The next morning was nearly the same routine. Mitsumi woke up to Saitama's advances again. All through the night, he woke her up this way. He made sure to let her get some sleep, though, when he knew he could. He was able to distract himself with television shows at a low volume with her sleeping deeply next to him after each needy run.
"I'm so tired…" Mitsumi winced and shivered.
"I…" Saitama grimaced and squeezed her. "I'm sorry…"
"I know. I know you can't help it. But…" she frowned. Now he felt something click in the back of his mind at long last.
"Okay. You're suffering. I'm not supposed to hurt you. At all. Sleep. I know I won't do anything to wake you up for a good hour. The moment you tell me that you're hurting is when I know I can give leeway. I still have to be with you, but I won't wake you. Sleep, love," he said gently and kissed her forehead. She fell right back into a deep sleep shortly after that. He nudged Inichi right after.
:Mr. Saitama? Is everything well?: Inichi asked carefully.
:I kept Mitsumi up practically all night. My power is FINALLY letting her sleep after she let me know she was suffering. If anyone needs to come in, you need to tell me. Very little to no noise right now. She has to sleep.: Saitama stressed. Inichi was already agreeing to this and was quick to set a small note on the doorway.
:Zenchu is asking if you need anything to eat right now.: Inichi said.
:Yeah. But I don't want to wake up Mitsumi, either. Bring me something soft to eat for now. Nothing crunchy. And a soda.: Saitama agreed.
:And I discovered what Garou was truly looking for. It was a place to call home.: Inichi chuckled.
:I can understand that. And I'm relieved that we can talk like this with Mitsumi asleep. I can hear you…fairly clearly again. But it may change when she wakes up. Likely from the power shifting to let her sleep.: Saitama mused in though. :Not gonna question it.:
:I fully agree. Zenchu is ready to walk in and set down a tray.: Inichi advised. Saitama agreed and watched Zenchu walk in swiftly to set down the small table with the tray on it. Right after he left, Saitama took up the chopsticks to eat quietly.
"What are you eating?" Mitsumi asked when the delicious aroma woke her.
"Ah…you need to sleep," Saitama said.
"I will after I try what you're eating," she giggled and got fed an ultra-soft strip of Wagyu beef. They ended up feeding each other, and he only sighed with contentment while he sipped his soda. He ended up sharing that with her and letting her snuggle in to him. "Do you think we can try bathing?"
"Hmm. Maybe…" he mused.
"We'll use the bathroom, join back up in the tub and set the water," she said. "I really need a bath. It will make me feel better."
"Five minutes. Quick," Saitama nodded and was able to separate from her. They moved swiftly to set the water, use the bathroom and settle in the tub together while it was still filling up. "Very close call…"
"Hmm?" she asked and ran a finger down his chest. He growled and kissed her in a hungry, ravenous way before turning to glare with complete irritation at the door. She simply took her finger to place on his chin to move his head back to her. "Not important. Ignore them. I want your attention right now."
"Whatever you say," he grinned and kissed her again. It was ten minutes later that they were able to carefully scrub each other down.
"Remember, love. It's our day off from the restaurant today. If you hear them, let them enjoy themselves. Okay?" she smiled warmly and gently rinsed him off. He sighed and nodded.
"True. Let me wash your hair," he smiled.
"Okay," she said and let him help her with it. "Will you log into the game after this? To talk to everyone?"
"Oh, yeah! We'll do that," he nodded and helped fully rinse her hair out. "Think we're done here?"
"Yeah. Would you let one of the family come in to clean out the tub?" Mitsumi asked softly. He thought and seemed to nod.
"Yes. Ten minutes. Tacki would be best for it," he said. "I'll distract myself with you and the game. If I start looking irritated, nudge me and remind me. Okay?"
"I can do that," she smiled and they were quick to separate and move to the bed. Extra towels were snagged to wrap her hair up in and line the bed with to help dry them off as they reclined. She was also quick to apply some of the gel ointment before he finally joined back with her. The intense sigh of relief he gave showed how he was starting to suffer. She hugged him and was able to lay back with him to a point that it was comfortable again.
"Hey! It's me! I'm coming in!" Tacki said.
"That's fine," Saitama said and didn't even notice how she swiftly moved through the place to clean it, scrub the tub out and tidy up the room. Within five minutes, she was easily done and taking their dirty dishes out. "Yeah. I felt no irritation at all from her. She's good."
"Good," Mitsumi chuckled. She watched him log into the game and put the headset back on to talk to everyone there.
"Morning!" Saitama said and checked his gatherers.
"Hey!" Metal Knight greeted him.
"I'm here, too," King said.
"Hey! I have to get to school soon, but I had a question. Can we do video chat?" Child Emperor asked. "It would be pretty cool to see each other."
"Maybe after my little…thing is done. I'm not dressed," Saitama said.
"Same…" Mitsumi said with a soft giggle.
"Oh! Ah…yeah…" Child Emperor said with a touch of nervous embarrassment. "Maybe after it's done."
"We can look into it," King chuckled.
"I may hide my identity," Metal Knight said.
"People do that all the time, so it's fine. I could do the same for me, too, come to think of it," King mused. "They use animations of various kinds."
"Huh! I'll research that and find something fun," Metal Knight chuckled.
"Sweet! I'll catch you all later!" Child Emperor said and logged out for school.
"Um…hey…" Garou said when he logged in.
"Garou?! Hey!" Mitsumi said with greeting. "You got a console?"
"Yeah. Inichi helped me. Ah…I don't know what to do, though…" he admitted. King was quick to take over the chat to walk Garou through the basic controls. "Got it! Okay. Can I make a team for resources and one for fighting?"
"Sure," King said. "I have that, too."
"Nice. Okay," Garou chuckled.
"How are you enjoying the apartment?" Mitsumi asked.
"It's nice knowing that I have a place to call home," he admitted.
"Just remember this. You stay cool with us. We stay cool with you. We help each other. We protect each other. If you see something wrong, let me know first. Let Inichi know if it's urgent. You can't just attack on a whim anymore. No one can. We have to assess the situation and then step in to fix it. Okay?" Saitama said. "The Hero Association may know that we don't mean any harm, but idiots try to mess with us constantly."
"It's true. Even other heroes," Mitsumi sighed. "It's very sad."
"Really?" Garou asked with confusion.
"Yeah. Like Fighting Foot. Zenchu can tell you about him," Saitama said with a fiery eye roll.
"Fighting…Foot…?" Garou asked and coughed to keep from laughing.
"His heels were so dirty! No shoes or wrapping! I think he defeated others just by the sight of his feet," Mitsumi grimaced to get them all laughing.
"Right?! And then I had to catch his foot! As he kicked at me! I made sure Zenchu bleached my glove!" Saitama said to get even more laughter.
"I wonder if he got his coat fixed. I did shred it to pieces…" Mitsumi thought aloud. "He had the gall to say that women shouldn't be heroes!"
"What?" King asked now.
"I beg your pardon?" Metal Knight asked.
"Zenchu wanted to bring Rendor's girl over, but…Mitsumi made an example out of his coat. He had no words," Saitama smirked.
"Morning, Dad!" Fumio said when he hopped on. "I was listening in while getting breakfast."
"Morning, Son. How's your schooling?" Saitama asked.
"It's okay. Inichi wants me to take the day off with the others. Is that okay?" Fumio asked. "I'd like to…"
"It's fine," Mitsumi said. "I see no issues with it."
"Thanks, Mom!" Fumio said.
"As she said," Saitama agreed.
"Your phone's ringing, Dad. Zenchu is gonna put it on speaker and let my headset hear it for you," Fumio said and shuffling was heard.
"Is Caped Baldy there?!" a gruff voice was heard.
"Eh…why?" Saitama asked.
"He asks why," Zenchu said calmly. "He can't reach his phone right now."
"Who is talking?" Saitama asked now.
"And what's your name?" Zenchu asked.
"It's Stitch! This is an important mission!" he said.
"Okay. Bring the phone to me," Saitama said.
"Really?" Zenchu asked.
"Just bring it," Saitama sighed. Zenchu was soon opening the door to set the phone down and leaving. Saitama kept the headset on to regard the man on the phone. "Hey. Did you even talk to Sweet Mask about my…condition right now?"
"What?" Stitch asked.
"Yeah. You didn't. I can't leave home for three days. You need to talk to someone else. My power is very unstable right now. I scare the shit out of everyone. I can't leave my bedroom. At all. Okay?" Saitama said.
"There's a monster rampaging through City I right now!" Stitch said.
"Terrible Tornado has just been told. She's taking care of it," Mitsumi nodded from Inichi's report.
"Ah…oh…you can reach her?" Stitch asked.
"Yeah. We can. She kinda…lives with us now. She likes the place, and it's rent free," Saitama shrugged. "So, if you need instant help, reach out to Inichi. Just think of his name. He will hear you. Got it?"
"Inichi?! I…OH…um…I just heard…him?" Stitch asked with amazement.
"Good. When important missions come up, reach out to him for now. Once again, I can't do anything for three days. Think of it as a mandatory vacation. Bye!" Saitama said and hung up. Mitsumi took the phone to set up Stitch as a contact. Saitama looked at her like she was crazy, but she just kissed his nose to show that she had her reasons. Then he glared at her when she did the same thing for Sweet Mask. He was about to question it, but the loving kiss she gave him next had him sigh and shake his head.
"Good job," King chuckled.
"What did I miss?" Zombieman asked. "Oh. Thanks for the tea, Himiko."
"Did you sleep with her?!" Mitsumi asked with a bit of surprise.
"Um…just sleeping…" Zombieman said with a small laugh.
"Still here in the complex?" Saitama asked.
"Yeah. We may head to City X tomorrow. She'd feel better living in the mansion. I guess it's just a…comfort thing," Zombieman seemed to shrug. "I'm fine with it."
"He'll get his own luxury room!" Himiko giggled over the microphone.
"Unless you just share it with her, Zombieman?" Saitama seemed to snicker softly. That got Himiko gasping softly at Zombieman's small laugh.
"As long as we have a form of room service," Zombieman chuckled.
"Really?!" Himiko asked with dismay to get Zombieman laughing again. "Oh, that reminds me! Ah, Mitsumi? We need to see about hiring some cleaning staff and such. They were all let go when everything started to go down. We could rehire the ones we let go, but we may need to ensure none of them turned bad. Do you think you'd be able to help check them if they do come back?"
"Hmm. Can it wait until Saitama's condition is done? I understand why, but I won't be able to really do anything until this is done," Mitsumi said.
"Oh! Yes, we can. We'll make plans," Himiko agreed. "For now, I'll see what room he wants to stay in."
"Your dad's bedroom belongs to Mitsumi and I. However, we need that room searched. We don't know what your fake mom was hiding. So, I propose this. I would like Metal Knight to help search that room with robots. Is that okay, Metal Knight?" Saitama asked.
"I can do that," Metal Knight agreed. "Siren might also be able to search in areas, too. Can we have her help?"
"Oh! Treat it like a date!" Mitsumi snickered.
"Ah…hmm…" Metal Knight mused. "Yes. That can work…"
"Good. Plan for it. You can even do it tonight if you wanted. This way she can stealth around to ensure nothing else is wrong. Can't be seen on cameras. Won't be noticed if someone breaks in. That will work," Saitama nodded. "It's weird. Usually I just…stumble into things. But this is for Mitsumi. It's her old home. And my power is just…relentless to make sure she's always happy and protected. Everything else? Eh…"
"I know," Mitsumi chuckled and pressed a loving kiss to his mouth. "What's happening now?"
"Ah…Saitama?" Garou asked.
"Hmm?" Saitama asked.
"Can I…help search that house in City X?" Garou asked.
"Hmm…maybe. It's a massive mansion. We cleared out a lot of garbage, but we always find other things that can hurt Mitsumi. Recall the information about…the crates. Of crap. We destroyed all of it, but we don't know if any more of it is hidden. Inichi can tell you all of it. It really…really…hurts Mitsumi," Saitama said carefully while squeezing her close.
"Garou, it's nice that you want to help. It's a big step forward in the right direction. I would highly advise that you take your time, though. Don't rush into things too fast. I would almost suggest to take a week to rest. You really need it," Mitsumi said softly. "Like me, you've been through a lot. Recover a bit. Okay?"
"Ah…yeah. Thanks for being so concerned," Garou said with a touch of surprise. She really is concerned for my well-being?!
"You're my brother now! Of course, I'd be concerned," she chuckled.
"Your brother? Ah…I see…" Garou blinked and grimaced. "I never really had much in the way of family."
"You have that family now," Mitsumi said gently. "If you want it."
"I…I do," Garou swallowed.
"Good. Don't be a stranger, though. Granted, right now…this is how we gotta talk. After I'm out there, things will feel normal. If I can slap Zenchu, well…that would be the icing on the cake," Saitama said confidently.
"No," Zenchu said over Fumio's microphone to get them all laughing. While they all settled to play, eat and relax, Grigos found himself looking at yet another person trying to hopefully get into the main grounds.
"Can I help you?" Grigos asked.
"I heard there were very strong heroes here. I was hoping to meet one of them," the young man said. He was wearing a basic blue shirt and jeans with brown shoes, and his black hair was slicked back to expose his brown eyes.
"I see. Well, there are powerful heroes here. As well as monsters. What do you hope to gain?" Grigos asked. "Did you want to learn from one?"
"Oh, no. I just want to, ah…interview one," the man shrugged.
"Are you a reporter?" Grigos asked.
"No…but…I'm trying to be. So, I thought if I had the chance to do this, it would let me get noticed," the man said.
"Hmm…" Grigos narrowed all four eyes and sent a message to Inichi.
"NO!" he suddenly heard Mitsumi scream from her opened corner window. Sonic was just a split-second away from stopping the unknown man from invading in before finding himself dodging a red blast of sheer, raw, unbridled power.
"Saitama?!" King shouted over the discarded headset. Saitama's fiery eyes were glaring out the opened balcony window. He was standing tall with a form of intensely glowing, dark red fury from the disturbance with Mitsumi huddled in the sheets behind him. His fists were clenched to show he punched out at whoever was trying to get in as a form of instinctive reaction to protect her. He didn't care if he was naked, either, but it was Mitsumi's soft whimper that snapped him out of it and shift back over to comforting her.
"I'm here. It's okay," he soothed, knelt down on his knees and pulled her into his arms. "Hush now. I'm not chasing after anything. I didn't damage the room, either, thankfully. I don't know who it was that tried to get in, but if they didn't dodge…they're likely dead now."
"Oh…" Mitsumi cringed and gasped when he rejoined with her to recline back in the treasure bed. He picked up the headset and gave a heavy sigh.
"Someone tried to get into my balcony window. I let out one of my death punches. It looked like I had fans helping me…but it was all me. I need to know if that moron lived or died. Please," Saitama said carefully to show he was back in control. At first, there was dead silence in the live chat. Then it was Garou that spoke out to break the silence.
"Do you want me to check?" Garou asked.
"No. Have Inichi do it. Please stay safe," Mitsumi said softly.
"Okay," Garou said.
"I will be so glad when this red crap is done with!" Saitama muttered and lay back on the pillows. "But who in the hell tried to break in?!"
"Likely someone that didn't know you, Dad," Fumio said.
"Obviously," Saitama snorted.
"Mr. Saitama, I'm talking over the headset for all to hear. Grigos was occupied with a young man while the other tried to sneak in for footage. They are daredevil investigators. Likely trying to find out secrets to post out and such. I was able to bubble and move the infiltrator right before you let out your blast of raging death. So…he is alive. For now," Inichi sighed with relief.
"Send them to Sweet Mask?" Mitsumi asked.
"I was intending to. Thankfully, nothing was damaged by that death ray. Your rooms are very high up, and you are facing south. So, if anything was damaged, nothing was living in the buildings," Inichi continued.
"Fine. I want to know who they really were. Do any of Wind Crane's feathers respond to them?" Saitama asked. "If they are Secret Skins, bring them both back to me so I can finish the job."
"They are not. Wind Crane confirmed," Inichi said.
"Good. Get rid of them, please," Saitama said and let Mitsumi cuddle into him with relief that no one was killed. He kissed her forehead and cradled her to comfort her even more.
"Himiko, did you pick a planet to move to yet?" Zombieman asked to get laughter and soft snickers all over.
"I like this one," Himiko said next to him.
"But…why?!" Zombieman asked to get them all laughing now.
"Um…because I can breathe on this one," she said to get him groaning while the others kept laughing.
"She's your sister," Saitama chuckled.
"That she is," Mitsumi grinned and got squeezed. When Sonic was about to report to them from the balcony window, Inichi was quick to bubble him and bring him to the main entrance of the apartment where he was waiting.
"I just saved your life!" Inichi said and smacked his own face with a small hand to face-palm himself. "Do not ever go to see them through there. Did you not see the red beam of death that nearly killed that other?! It came from Mr. Saitama! He would have done it again to you!"
"Ah…oh…" Sonic blinked and scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
"I see you were being thwarted, too, from your thoughts. Those two men we caught…they are more than they appear. Sweet Mask will interview them and find out more," Inichi said. "What exactly did you need to report?"
"Okay. I saw the one guy walk over to the main gateway, but then I saw the other one sticking to the building walls. I almost had him, too, but it was like…he was able to evade me! I chased after him, he got over the wall, saw that all but Mitsumi's room were closed off and he climbed up to bolt in," Sonic said.
"A parkour specialist, it seems. Makes sense. One to distract security and the other to climb and infiltrate in. The acrobatic one is the one that takes the footage. The other plays as lookout. Clever. They will both be checked for video footage. Quite curious. It appears that we need to increase our guard," Inichi sighed irritably. "This is most distressing and displeasing."
"I just don't get how he evaded me! He was…phasing out a bit to appear just out of reach. Much like what Zenchu does with shadows," Sonic said.
"Oh?!" Inichi blinked and sent the message to Sweet Mask to test thoroughly on everything. "If Sweet Mask cannot glean information, we may bring that one back here for questioning when Mr. Saitama is well again. You have done well. Thank you. Just…please don't go into their bedroom! I may not be alert or in the area to save you next time."
"Right," Sonic said and bolted off to scout. Inichi now sent the information to Zenchu. The monster was soon in front of Inichi to learn more, and he flicked his tail with complete concern.
"This guy was shadow phasing?" Zenchu asked.
"It appears so. However, I'm going to…ah…hmm…" Inichi mused when he got a lock on the man. "He does not have your talent, Zenchu. But he has…mild teleportation skills. That explains how I was able to bubble him right before he was smacked by Mr. Saitama's punch. I caught him after he saved his own life. He couldn't escape my bubble, but it appears that he tried. So, he is a human that can teleport in small distances. Very interesting, indeed."
"If he doesn't become a hero, I call dibs on killing him if he comes back," Zenchu grunted and moved to tell Saitama what happened over the voice chat.
"Teleporting?!" Mitsumi blinked at the news.
"Yeah. Anyways, Sweet Mask has him now," Zenchu said. "If he doesn't become a hero, I want to try and kill him first if he comes back."
"I call second," Garou said.
"You want sloppy seconds?!" Zenchu asked to get snickers to happen.
"No. I want to finish what you couldn't finish," Garou said back to get more laughter to happen.
"Not funny," Zenchu scowled to get Garou laughing at him.
"Okay. I'm getting hungry. Hopefully the rest of the day is nice and boring," Saitama said and yawned.
"Maybe we should nap for a few, too?" Mitsumi smiled.
"Maybe," he chuckled and kissed her before getting back into the game to feel her cuddle into him with a happy form of comfort. He knew a part of him was now keeping an eye on the balcony window. If anyone else tried to break in, he knew they wouldn't live unless they knew how to get out of the way. I won't let the next one have that chance. Never again.