"This way, please," Kamiko said to the first Secret Skins male when the group approached the warehouse.
"I'm here to help!" Child Emperor said when he rushed over and climbed into a laboratory chair to access various computers. "I already did my homework, too. There was plenty of time to get it done. I also want to do the karaoke event!"
"Same here!" Mitsumi chuckled and got pulled into a chair after appearing with Saitama in civilian clothes to relax a bit. Saitama neatly had her in his lap and let Overgrown Rover grow large to lay down over them both. Blue Ripple had his tub set next to them, and he craned his neck to rest his head along her shoulder. She gently stroked his neck and scratched a little behind the fin wedges that surrounded his catfish-like muzzle.
"I like that!" Blue Ripple blinked and purred even more. Mitsumi giggled and pressed her cheek into his nuzzling muzzle.
"Stop it," Saitama said with a touch of jealousy.
"He's just showing affection back like a kitty would. It's fine," she said and stuck out her tongue. Saitama blinked at her and grumbled. Then he found himself sputtering laughter from Overgrown Rover licking his face nonstop. "There you go! Every time you get jealous over my scaled kitty, puppy will lick your face. Good job, puppy!"
It huffed and snuggled them both before yawning with contentment. As the reformed Secret Skins line started, Blue Ripple suddenly turned his head to glare at the northern section of the protected part of City Z. Saitama looked at him now. "Eh? What's up?"
"An intruder…" Blue Ripple growled. Inichi was informed, but Black Sperm already had clones intervening. Two clones suddenly appeared to drop a female figure in front of them, and, as they were in a building designed for experimental needs, Metal Knight was swift to have two robotic arms come up and apprehend the figure.
"Oh. I know you. You tried to assassinate me and likely got free when my brother broke out. Right?" Mitsumi asked with a small frown.
"What?!" Blue Ripple seethed and was in full attack mode. Even Overgrown Rover snarled with protective defense.
"Easy. Calm down. I'll handle this," Saitama sighed and let the fiery light in his pupils come back in full force to shake up the trapped woman. "This is a lab that you're in. Monsters and heroes are here. As you can see. So, I'm only gonna ask this once before I let the pets here use you as a chew toy. And the one in Mitsumi's arms is a GOD monster, too."
"Excuse me?" Blue Ripple asked him to get a rewarding grin back.
"Saitama…" Mitsumi warned. "I will slap you if you say that again."
"What?!" Saitama now said with a small look of rare surprise to get the others around them snickering and laughing.
"If he makes fans move, I'll allow you to call him that. Until then, he is not a GOD monster. Got it?!" she growled protectively. Blue Ripple snickered softly before glancing over at the struggling woman in the robotic arms.
"Who's this?" Garou asked when he walked over with Lily against his side.
"Someone that tried to kill Mitsumi. She was contracted by the fake dead mom to kill her," Saitama said with a neutral stare at the woman.
"Can I kill her?" Garou asked point-blank.
"If she doesn't tell us why she's here, sure," Saitama nodded.
"I need to take off my skin," a reformed Secret Skins man said. He was one that didn't want to be cured just yet, and he was absolutely livid on hearing this.
"Nah. Don't bother. Eh, Mitsumi. Can your fans wake her up?" Saitama asked. Mitsumi mused at the idea now and had her fans quickly boomerang to her side. They hovered over her before two of them quickly swirled around the contained woman. She shouted with shock at the calming, soothing scent that enveloped her.
"Hmm…" Inichi frowned on studying the woman's thoughts.
"Why did you come back here?" Saitama asked now. The woman looked away with a grimace, but Blue Ripple caught the information before Inichi could.
"She wanted to finish the job," the water monster seethed out.
"That she did," Inichi confirmed. "She cannot stand the fact that she failed a mission. Much like Drive Knight and his missions."
"Can I pay you to do a mission for me, then? Hell, maybe even hire you?" Mitsumi asked. She did notice Sonic crouching nearby from the corner of her eye. At a rather wicked idea, Inichi started laughing hysterically at it.
"I have to finish my current mission!" the woman said.
"Well, you won't. So, I'm going to ask you now. How much were you paid to kill me? I'll simply triple it for you to do any of my missions if I hire you," Mitsumi chuckled. "I'm the sole heir to the Takashi family fortune. My father planned it. Money really isn't anything to me."
"Ah…well…I was paid ten million yen…" the woman blinked at this.
"If I paid you right now with a wire transfer, will you agree to my contract for hire?" Mitsumi asked directly. "The moment you say you will, Inichi can make all the arrangements for us."
"For hire?! Oh. Well…since it's obvious that I won't be able to kill you…I suppose a contract override could work…" the woman mused at the idea. "But…would I really have to work for you?"
"If my wife is paying you thirty million yen right now, you're hired by her. Basic missions won't work. And, if you do well enough, she can even pay you a nice bonus," Saitama said with a sigh of boredom.
"Bonus pay?! Well, then! I've never had that offer before…" the woman said with solid surprise. She was also incredibly impressed. Inichi knew that greed had her now. He thought to Metal Knight to have the robotic arms drop her gently. An electronic keypad was presented to start the wire transfer. Information was put in on where to send the money, and Inichi put in the banking information for Mitsumi's side to complete the transaction.
"Good! Consider yourself thirty million yen richer," Mitsumi nodded. "Inichi? You know what to do with Rendor! Please have her sign the contract the moment it is created."
"What are you planning?" Saitama asked while Rendor started up a contract with Inichi's guidance on what to put. She held up her hand to ensure the woman read and signed it first. Then Rendor nodded to put it away to show it was now in effect. Inichi confirmed the payment was received and done. Even Metal Knight ensured it with a trace to show it was binding.
"As her first mission from me, I want her to go on a date with Sonic," Mitsumi grinned to get Saitama dying with laughter. The woman gaped with complete shock on this. What did I just sign myself up for?!
"WHAT?!" Sonic shrieked and was suddenly in front of them.
"Oh, think about it! You're both assassins. Stealthy. Work contracts. I know you both likely work alone, but in your off time? Why not?" Mitsumi shrugged. "So, as I already have you under contract, I want you to go on a date with her. Now that she is under contract, I know she'll pursue this to keep to her mission win quota."
"But…that's…no!" Sonic spat out.
"Are you saying you can't do it?" Saitama said with a small grin.
"I never said that!" Sonic snapped at him.
"He's chicken," Zenchu smirked.
"NO!" Sonic said with a sharp glare.
"What is her name?" Mitsumi asked Inichi and ran her hand lovingly over Blue Ripple's neck to keep him calm. "We never learned it."
"Ah. It is…Hirata Miyako. Interesting that it means 'night child'. I can see that her name definitely fits her personality," Inichi chuckled.
"They could be brother and sister…" Zenchu grinned when Hirata now moved to stand next to Sonic. "Both have black hair and eyes, even though her hair is short. And they wear black clothing…"
"I prefer leather," Hirata shrugged. "Well…as it is a mission now…"
"Hold up!" Sonic grunted. "I never agreed to this!"
"Sonic…" Mitsumi said softly to get his sudden attention. "I want to know. Have I ever at any given time treated you wrongfully?"
"No…" Sonic muttered.
"I have treated you fairly?" she asked.
"More than fair…" he admitted.
"Then please…will you at least do this once?" she smiled softly. "You don't even have to say much. Just…walk with her for a bit. Explore a place with her. You may surprise yourself."
"Eh…well…" Sonic grimaced with indecision. "What's happening tonight?"
"A karaoke event at Neutral Grounds. After that, we have a very intense mission to find an object of intricate power. Once it is found, only Kamikaze is to approach it. Any others will be detained or even killed by the artifact," Inichi said calmly. "I will not allow any save him to approach it."
"Hmm. Okay. Let me know when you plan to search," Sonic said.
"Or we could start now?" Hirata asked.
"Only when the moon is in the sky," Kamikaze muttered. "Moonlight's the key. From what we know."
"Done," Hirata said and jumped away gracefully. Sonic blinked at that. Mitsumi chuckled softly and waved him away. She knew that Sonic was going to have some rather conflicting thoughts now.
"You can go. I'd suggest to get some sleep," Saitama shrugged and waved Sonic off. The thin man grumbled, but he darted away swiftly. Now Saitama looked at his wife with amusement. "If they hook up, I blame you."
"That's fine," Mitsumi giggled and got kissed thoroughly by him.
"I love you," he muttered.
"I love you," she smiled softly and got kissed again.
"I can't do it!" the Secret Skins man said on walking into the chamber and seeing the other flea in the glass jar. "I just…"
"Hmm. Instinctive reaction. This will be tough…" Inichi frowned.
"Do I have to slap him and knock him out?" Saitama asked.
"Master Saitama! You just had me recall that the other was asleep! We may need to either blindfold or induce slumber to ensure this works," Genos said.
"Allow me!" Metal Knight said from the hovering robot nearby. It flew over to Child Emperor to show a display panel to activate the sleeping gas. The man in the chamber slumped down the moment the gas took effect, and the two robotic arms moved him onto a waiting platform with cushioning. Now the other flea was released when the gas was cleared, and it hopped over to the sleeping man out of curiosity. On sensing the other flea, it hissed with outrage.
"Here we go," Zenchu muttered. He knew Wind Crane was tending to the eggs, but there was a screen for her to watch the events as they unfolded. They all watched the solitary flea hiss with hatred at the residing one in the man. It dug down over it and started the attack. The moment the other flea was pulled out and the man's skin shifted back to normal, they were both quickly confined in a jar.
"Let them fight it out," Saitama said calmly. "I want to see what happens."
"Should we place bets?" Bane mused from where he sat with Kamikaze.
"I find it interesting that the ones in the jars we found weren't fighting," Mitsumi mused aloud.
"In jars?" Blue Ripple asked. Inichi showed him the visions of the treasure room at the mansion home. "I see. I don't think they would fight unless in a host. They were waiting for hosts. This one was pulled from a host it was in, so it lost territory. You would think that, much like animals defending a home, is when they would truly fight."
"You make true sense!" Inichi blinked. On watching the fleas fight it out, he suddenly paused at a thought. "Ah…interesting…"
"What is it?" Saitama asked.
"The fleas. The loser is going to be eaten…" Inichi said with a touch of surprise. "Should we separate them?"
"No," Mitsumi said. "It does make me wonder if a flea that consumes another can do something else to a host. We will isolate the winner and label it for possible testing at another time."
"That would be scary to test," Iwasaki winced. "I am curious, though."
"I'm not sure how we would test it. Unless we capture a vile Secret Skins and let the fleas remove each other. Then we can see what happens…" Sweet Mask said. He was still with them from the Hero Association to watch the events. The board members were going through the new recruiting ranks.
"Master!" Suiryu said when he jogged in.
"Hmm?" Saitama tilted his head.
"I got into the Hero Association! I'm rank A and at 40!" his disciple grinned. Then he frowned. "But…now what?"
"You keep training. See if you can get higher," Saitama shrugged. "And, as you are now A rank, I guess it's time to see how much you can do."
"What do you…?" Suiryu frowned and blinked at Overgrown Rover's hissing snarl at him.
"Puppy! Not now," Mitsumi said and got a healthy lick to her cheek in response. "Wait until he least expects it."
"Oh? We get to test him?" Blue Ripple mused and spat some water on the ground at Suiryu's feet. Now the young man was focusing on balancing from the slippery tile. That got Saitama grinning.
"I'll have to include you on some missions. If I think you're worthy of tagging along," Saitama mused. "So, tonight, after the karaoke, you'll help us search for an item. Okay?"
"Oh! Sure!" Suiryu nodded once he was able to stand again. He looked over when Tsuruga walked in with Tanktop Girl on his shoulders.
"The room is done. It was…disgusting," the bull monster snorted.
"How long did it take you to clean out?" Tacki asked.
"It took some time. The entire room was fouled," he grunted and sat down to let Tanktop Girl move into his lap. "I was going to go to Neutral Grounds, but we plan to go there later."
"That we will," Mitsumi smiled. At a small crunching sound, the jar was now looked at to see the winning flea consuming the loser. "Ew!"
"We shall confine the winning flea," Genos nodded. "Another is ready, and we shall separate the fleas with a vacuum effect."
"Or I can separate them. Let me do that," Inichi said.
"Okay! Let's wake that guy up," Child Emperor said. The cured man was woken up gently and let blood be drawn. Kamiko confirmed a complete recovery to amaze everyone. The grateful man was given some funds, and Metal Knight planned to help cover the identities of all the cured victims to keep them hidden away. Saitama smiled at Mitsumi's sigh of complete relief at this. Even Wind Crane was pleasantly surprised from what she watched in her enclosure.
For the next hour it happened this way. Sleeping gas was used to knock out the one that needed to be cured. A flea was released to remove the residential flea. Inichi pulled the fleas apart to separate them right after in waiting jars. The recovered victim was ensured a clean bill of health. The cured people planned to keep in touch with each other to ensure of their safety at all times.
"We don't know if they'll come back for us. This will help," Iwasaki nodded. "I think that's all of them that wanted to be free of this nightmare."
"Aside from the ones that wanted to stay as they are," Kianna chuckled in King's lap. "What's the plan now? It's becoming sunset."
"Yep. Let's change back into hero suits. Did Richoo clean them?" Saitama asked and rose up with Mitsumi in his arms. When he walked out of the warehouse, his hand came up to catch a throwing knife aimed at him. "Okay. Who was that? I wanna know so I can throw this back at who threw it at me."
"Found him," Blue Ripple growled and brought a slender man over in a silvery-blue glow. The man was shocked that he was caught again.
"Another one?! Really?!" Fumio scowled and let Black Sperm protect him.
"Oh. The other one that tried to assassinate me before the girl did," Mitsumi frowned. Inichi was not happy, but he looked over at Blue Ripple. "He probably followed her here to see where she went."
"How wide is your range of detection? Mine is about five miles," Inichi said. "I tend to lose things outside of that scope unless I focus."
"I have a ten mile range. And I can expand it to whatever I need. Even Wind Crane can," Blue Ripple said.
"You're a…" Saitama started before catching Mitsumi's glare. "Okay. Very strong monster."
"Thank you," Mitsumi said and kissed his cheek.
"Tacki, work on a fan set for her. With those scales," Saitama said in a neutral tone to show he was serious.
"Okay! Oh, I need teeth for the blades. Is that possible?" Tacki asked.
"Hmm. Let's tend to the intruder. Then we shall see about my teeth," Blue Ripple said and kept his milk-white gaze locked on the trapped assassin. "I'd eat him, but I have no idea where he's been. Or what he ate. And his meat is likely too stringy for my taste."
"Oh, don't think of that," Mitsumi soothed and caressed his long neck to get him purring. "His meat likely isn't good quality. Fish is much better for you. You are such a good scaled kitty!"
"That's not a cat!" the man said with a grimace.
"Says you!" Mitsumi retorted to get Saitama grinning lightly. "Blue Ripple can purr, he has whiskers and he snuggles! He's my scaled kitty."
"That I am," Blue Ripple rumbled with a touch of mirth. "I'm also her pet. I want it this way. And the one you are hoping to finish a contract for is now dead. Either you're here to finish a job, or you were just hoping for a bit of revenge. What says you?"
"Whatever his answer is, I need to give this back to him," Saitama said and held up the throwing knife.
"Lemme see that!" Tacki said and quickly bounced over to snatch it up to examine it. "Hmm. This is flawed. Like, the handle is ready to fall apart."
"What?! No! I made that!" the man hissed out.
"And you don't know how to craft, either. Hey, Sonic! Get over here! Wanna laugh hard?" Tacki called out to get Sonic to simply appear next to her. She handed him the throwing knife and said, "That guy made it. What do you think? It looks like crap, huh?"
"Ah…" Sonic frowned and studied it intensively. "This was made like a second-hand job…"
"Told you so!" Tacki grinned to get the man fuming.
"The blade even shifts in the handle! I'm surprised it throws right," Sonic said with a bit of disgust. Hirata was soon there to take the knife and study it. Then she took out one of her own to compare. "You make your own weapons, too? Huh! Far better than his."
"I do," she murmured and narrowed her eyes. She glared at the levitating man. "You're an amateur. You might have stealth, but your weapons are shit. I'm surprised you lived as long as you have. And I knew you were following me. I should have slit your throat a long time ago to claim the full bounty if I knew you were also hired by that thing!"
"I was also hired by that thing," Sonic muttered. Now Hirata looked at him with surprise. "This was before we knew that Mitsumi was the last Wind Crane Clan assassin, too."
"That's nice. But what about him?" Garou asked and pointed at the trapped man. "We have things to do later."
"I can imprison him again," Sweet Mask said.
"Just send him to Puri-Puri Prisoner," Tsuruga grunted.
"I can help with that," Tatsumaki grinned lightly.
"Let Inichi do it," Rendor muttered and held her protectively.
"I'll escape again!" the man spat out.
"If you do, I'll be there to slap you the moment I find you," Saitama said. Then the next thing he said chilled the man to the bone. "I would suggest you remain locked up and change your ways for the better. Because if I slap you, I won't care if I end up killing you for trying to kill my wife. Do we have an understanding on this?"
"Wow…" Zenchu blinked with complete surprise.
"Would you really kill him, Saitama?" Mitsumi asked with a frown.
"I would. I totally would," he nodded.
"But why? Such a waste of life!" she sighed.
"He tried to kill you! He threw a knife at us! A crappy one!" he argued.
"And you caught it to divert the problem. He's just crappy at his job," Mitsumi shrugged and got everyone starting to snicker and die with laughter. "Think about it. He makes crap weapons. He was easily detected by my scaled kitty. Even my new employee said she knew she was being followed! He sucks at being an assassin. He should join a circus and be a tightrope artist."
"What?!" the man gaped only to see Sonic and Hirata in tears of laughter.
"He's not that entertaining," Saitama rolled his eyes.
"He's making everyone laugh right now," Mitsumi pointed out.
"Now see here!" the man started, and Saitama held up a hand.
"Not yet. Shut up. I'm having a serious discussion with my wife on whether or not I should kill you. If you know what's good for you, shut up," Saitama said with a smoldering glare of warning with his fiery pupils.
"Saitamaaa…" Mitsumi sighed and hung her head. "Can we just drop him off at the prison so we can go to karaoke now?"
"Nope. Not until he promises that he'll shape up once he's gone. Because I WILL kill him if he pulls this shit again," Saitama growled. At his anger, Overgrown Rover gave its own growl of defensive protection. Now Mitsumi mused at an idea to get Inichi cringing with absolute shock.
"Darling, do you remember what we did to that guy when he kicked our puppy?" Mitsumi asked sweetly. Saitama paused and looked at her with neutral surprise. Then he looked at the monster dog in their laps. The others there gave cringes and gasps of intense disgust and laughter. "We don't need to do the barrage like that Secret Skins had, but just one should do it."
"No. Do three of them," Saitama nodded and looked at Blue Ripple. "Drop him. Mitsumi, get your fans ready."
"I'm very curious," Blue Ripple admitted and let the fans confine the man before releasing him. Various blades were focused inwards to keep the man in place, and Overgrown Rover shrunk down to its tiny form to run around the circle of fans and place its rump within them up to three times from Inichi's instructions.
"KILL ME NOW!" the man screamed after ten seconds from the odor that now perfumed the inside of the fan dome. Both Zenchu and Garou were on the ground to sit from laughing so hard. Kamikaze was hiding his face in his hands at it. The others were either trying to breathe from laughing, or too shocked to speak from what they were witnessing.
"Are you going to behave?" Saitama asked after the fans revealed the man crouched on the ground and shaking with sheer horror from what he went through. "My dog can easily turn you into a chew toy. Be glad this is the most I'll let it do to you. Get it?"
"I promise!" the man vowed and continue to shake and whimper with terror.
"The prison is now expecting him," Sweet Mask said. He caught Tajima jotting something down, and he glanced over at her. "What's that?"
"A possible story idea," she chuckled. "It's what I do when I get a really good idea and don't want to lose it."
"I should try that!" he blinked.
"Write a story about him not hitting me," Saitama said to get Sweet Mask mildly glaring at him. Mitsumi rolled her eyes at her husband and laughed at the small tickle he gave her in reply.
"I'll send him back now. I would suggest we get ready for Neutral Grounds. Two hours should be feasible before we start our search for Kamikaze's next weapon. If any others would like to join us, he shall make that call."
"Thanks," Kamikaze nodded and watched Blue Ripple get moved into the nearby lake. He grew large enough to open his mouth wide and let his teeth get examined by Tacki. She frowned in thought.
"Saitama's gonna have to pull out the teeth I need. Hmm…" Tacki thought hard and found a fan set coming over to flick the blades out. She examined them thoroughly. "Wind Crane's teeth can split into three parts. It's needed for how the fans are made. Can your teeth do that, Blue Ripple?"
"I can focus on the teeth you need to do that," he nodded. "Ah…how many do you need from me?"
"Well, there's five blades per fan set. Thirty fans in all. That's around a hundred and fifty teeth," Tacki said. "Unless you want to start with a small set to see if it even works? Oh. There's also the controlling set, so that's another ten teeth right there. They can all compact together, too, if they need to."
"I see…" Blue Ripple sighed. "Get some food ready for me? If I am eating, I regenerate faster than usual."
"Orotsu will be here shortly to assist," Inichi nodded. "Anno is doing well at Neutral Grounds. There will be a small closing break between the times for tonight, so it will give him a small rest."
"I am here. Give me five minutes," Orotsu said and moved to the outdoor kitchen. Saitama and Mitsumi were soon present after changing into their hero costumes. Mitsumi sat in Saitama's lap when a chair was brought over by Zenchu.
"Thank you," Mitsumi beamed at him.
"Saitama! I need you to pull out some teeth for me," Tacki said. "And here, Lady Mitsumi! I made this earlier."
"Thanks!" Mitsumi grinned at the fin spine necklace to wear now. Saitama helped secure it on her, and he was quick to set Overgrown Rover in her lap to work with Blue Ripple's teeth.
"Which ones?" he asked. Tacki pointed out the carefully measured teeth, and Blue Ripple winced at each tooth removal. He was quick to eat and regrow them back for this to be done several times until it was completed. Once it was done, he sighed with relief and shrunk small to go back into his tub to be near Mitsumi again. She scratched around his wedges to show she was happy with him and got him purring deeply.
"Okay…" Tacki said and was able to see how the teeth would split apart into three segments. She studied the blades from the hovering crane fans and mused that the blades in these fans would be much like deadly spikes when put together from the shape of the teeth alone. "Good! I'll work on a schematic at Neutral Grounds. I may need Child Emperor's help. Even Metal Knight to get a good retracting mechanism. I'll show them the designs I have so far."
"Good. Let's go," Saitama nodded and lifted Mitsumi into his arms. Overgrown Rover had stayed tiny to remain in her arms, and Inichi lifted up Blue Ripple's tub to help follow them. Kamikaze was actually on edge with excitement. Time for some fun. And then we get to look for something that no one's ever found before. I already know that shit's gonna go down when we find it. We simply have to. It's time.
