he frowned and lowered his gaze down to his feet. "What the hell is it, that makes you like me so much...?" When she asked that, Gratta instantly perked up with a hopeful look in his eyes. She was too preoccupied with looking at the car, to even notice his sudden change in expression.

"You're amazing! Remember? I saw you on the news before! To add to that, I like how distant you are. You don't trust people easily and that increases your heart's defenses. You're smart, strong and honestly, you're a good person when you want to show it; hence, the time when you accepted my plea of wanting to make it up to you. I want to know more about you, is that wrong?" His frown returned and he watched her turn to face him, giving him an unfazed serious feature.

She pondered there and just for a moment she had almost believed him. She may not be good at reading people like Rin but she sure does know when something's wrong. He could be referring to my speed and strength when I fought that monster a while back and was put on the news... Wanting to know more about me... That seems off. Ebon Metal somehow knew about my loneliness beforehand and the only way he could've learned that, was, if I had told him. Someone must've said something to him, or otherwise, that black head of a villain wouldn't have known about it. That or Gratta is actually him... Now things have been narrowed down to two options so far; my guess is that he's a spy for that black metal weirdo. Saying that in her head, she sighed and shook it in response. "Maybe, maybe not," She chose to play hard to get, just to see how far he's willing to push until she'd give a proper answer. There was only one way to see what his true intentions were, to see which option it'd be...and that would be to risk her personal safety.

"I... I see. Then, how about we all hang out at some point? We can all get to know each other that way," Gratta grinned slightly then stopped in his steps and lowered his arms.

"Damn it. if it'll make you shut up and stop bothering me, then fine. When and where...?" This time Vei was irritated, regardless of her attempts to make him reveal himself accidentally. She faced him once more and grumbled, putting the car in the chest then folding her arms.

A gleeful expression formed on his face, along with his silver and brown eyes lighting up with hope. "Tomorrow, at Gale wing Barbecue! (I just made it up xD!) It's a new restaurant I like to eat at, a lot and it just recently opened," His smile never faltered, he was pleased to know that she was willing to go along with it.

"Sure, Genos would know where that's at so no need for directions..." Vei saying that, she walked over to the door and opened it up, soon leaving the man in there alone. She walked up to Saitama who was at the end of the stairs and knocked on the wall next to the door, where Genos was examining the other room. As soon as she passed Sai up, she whispered in his ear about what went on and made the baldy knit his brows with concern. Knowing Gratta could possibly be Ebon Metal or his spy, made him concerned for her safety as a citizen even more. He was even told about the meetup tomorrow. "We're heading home, it's getting late and if I'm not back home in time before Rin comes out, she'll start making my head hurt," she whispered as she stood at Sai's side in the opposite direction.

"Sure thing. Thanks for tellin' me about all that," Sai whispered back and looked up at the staircase, trying to see if the cyborg was coming. "Genos, come on we're leaving!" With boredom lacing his words, he saw the said demon cyborg rush out of the room and nod. Down the steps he went, noticing Vei leave the house in a hurry.

"Something wrong with her, master?" he asked with worry.

"I'll tell you later," Sai put his arms up behind his head and walked towards the door, leaving Gratta alone and exiting the house. Later, on their way back to her apartment, Sai had informed Drive Knight and Genos what Vei had said to him. He gave brief details since he hated having to give long explanations and Vei was far ahead of them all.

On the other hand, Gratta was seen standing in that same room he was left in. His upper face was hidden from the scene and only his smirking lips could be viewed. Apparently, the man was staring at his palm, as unknown thoughts swarmed his mind... Within seconds he vanished from sight, leaving a cloud of soot to fly in the air. Soon... Soon I'll get my answer. I'm this close, to figuring her out... Vei...Rin, maybe I should house you in my lair and study you day and night... Maybe...just, maybe. His mental thoughts sounded throughout the atmosphere after the scene changed to black. 

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter!~ Don't forget to leave a comment, I'm always happy to hear from my readers! \o/