Loris crouched down and gently reached out to pat the little kitten on its head.
The kitten didn't resist in the slightest, its earlier wild and frenzied demeanor nowhere to be seen. Perhaps it had settled down after Shinji's earlier discipline, or perhaps it simply sensed something different about her.
Though Loris was an alien, her touch carried a softness far removed from the rough, overbearing grip of the female version of Puri-Puri Prisoner. It wasn't hard for Hakimi to tell the difference.
"You want to adopt it?" Shinji asked.
"Yes." Loris gave a small nod. "Since I can't leave for now, I might as well keep it as a pet while I'm on Earth."
"You can, but once you take it in, you can't just abandon it later," Shinji reminded her. Monster or not, Shinji hates someone who wo adopts a pet before leaving it for the sake of convenience.
"I understand..." She hesitated briefly, then added, "Alright. Though it might be troublesome to bring it aboard my spaceship later..."
"As long as you're willing to take responsibility, it's fine," Shinji replied.
"I'm cool then," Loris answered without hesitation.
Shinji motioned to the kitten with a beckoning gesture.
The small creature proved unexpectedly clever, springing straight into his hand as though it understood the signal perfectly.
"You're well-behaved. Keep it that way, and I won't have to do anything to you," Shinji told it.
The kitten's soft cry almost sounded like agreement.
Cradling the kitten in one arm, Shinji placed his other hand on Loris's shoulder. With the Flying Thunder God Technique, the very next instant he brought both the alien and the cat directly to the abandoned zone of Z City.
"This building is where I live. You can stay here or choose a place nearby," Shinji said pointing at a certain bulding.
From Loris's blank expression, it was clear that adjusting to life on Earth would not be easy for someone like her.
"Forget it. You can stay at my place for now and get used to the surroundings," he decided, realizing that explaining every detail would be more trouble than it was worth.
"Alright," Loris agreed without a hint of objection.
When they reached the entrance, Shinji didn't bother taking out a key. He simply pushed the door open. With people coming and going at all hours, there was rarely a moment when the place was empty, only at night did it grow truly quiet.
Inside, the familiar figures of Saitama, Genos, and Vaccine Man were present… though today there was a fourth guest: Bang.
"Master Bang? What brings you here?" Shinji asked in surprise.
"I heard that you, Saitama, and Genos all live here, so I came by out of curiosity," Bang explained.
Three S-Class heroes residing together in the infamous abandoned zone of Z City was already enough to turn heads. Discovering that the Dragon-level monster, Vaccine Man, also shared the space only made the sight more unusual.
"I see," Shinji said, giving a small nod.
"Of course, if you don't welcome an old man like me, I can leave right now," Bang said with a teasing tone.
"Of course not. You're welcome anytime," Shinji replied with a faint smile.
"Speaking of which..." Bang's gaze shifted past Shinji to Loris, who was standing just behind him. "I didn't realize you were into such… open tastes."
It was clear from the glance that Bang had completely misunderstood the situation.
Seeing Loris wearing nothing but an overcoat, he seemed to assume Shinji had roped her into some unusual sort of game. Still, his expression hardly changed. After all, back in his younger days, Bang had been something of a free spirit himself, though never quite to the extent of indulging in this sort of specialty.
"Good for you, man," Saitama remarked, giving Shinji a casual thumbs-up. "It's good to have some kinks."
"Master..." Genos had also taken it the wrong way, though not in a crude sense. Instead, he began to seriously wonder if somehow this was connected to the path of becoming stronger.
Only Vaccine Man, oblivious to human social cues, failed to pick up on Bang's innuendo. What stood out to him was something entirely different; the woman behind Shinji didn't look human at all.
"Wait, I think you've all got the wrong idea..." Shinji said quickly. "She's actually an alien. According to the Hero Association, that makes her a 'monster.' When I encountered her, we fought, and her original armor was destroyed. The coat she's wearing now is mine."
Hearing that, Bang gave a simple nod. "I can tell. She's clearly not human." The misunderstanding dissolved instantly.
"Are they all natives of this planet?" Loris asked curiously from behind him.
"Yes, they're all human like me," Shinji answered.
"I see... then why is that one human bald?" she asked, pointing without hesitation at Saitama, who was sitting nearby.
The veins on Saitama's forehead immediately pulsed, but he didn't lose his composure. "Sorry for being bald, I guess..."
"He looks like an egg, ha- mmph!!" Loris began to laugh, but Shinji clamped a hand over her mouth before she could finish.
He was utterly speechless. She clearly had no grasp of manners, and to make matters worse, she had just mocked Saitama of all people. Whether she realized it or not, she was just numbering her lifespan.
Even though Shinji knew Saitama wouldn't harm her, out of respect for him, and perhaps because Loris seemed harmless toward humans, it was still basic courtesy that needed to be enforced.
"Watch your manners. Making fun of someone's appearance is very rude," Shinji told her firmly.
"Forget it, forget it. She's an alien, right? Probably didn't mean it," Saitama said with his usual easygoing attitude, even stepping in to defend her.
Only then did Shinji release her.
"I didn't even know that was a thing. Why are you snapping at me..." Loris muttered, sounding faintly wronged.
"I was explaining calmly, where exactly was I snapping at you?" Shinji sighed. "Forget it. We'll talk about this later. Right now, let's solve your clothing problem first."