Inichi landed them all in front of the maintained lawn. It was more like an exotic garden for the first hundred feet with a marble pathway. Tall street lamps with an old Victorian twist lined the paths for when it turned dark, but they simply stood there as though silently guiding them up to the massive mansion. It looked almost like a modern day castle with steel walls and rounded corners to nearly be like a circular building. Large windows lined every major bedroom. It had all the most extravagant features, and there was even a giant, flowing water fountain right before the steps leading up to the massive, double oak doors to lead them inside the main floor. Mitsumi frowned and kept her face pressed into Saitama's neck.
"What is it?" Saitama asked and kissed her forehead.
"I haven't been here for over two years," she shivered.
"Hmm…" he thought and moved to carry her in his arms. As they got up to the front door, Inichi suddenly blocked them all.
"No! We can't! Not through here! I just sensed a thought. Zenchu, go in through a window and unlock it. Break the glass even. We CANNOT go through the front door!" Inichi warned. Lightning Max blinked at this, as he wanted to help them, and was now highly perplexed on what was going on.
"Oh?" Zenchu frowned and was quick to go through a nearby window. On carefully breaking it open, he pointed at a figure hanging down in front of a regal double staircase and ready to get sliced open by blades if the front door was opened. The figure was thin, had long black hair, female and only wearing a thin shift.
"Himiko?!" Mitsumi gasped with horror at her sister.
"You…didn't…kill me…" Himiko said with grateful relief. "Mother…did this…to me…"
"We'll get you down!" Mitsumi cringed.
"How…?" Himiko whimpered. Inichi already had Shenjou coming in through the window to remove the blades with his venom. Once that threat was gone, Mitsumi looked at Saitama and revealed her fans.
"Got it!" Saitama nodded and tossed her into the air. The fans flicked out to completely sever the ropes holding her sister, and Inichi caught them both to bring down. Himiko was in shock that she was alive and safe.
"How? How did she do this?" Mitsumi asked and watched the main front doors open. The board members were now let in and they were appalled at what they saw. Sweet Mask simply had no words from what was just witnessed.
"I was…sleeping…and she grabbed me…by the hair…" Himiko swallowed. "She said…I need to…be like her…"
"Did she do anything?" Mitsumi asked carefully.
"She tried!" Himiko whimpered. "She tried to…put something in me! I…refused it. Said no. But Fumihiro did! He took it! He's like her now!"
"Fumihiro is a monster now," Saitama muttered.
"What of Atsuko?" Mitsumi asked.
"I don't…think so. She was taken…before…so…" Himiko said. "And Daiki…he's…just fine…I think…but…Fumihiro…"
"He's with the others!" Sweet Mask cringed. "But I don't think Daiki is there. No. He's in another place. But Fumihiro is with his sister and those that tried to assassinate Fan Dancer…"
"I was…hanging…for almost two days…" Himiko shivered.
"We'll get paramedics," the fourth board member said and was quick to do just that. Himiko was now carefully tended to by Kianna when some soft towels were found to put under her, and Himiko looked at Mitsumi.
"Father…tried to warn…I…I'm so sorry! I didn't…believe him! I should have!" she gasped in her tears and hugged her. Sweet Mask was now holding his head in his hand and had a fist made in the other. Saitama was now kneeling by Mitsumi to let her feel him there.
"We'll keep you safe now," Mitsumi said.
"How?! She…no one can…kill her!" Himiko cringed.
"I can reveal her. With this," Mitsumi smiled and revealed the fan blades. "I am likely the last survivor of the Wind Crane Clan. And my fiancée is Caped Baldy. He is also known as Saitama. He can kill anything with a single punch of brute force. She will die. After everything she did? No excuses."
"Who…trained you?" Himiko asked.
"You didn't like the fan training. I did," she smiled softly.
"Ah! Mother said…it was…stupid…" her sister grimaced. "Not needed…"
"Mother was never our mother," Mitsumi frowned and shook her head. "We discovered this recently."
"As did…I…" Himiko said softly. "I saw her. What she is. Tall. Dark red. Wings. Body like a…giant snake…"
"I will not take her as my girlfriend," Shenjou snorted to get Zenchu grinning at him lightly.
"She saw…that I saw…and she reformed…" Himiko shuddered. "She demanded…I join…her family…"
"And when you said no, she strung you up," Saitama said.
"Yes…" Himiko nodded.
"Where is she now?" Mitsumi asked.
"I don't know…" Himiko admitted.
"Father's library. Is it still okay?" Mitsumi asked.
"Fumihiro…took the knife…vowed…to kill you…" Himiko shivered.
"He failed miserably," Saitama said. "Inichi, is that thing here?"
"No. Long gone," Inichi sighed. When he hovered over Himiko, the young woman cringed. "Easy now. I will not harm you. I heard your thoughts. I had them go in through a window. That is why you are still alive."
"You…heard me…?!" Himiko gasped.
"Yes. So, I need to see the memories of what you saw. And what you know. Let me look," Inichi said and blinked his red eyes with black cat pupils. She nodded and began to bring up every memory she had of the recent events. "Hmm. Ah. You do know where she is. You heard her say it. And it was where I sensed her before. City L."
"She's by herself now," Mitsumi said.
"That she is. She likely knows we have secured this place in full. We can have Tacki run through and remove anything that belonged to her. She's used to cleaning giant places out. We will see what needs to be changed or restored," Inichi nodded to her.
"I gotta say, though. This place is pretty nice," Saitama mused at the massive gold and crystal chandelier that hung from the ceiling.
"This is only the first floor. There's still floors underneath us and above us," Mitsumi sighed. "And Father made this entire place mine."
"He did?!" Himiko asked.
"Yes. It's why that thing murdered him. Daiki witnessed it and saw the poison," Mitsumi said. Himiko's jaw dropped and she burst into tears over it.
"She…told…us…nothing!" Himiko bawled out and got hugged by Mitsumi again. "Nothing!"
"I know…" Mitsumi cringed and hugged her sister tight. "Daiki told us this, too. She…gave me over to Ajito…he raped me…did horrible things to me…"
"What?!" Himiko asked with horror. "No! That…no!"
"He used me for experiments…" Mitsumi shuddered and got hugged back.
"I'm…so sorry…!" Himiko bawled out even more now.
"We'll get you checked over, okay," Zenchu said on looking down at her. "I find no more faults with you. Inichi would have told us otherwise."
"Who…?" Himiko frowned and struggled to see him through her tears.
"The name's Zenchu. I'm a monster. Lady Mitsumi woke me up. So, I'm friendly. And very protective. As long as you know that you regret everything, we will all take care of you. Sure, Lady Mitsumi inherited everything. But she's not above continuing to care for her true family. She's that kind and amazing," he said with a small nod. Himiko found herself nodding and looking at Mitsumi.
"Why…are you dressed…like this?" Himiko asked weakly.
"I'm a hero now," Mitsumi smiled. "I am engaged to Saitama. We are both in S class. He is rank 3. I am rank 4."
"Ah! I hope…you can both…kill her!" Himiko seemed to grimace.
"Just rest and heal now. Okay?" Mitsumi said and watched the helicopter land nearby with paramedics rushing in with a stretcher to transport her sister away. Sweet Mask gave full instructions to have Himiko under strict guard and supervision. Further instructions were to have her join Daiki at the hidden safe house, too, for increased protection.
"I will keep my thoughts open on her. So far, there are no issues with Daiki. I…did let him hear my thoughts on what happened. He is livid. Extreme anger now. He will work with Himiko to ensure she is up to speed on everything," Inichi sighed. "As it stands, this house is empty of all save us. Genos, there are security cameras here. A full security room. Can you access it?"
"Where is it?" Genos asked and Mitsumi told him where to find it.
"I can help you," Lightning Max said to Genos and was quick to help him secure the important room.
"Where was your room?" Saitama asked. She sighed and found herself blushing. Zenchu chuckled, but he knew the others were likely going to explore. She led Saitama to the main elevator and went to the top floor. She took his gloved hand and walked with him to a room on the far end on the left. She found the door locked, and he simply broke it open in a gentle way. When she walked in, she paused with intense horror. The only thing left was the elegant ceiling fan of gold and white blades. Everything on the walls and floor were gone to just show a sparse space.
"They…got rid…of everything…" she whispered at the bare room. "I…figured they would have…"
Saitama narrowed his eyes on taking everything in and moved to where a window was covered up. He pulled the cover down and stared blankly at where a mass of her furniture was found on the ground outside. He thought to Inichi to have it all inspected. The floating blue monster was absolutely outraged.
:Nothing is damaged. Her windows can be opened. We will set up her room again. Give me ten minutes.: Inichi growled.
"The bed had refrigeration in it. Please make sure it's clean? Tacki would throw such a fit…" Mitsumi sighed and got held by Saitama protectively.
"They hoped to break you another way," Saitama muttered. "Again they failed. Very stupid of them to pull all this."
"This is what I always went through," she said and looked away. He tilted her face to his and kissed her passionately.
"No more," he vowed and kissed her again. He saw her room get pieced back together again. The massive dresser was put back in. The clothes were quickly hung back up in the massive closet. All of the jewelry was missing, but she didn't care about it. By the time it was finally set back the way it was, there was only one thing damaged and it was the mock fur rug of a beautiful shade of silver that lined the soft beige carpet.
The pale red walls were set with her posters of cute kittens and puppies again. A shelf was now filled with small items and artifacts of crystal rocks and figurines that were luckily saved from being broken. She was sure it was Daiki that tried to salvage everything with what remorse he had left for her after she stated she planned to try and cure herself.
She moved to the massive poster bed lined with cream colored bed sheets, as well as loaded with ultra-soft pillows, and went through the drawers. There wasn't much in the specialized drawers, but it all got thrown out with Inichi's help. Mitsumi could only sigh and walk over to her dresser. On searching it, she found the hidden drawer under the main desk table. Pulling out her diary, she gestured for Saitama to sit in her plush, red velvet and oak chair. She sat in his lap and opened it for him to start reading over her shoulder.
He learned of her most inner thoughts on growing up now. How she was always slighted. How her father was the only light in her life. Everything she told him that happened to her, he now read in her words. The start of her fan dancing training and her mentor's sudden death. Her father's murder after she sought him. The discovery of pet food being fed to her. Her meeting with Ajito and how she hated him. His coercion to force her into things. Then Saitama read on how she wrote about the snake. The first bite she got. The first aging and the locks of hair she collected from both old and young. The last thing written down was how she planned to rid herself of the snake at any cost.
When she looked away, he took the diary and closed it to set aside. Then he simply held her close and cradled her. Even when she started to cry, he only held her to comfort her. She managed to gasp out, "Now…you see…you know…everything about me…"
"There was only one thing that I saw on reading that," he whispered softly. "What a brave, courageous and amazing girl you are. And you are going to be my wife no matter what anyone says."
"Saitama…" she whimpered and let him hug her closer.
"I know this place gives you bad memories. But that's all they are," he said with a soft smile and kissed her forehead. "Now we get to make some new ones. As much as I want to see the main bedroom, as I'm sure we will make that place ours for when we are here, I need to see the study. Your father's computer."
"Okay," she nodded and let him kiss her in a branding way once again. When the kiss broke, he lifted her in his arms to carry her out. She guided him back to the elevator and down to the second floor under the house. He blinked at the lights that suddenly came on for them, and she guided him on where the study was. He grimaced at seeing how the solid red oak door was smashed down. When he carried her to the massive black varnished, cherry wood desk, he saw how the computer monitor was smashed in.
:Inichi, we need Genos! The computer in here is destroyed. We need to see if it can be salvaged.: Saitama nudged the blue monster. Within five minutes, Genos was there and taking apart the tower. He found the hard drive and even a hidden storage file. They took it to another computer in a different room that he saw was still functioning. Saitama sat down on a couch with Mitsumi in his lap.
"This was a guest room," Mitsumi said on looking at the room they were in.
"Okay," Saitama nodded.
"I…don't mind if Daiki and Himiko live here still. It would keep the place watched over. That is…as long as they…you know…" she sighed.
"I know," Saitama agreed.
"As for Fumihiro…" she grimaced and trembled with sorrow. "I just…I hope…that it didn't happen…"
"He attacked you at Neutral Grounds," Saitama said with a small frown. "He tried to use your father's knife on you. I think Himiko saw him change."
"He was the most impressionable on being the youngest before me," she said softly. "I think we have to kill him first. Before he gets too strong."
"And I think you're right," Saitama nodded to her. "We'll take care of him after we finish here. We need to while he's still adjusting to be a monster, you would think. The others took their time to learn what they could do. You saved Tacki at two days before she knew what she could do, if I heard correctly. Inichi spent a week experimenting with his powers. We can't give Fumihiro a chance to know what he's capable of."
"You are quite correct," Inichi said when he made his way to them with Fubuki. "We will see if we can salvage these files. Then we will take out Fumihiro. I have been listening to his thoughts. I am sorry, Lady Mitsumi. He is now lost to us. He was trying to convince Atsuko to also become something like him. She fears him greatly. He does have the ability to…recruit. Much like his mother. It's not a good situation."
"Crap…" Saitama grumbled. "What of the two that tried to hurt Mitsumi?"
"They also fear him. I am instilling that fear even more. The guards there…they are trying to restrain him. In fact…hmm…he is on the verge of escaping. I am going to lure him back here. Go up to the main level! I'll have Genos keep working on the file recovery! Go!"
"Do not punch a hole in our home," Mitsumi said to Saitama when he got ready to jump up. Now he looked at her and found himself sighing and nodding.
"Okay…" he moped, but he grinned at her small kiss to his nose. He was guided back to the elevator and headed back to the main floor. When he got there, Inichi had already warned the others to stay back.
"If you need us…" Kamikaze said with his sword out. Lightning Max and Bane were also waiting nearby to help support them. Rendor and Tatsumaki were on the roof to secure it, but they were now watching things down below. Kianna was busy working on exploring each room to take note of what was safe to clear out and make safe.
"I know," Saitama said and set Mitsumi down.
"Let me reveal him," Mitsumi said and stood tall on looking at the figure flying at them at top speed. He was aiming to crash land in front of them for a show of strength. "Ah…don't let him land in that fountain, please. I don't want Tacki to spend a day fixing it."
"Okay," Saitama said and jumped up to meet with him and slam him down on the main path. Fumihiro was just gaping and had no idea what struck him.
"What…hit…?!" he gaped.
"I did," Saitama said with a blank stare after landing neatly and watched Mitsumi appear next to him with the dual fan blades. She flicked them open and had the blades appear.
"What are ya gonna do? Tickle me?" Fumihiro snickered. "I'm sure you did that with Himiko…"
"No. We saved her," Mitsumi said.
"What?!" he growled.
"I have a friend that can read thoughts. A dear companion. The same one that held you in a blue bubble and found Father's knife on you. He's my family, too. You? You turned yourself into something that now needs to be destroyed," she said with sorrow. "You grew out wings, I see. Large bat ones. Brown? Interesting."
"Must show he's full of crap," Zenchu grinned savagely from where he appeared not far off.
"Mother's gift is amazing! Himiko was stupid to not take it!" Fumihiro spat out at them all.
"She turned you into a monster," Saitama said flatly.
"What? No she didn't! She made me better!" Fumihiro argued. "I can fly now! I'm stronger! I can do more!"
"You're a monster," Zenchu snorted. At this, Mitsumi darted around her prior brother to let the fans seek to cut through any clothing. This time they cut through skin. Fumihiro didn't even feel the blades pierce and slice to reveal the truth from what was now lying under his form.
"What…are you…? Stop it!" Fumihiro snapped. When Mitsumi was in Saitama's arms, he snapped his fingers to let everything simply fall from him. Fumihiro paused and looked at how his old skin fell away like pale paper. Now he saw that his new body was much like a flying ant with massive mandibles. Another three sets of legs grew out from his hips. His body even grew four times larger now that it wasn't confined.
He screamed with outrage that his form was exposed, but also that his own mother lied to him on what was going to happen on accepting her gift of power. He stretched out his wings as though to fly away from the shock and horror, but Zenchu was quick to slap him down with his claws out to force him still. Inichi was now there with the others to bear witness and to see what the blades revealed. Everyone was in full shock and outrage.
"You're a monster now…" Mitsumi winced. "I'm sorry. Let us end your suffering, brother. It's the most I can do out of kindness."
"No! I won't accept this!" the new monster screamed and shook off Zenchu. Then he took in a deep breath to show he was about to attack.
"REFLECTIVE SHIELD!" Mitsumi shouted for all three crane fans to suddenly appear, lock together into an arch, spread out all the other fans and interlock the blades around her, Saitama and any others around her in a ten foot radius. The fiery acid tried and failed to melt the blades. Then she shouted and shoved the attack back on the monster. The nasty acid simply bounced off as though it was on a trampoline and landed right back onto Fumihiro's wide-eyed form with complete disbelief.
"I…what?!" Sweet Mask gaped.
"Incredible!" Bane's jaw was dropped. Now it was the monster screaming as his own attack backfired and ate into him. When the fans reverted back, Saitama was there to deal the killing punch to put Fumihiro out of his misery forever. Then he turned and pulled Mitsumi's grieving form into his arms to hug her. He pressed kisses to her forehead and simply praised her with how proud he was of her. The others that witnessed what happened were speechless.
"I…couldn't save him…!" Mitsumi mourned.
"We gave him peace," Saitama soothed her and lifted her in his arms to cradle her. "It was his choice. You know this. He knew what he wanted. He still attacked us. You protected us! You are absolutely amazing! And that reflective wall?! That was insanely awesome!"
"Ah…" she found herself blushing now and he kissed her with a large grin on his face. "We still…that thing…that changed him…"
"I know. She's next," Saitama nodded. "We can do this!"
"Okay. Let's see to Genos," she sighed and pressed into him.
"Yeah. We need the files," he agreed and was quick to carry her back into the house. Zenchu simply stared down at the path that was now devoid of trees, rocks and a large ant monster with bat wings. Then he looked at Sweet Mask with a small nod before moving to follow the young woman he vowed to protect.
"That power…the two of them…" Sweet Mask could only whisper.
"And they want kids?" Kamikaze chuckled. "They'll be driven up a wall and maybe the ceiling, too! Anyways, let's finish up here and see where else we need to go. Right?"
"Of course," Inichi nodded. He was letting all that needed to know in Neutral Grounds of what was going on. When Daiki was informed that his younger brother was killed, he was grieved. Yet he knew it was inevitable once he accepted the gift of being in a monster body willingly.
:We have a family plot. The most we can do is gather the shreds of cloth and burn it into an urn. We can bury the urn on the plot. It should be done out of what respect we can give.: Daiki sighed to Inichi.
:Ah. I shall obtain the parts left now and have it done. That thing that changed Fumihiro is next on the list after we see to the files. Lady Mitsumi was able to activate the lost art of reflective attack from the blades. She is a true Wind Crane Clan assassin.: Inichi said. Daiki was stunned on getting this news and even more shock of the vision given from the fight. Inichi then turned his attention to the scattered bits of skin and clothing to neatly gather up into a ball. He would easily recruit Genos's help to burn it all into ashes for an urn. He could only hope the files were salvaged before the computer was destroyed. That was the next thing to look into now.