The guilty girls from earlier were neatly sitting in the middle of Anno's kitchen team as planned in the meeting room. Metal Knight still wanted to talk to the girl that hacked the system, but he also had to see to the hidden doors if any others were there. On looking through the cameras in the massive meeting room, he noticed that Siren appeared a bit distressed. He focused the closest camera in on her to fully study her. He saw that she was brooding intensely.
He also saw she was not wearing the dress made from the material he sent her. That had him severely concerned, but he knew her skin was much like a spandex suit. He was still disturbed, though, and he knew he had to talk to her. He let the ring buzz her finger to show he wanted to talk.
"Yes?" she asked softly on accepting the call. She saw the camera right above her in a corner section focus in on her to show he was able to see her.
"My dear, Siren. You look upset. Is something wrong?" he asked.
"You seem very interested in that girl…" she frowned and blinked her softly glowing green eyes. She sat down in a nearby chair by the main entry door and kicked her feet a little. "It…worries me. A little…"
"Ah. My dear, worry not. I know we didn't meet last night from the events that unfolded, but I do intend to meet with you again. And that little chit you worry of? Don't. I only want to test her knowledge on security infrastructure and chastise her for using such intense technology for her own zealous gains. My heart and interest are solely with you," he vowed to her.
"I…I'm happy about that," Siren said with intense relief in her gravelly tone.
"She can't pick locks like you do, either," Metal Knight chuckled fondly. "Or fly. Or be hidden from cameras…"
"I get it!" Siren said to hear him laugh softly. "Tell me something, though."
"Of course."
"What do you think of Garou and Lily being together?"
"Oh? I wish them the best."
"Did you know…they slept together? Like…completely?"
"Wait…what?"
"Yeah. They did…"
"And…what are you implying…?"
"Well…" she seemed to blush slightly. "I've been…experimenting on my body here and there. I do have some shape-shifting capabilities. Not much. But…just enough that my skin doesn't have to be like a spandex suit…"
"Ah…" Metal Knight actually went speechless.
"I can actually be…far more than I am now."
"Is that so?"
"I could…show you later…?" she asked with a small, lightly tusked grin.
"Yes. Later," he coughed. "Not now…"
"I know. But…in person? Or through a camera…?"
"We'll discuss this later!" Metal Knight said to get her laughing at how flustered he now was.
"I'm just poking fun at you," she snickered.
"As much as I'm not one to be affected by such things, when it comes from you it truly does disturb me! Does this mean I have to try and get even?" he mused at the thought.
"You can try," she chuckled and winked at the camera. Then she blew him an air kiss to get him surprised at the gesture. "Unlike myself, I can't see anything through a camera. I can't see what you think of me. Or even the look on your face when I do certain things. So…I can keep doing these things as you can't stop me. Does this mean I have the 'upper hand' now?"
"I need to either take off my coat, or turn on my air conditioner…" he muttered to get her laughing even more. But it was when she folded her wings around herself and began to part them to show she was now a bit heavier in the chest that he went speechless again.
"So…do I win?" she asked in a breathy way. Now he realized that most of the gravely tone in her voice was gone. Then he noticed how her teeth had become delicate little fangs with the tusks fully removed. He blinked when he caught himself staring at her shamelessly when she delicately kicked her newly lengthened legs at the camera. And what shapely legs they are…
"I have been check-mated for now…" he muttered again with a small growl.
"Do I go in for the kill?" she asked with an enticing, knowing smile and a sultry wink at the camera.
"Ah…" he said and coughed to clear his throat. Even her face has taken on a rather stunning form! Those glowing green eyes of hers! Her beauty could easily rival Miss Mitsumi now! I need to get ahold of myself! "I want to see this meeting of events. Then I want to interview a troublemaker. Right after that, I did want to see what would happen to the vile Secret Skins that still sleeps. Then…"
"After that?" she asked with a bit of a small grin.
"You had best get to Neutral Grounds and get inside that elevator…" he said in a low tone. She giggled softly and let her raspy voice return with her basic body type to hide her newest figure away with a quick wing cover.
"So you know, I'll only share that new voice with you. As well as my newly discovered body. I couldn't do that with anyone else," she said softly.
"Should our visit together be more…entwined so to speak, I understand there were specific rings that were purchased?" he asked.
"You mean promise rings? Well…yes. But I thought you already gave me one," she mused and looked at his communicator ring.
"I need one for myself," he said.
"Ahh! Okay. I'll go over which ones are the best for you," she nodded. "Should my visit with you show we need to get you one."
"I can send a robotic camera to ensure it," he agreed. She looked over at the other servants filtering in now to sit and find places. When she started to get stared at curiously, she began to feel uncomfortable.
"Siren!" Mitsumi beamed at her when Saitama carried her in. She jumped up and flew over to get a tight hug. "I want you to sit near me. Okay?"
"Okay! And Metal Knight wants to see me again soon. Maybe after all this other stuff is done," she smiled. "We were supposed to meet last night, but then we had all that stuff happen in the lab."
"That's fine," Saitama nodded.
"I'll be keeping a close eye on the events that follow," Metal Knight said from Siren's ring.
"Actually, Siren, I want you to go up to the third floor and start infiltrating rooms. You can help Zenchu look for those hidden doors," Saitama said in a low tone. "You can hide from cameras and stuff, too. You're invaluable right now."
"Thank you, Saitama," she smiled and accepted the innocent shoulder pat from a brother to a sister. "I can go there now."
"No. Wait until we know everyone is here. Then go. Metal Knight, you can tell her when it's safe. You have camera access?" Saitama asked her ring.
"Yes. I will have Inichi also instruct when ready," Metal Knight said. "Child Emperor is securing those fleas. Iwasaki is very unsure of her fate, but she is giving us everything she can. And you'll really love this! She knows the meeting place the Secret Skins gather. However, she wants to reveal that information when she knows it's safe to do so. Inichi could find out, but she warned that there are Secret Skins out there than can read thoughts, too. As much as Inichi is the most intricately ESP powered monster out there, she is ensuring that none can try anything around us."
"She could tell Wind Crane," Mitsumi said. "She's actually stronger in mental capacity than Inichi."
"Yep. She woke me up when my power took over my mind. She helped me get out of it. Inichi couldn't reach me at all. But…think about it. If we tell Wind Crane where they gather, what do you think she's gonna do?" Saitama asked.
"Oh…" Mitsumi frowned. "She'd…take it upon herself to…"
"Yeah. We can't tell her right now," Saitama nodded and kissed her forehead. "I need a chair."
"Here," Zenchu said and brought one over. Saitama now sat in it with Mitsumi in his lap. Her fans were hovering over them now to show they were not happy and on alert. Daiki and Himiko were sitting with them, and Zombieman was always with Himiko now. At the sight of other S class heroes there, even with Sweet Mask present, it caused a slight wave of nervousness through the room. Only Flashy Flash and Child Emperor weren't present for now. Another ten minutes had everyone nearly present, and Mitsumi gestured a need to stand and address them. Saitama nodded and stood up with her to set her down on her feet to show the meeting was going to start.
"Thank you all for appearing!" she said loud enough to be heard. "I need the leader of each primary team to come forward now and stand with me."
"Of course!" Anno said and moved to stand with her.
"Indeed," the head butler said, neatened his white gloves and walked over to stand with them now.
"I am present," the head lady matron in charge of the cleaning staff walked over in her distinguished way.
"We don't really have security detail, but Lightning Max is watching through the cameras with me," Metal Knight said from Siren's ring.
"I'm here," a gruff man that handled most of the maintenance and gardening work said and trudged over.
"Thank you all. Please look over your groups. Are they all present? Or is someone missing?" Mitsumi asked calmly.
"My staff is present," Anno said calmly. "Master Orotsu and Suiryu have left to go back to Neutral Grounds. They stated that they had to."
"Hmm…" the head matron eyed her group critically. Anno pointed out to the small group sitting with his staff. "Why are they there?"
"They threatened another. Takeda. She will actually be moved away from here to exclusively travel with Miss Mitsumi from now on," Anno said.
"What is this?!" she gaped.
"They were spying on me using our own cameras. Metal Knight has detained that. They caught me escorting Takeda to her room when she assisted me with a last-minute dish late last night. They were jealous and cornered her just this morning," Anno nodded. She was furious now, but she forced herself to calm down that the issue was seen to. "This particular group of girls had to be detained within my staffing for now. They did assist with kitchen cleanup."
"Yep. I can vouch. It was for Tacki," Kamikaze said with a nod.
"I see. Very well," the head matron nodded back.
"And it was ordered by Miss Mitsumi," Anno said further.
"That it was," Mitsumi nodded.
"Very good. Then all are present," the head matron nodded.
"I see all of my personnel staffing here," the head butler said.
"Hmm…" Inichi frowned and kept a close watch on the lead maintenance worker. On catching a few thoughts, he wisely decided to let Saitama handle it. Saitama's glow got a touch more intense at Inichi's mental report, and his glowing pupils flickered even more with the light of burning coals when he turned his bald head to glare at the lead maintenance worker.
"You haven't said anything yet. Is everyone that works under you here?" Saitama asked him directly.
"Um…I think so?" the man shrugged.
"You don't know who works for you?" Mitsumi asked with a heavy frown.
"Look…I don't really keep track of them…" the man admitted.
"Unacceptable. When we accepted you back, you signed a contract that stated you would perform your job role to utmost capacity. What did you do here before you were let go?" Mitsumi asked with a commanding air.
"Ah…well…" the man seemed to shrug again.
"You just…did whatever?" she asked with a hard frowned.
"We fixed things when things broke, okay?" he muttered.
"And stole things when it was convenient?" Inichi now asked. The man looked at him with shock. "We found her lost childhood treasures. In your room."
"Ah…well…" the man paled.
"You chose to not have a higher level room, because of the secret wall and cache spot. You stated it was 'nice to stay around those that work with me to boost moral'. You kept that room, because of the secret wall. And it let you spy on…one of the girls that stayed next to you. Disgusting!" Inichi scowled at the thoughts now coming forward.
"I will not have a thief living in my home. Especially one that does not do their job and lies to my face!" Mitsumi fumed. "Even more so to be a bit of a 'peeping Tom' to others! Such rudeness!"
"Let me handle it," Saitama said and kissed her temple. "Inichi, gather his crap and set it by the front door. Actually, outside the mansion."
"I shall do so now, Mr. Saitama," Inichi focused lightly.
"You're fired. Get lost," Saitama now said bluntly to the man.
"Wait a minute!" the man panicked.
"He's my husband. His decision is as final as mine. And I agree with him," Mitsumi said with a stern nod. "You stole from me and hoped to keep what wasn't yours. Let me guess. As head of the maintenance staff, you had the keys to every room. This ensured you had access to my room after I fled. I did lock the door."
The man went quiet. Inichi gave a confirming thought. Saitama's eyes narrowed as the rage began to build. Then he looked at Inichi. "Is his shit out of this mansion?"
"It is," Inichi said. Now everyone saw Saitama press a loving kiss to Mitsumi's temple before setting her aside gently. Then he slapped the man unconscious and turned to glare at Tanktop Master.
"I got it," Tanktop Master said and was quick to have Tanktop Girl and Tanktop Black Hole help carry him out.
"Let me assist," Tsuruga snorted and easily hefted the man out. Tanktop Girl did follow him, though, to open any doors for him.
"Is there anyone else that plans to lie to me or my wife?" Saitama asked and swept his gaze over the staff. "Or steal from us? Hell, even not do their jobs as we are paying you very highly for? There is a clause in the damned contract that states for this crap to stop! If ANYONE ELSE pulls this crap, they get fired! No more excuses! I don't care how lenient your fake boss was. That thing was a monster! Of course, no one would care! Rendor! We are updating the contract!"
"Mr. Saitama?" Rendor asked from where he sat with Tatsumaki.
"First, find that asshole's contract and void it," Saitama said.
"I shall do this now," Rendor muttered and pulled out the contracts kept for lead staffing. He was glad he kept those in another protective tube, and Tatsumaki helped further by holding up various contracts with her mental thought for him to sort through them faster. "Thank you, Tatsi."
"Siren. Go now," Mitsumi whispered while Saitama had everyone's attention. Siren nodded and went invisible. Zenchu was also looked at, and he was able to shadow phase out. Garou remained to help protect Mitsumi. Mitsumi now glanced over at Genos, and Kamiko was the one that understood the gesture.
"Genos, I need your help in the laboratory, please," Kamiko said.
"Ah. Of course," Genos nodded and got up with her. Inichi now told him to help with the third floor as discussed earlier. He blinked his glowing yellow pupils and nodded to Kamiko that he got the message.
"This is also why I set your dress aside," Siren whispered to Metal Knight's ring when she quietly left. "I can't turn fully invisible with it."
"Ah! I was wondering about that. Thank you for informing me," he said with full understanding in a quiet tone. With her safely gone, and with Kamikaze and Tacki feigning a pregnancy illness to escape the room to help Siren's investigation with Zenchu, Saitama was waiting for Rendor to ready himself. When Rendor took out a new parchment on what to add to the contracts, he nodded to show he was ready to record.
"The new clause is this. Whoever does something bad and gets caught has to do one thing. They have to write a story about anything. Then Inichi has to look it over. If it fails his expectations, the one at fault has to sit there and hear him scream at them over how bad their writing is," Saitama said. "If he finds nothing wrong, then they are forgiven for the bad thing they did. If he finds anything wrong, then they get docked pay for the week. Or they get slapped. They will get the choice to either get slapped or take a pay cut for a week."
"Actually, I would rather not make it so harsh, Saitama. Instead of getting a week of pay loss or getting slapped, I would rather have Inichi teach them better writing skills," Mitsumi said with a small smile. "This way they get paid for learning something better. Hmm? And it can be a positive thing."
"Eh. Okay. That can work," Saitama nodded.
Fubuki died laughing at Inichi's glare of shock at Saitama. Anno bit his knuckles lightly now. Then Inichi had to ask, "Why are you doing this to me?"
"Because Sweet Mask hires crappy writers. If there is a good writer that works here, I'd rather have them work for him honestly than continue bad tendencies here," Saitama said with a small smirk. "If Sweet Mask likes how they write for him, then he can take over the contract and adjust pay and such. If they agree to work for him, that is. Hell, if he uses their story, he could even give them a cut of the profits! And I'm only doing this because I'd rather give them another job they're good at rather than continue doing a bad job here."
"Huh!" Sweet Mask blinked at the idea. Inichi actually found himself thinking over the suggestion now. It actually makes sense!
"Of course, if they are caught doing something that's completely inexcusable, then they just get outright fired and kicked out," Saitama said. Mitsumi smiled and nodded at this to show complete approval.
"Then may I propose this?" Inichi asked.
"Of course," Mitsumi smiled.
"The group of young girls from earlier. I want them all to write for me. Right now. Five paragraphs about anything. Even a full page. It can be a fantasy. A dream. A past event. Something that lets me see what their writing is like. I shall bring forth a few nearby desks with writing equipment," Inichi said and already had five tables bubbled and being set down. "There is one young girl that Metal Knight needs to speak with, though. You stay where you are. He really wanted to know how you hacked into a secure camera feed."
"The thief is now outside the mansion," Tsuruga said when he trudged back in. Tanktop Girl was carried in by him now and seated in his lap when he sat on the ground. "What is the next plan?"
"Tsuruga, can you please go down to the laboratory and ensure our…guest…is ready for transport?" Mitsumi asked.
"Of course, Lady Mitsumi," Tsuruga nodded and rose back up.
"Oh! You were sitting down. In fact, stay here. Witness Inichi's assessment first. Then you may escort the one that Metal Knight wishes to speak with when you go," Mitsumi smiled.
"Ah. I can do that," Tsuruga chuckled and sat back down. Tanktop Girl was now settled securely in his lap, and he chuckled when she leaned into him.
"Lady Mitsumi, may I fix your hair?" Kianna asked.
"Yes," Mitsumi nodded and had Saitama sit down so she could sit in his lap.
"Will the young ladies in question please come forward?" Inichi asked lightly to the nervous girls. "Once again, the one that Metal Knight wishes to question will not come forward. Stay where you are."
"Of course…" the young blond girl swallowed. She watched the other five girls shiver and move to sit in the desks. Papers and writing utensils were now set in front of them with Inichi sweeping his cat-eye pupils amidst the red of his eyes over them all calmly.
"I will give you ten minutes. Start writing," Inichi said. He snapped his small fingers to signal the time had started. "Don't force the words. I know it's a stressful situation on you all. I shall calm the mood."
"Oh…" one of the girls blinked at the now calming sensation that blanketed her. The sound of writing was done now, and Saitama nodded to Kianna when Mitsumi's hair was done. She moved to sit with King again and watched him play his portable game.
"I should have brought mine," Saitama sighed.
"Who needs a game when you have me?" Mitsumi chuckled and let her fans surround them both. Saitama grinned now and pressed a long, loving kiss on her mouth to show how much he approved of it. While this was happening, Zenchu was going over the roster in the upper third floor kitchen. Genos was easily going over each name on the roster, and Kamiko was leaning against a kitchen counter.
"How many shit rooms did we find?" Zenchu asked.
"We found twenty," Siren frowned. "Metal Knight was able to hack all the doors, too. They were all for spying in!"
"Only the one we found earlier had the hidden cache. The others were just spyholes. It will be easy to replace the mirrors in the other rooms with normal mirrors. I was able to further see when the doors in question were last accessed. All of them were fairly recent. This meant that whoever was in those rooms knew of the secrets. I have to wonder why such rooms were installed, though," Metal Knight said with curiosity in his tone.
"The roster here says it was mainly supervisors that did direct reports were in those rooms. Or a head of staff, as we knew from the vandal that got tossed out. The primary rooms for head of staff are along the side wall. They appear far more upgraded, and we checked through those rooms, too. None of them have the false walls," Genos said with a small frown.
"Did we investigate the room our little hacker was in?" Metal Knight asked.
"We did. And we found a few books on cracking code," Zenchu mused.
"A diligent researcher, eh?" Metal Knight mused with him.
"It appears to be," Siren said.
"Must have some intense studies," Genos blinked in thought.
"Tell me what to help clean up," Richoo said.
"Honey, I just need thirty minutes," Tacki said. "Zenchu can shred down the walls easy. All I have to do is plug in the drywall fixture and wallpaper."
"Thirty minutes?" Kamikaze looked at her now.
"Remember the stairs to the dojo?" she grinned at him.
"Right. I'm not gonna bet you again. You did sleep well from that backrub, though," he chuckled and let her press a kiss to his mouth. He chewed on the stick again and sighed. "Fine. I'll sit down in the kitchen here."
"Okay. And I wouldn't mind another one of those," Tacki giggled and got squeezed before getting let go to get to work.
Zenchu was quick to go through the doors left open that they used as markers to tear down the false doors after Metal Knight ensured they were no longer connected to any form of networking power. Genos marked off each room after they were remodeled. While Tacki installed the new walls with Richoo easily cleaning up, Inichi was going over the papers given to him from the faulty girls.
"Hmm…" he mused. He thought to Tacki. :How much time do you need?:
:I need at least twenty minutes or so. We got the doors torn out that were metal. I just have to do the patch jobs and mirror swaps in the side rooms. We have twenty rooms to go through from twenty people that lived in them. If you can bring up the extra mirrors that are down below, it can help. Ah, Zenchu said he got that. Just give us more time!: she said. He nodded, mentally sent the room report to Mitsumi and looked at the first brunette to move and hover in front of her.
"Yes?" she asked.
"You wrote about a dream you had of falling?" Inichi asked.
"I did…" she swallowed.
"Your punctuation is off slightly, but it holds merit. Your writing style is hasty to show you don't like to hold a pen very much. You also have a few spelling errors. Far better than what I have read before, but it can use some work. You also don't appear to read very well, but you hide it, too. Eventually, I will be having writing courses to help with such things. I expect for you to attend them when our dojo is functional, as per Lady Mitsumi's strict instructions. Is that clear?" Inichi said carefully.
"Y-yes…" she muttered and got her paper back. He moved to hover over the next darker brunette in the group and pulled out her paper.
"Yours was about…a ship on the ocean?" he asked.
"Yes," she nodded.
"You have good detail in what one is looking at, but no true structure to your paragraphs. Your writing is eligible, yet it could use some fine-tuning. Lady Mitsumi did have a few of these issues, too, but easily corrected with an hour of practice a day. You just need to apply yourself more. Therefore, you will also attend my future classes. Understood?" he asked. Saitama looked at Mitsumi to see her blush softly.
"Okay," the darker brunette nodded.
"If the most they have to do is go through writing courses, then they should consider themselves lucky. Any others would normally be charged for this. Inichi used to educate the incredibly wealthy when he was a human. It was considered a very high honor to even get an hour's worth of tutelage from him. Hmm. I think…Inichi!" Mitsumi blinked. Now he turned to face her with a form of pleasant surprise at a hidden memory.
"I…did tutor you for a bit…didn't I?" he asked with a form of fascination and moved to hover close to her. Fubuki found herself surprised at the news.
"When I was seven. It was only a week…but you taught me so much…" Mitsumi chuckled. "And then you taught me even more when I freed you."
"You were, actually, the best student I ever had. I did want to teach you more, but your father feared for my safety. It may also be why I woke up as easily as I did when I found you. I had a hidden memory of your kindness and intense grace as a child. I am eternally grateful to you, Lady Mitsumi," he chuckled and let her pat the top of his head with complete sisterly appreciation. "Anyways, back to the reviewing. Shall we?"
"Oh…" the third girl said. He moved to hover over the light red-headed girl and took out her paper to study it.
"You wrote about a dream of…flying through clouds on an airship? How interesting!" Inichi said with a touch of fascination. "Hmm. Good detail. Quite decent penmanship, too! Did you study writing and such?"
"Um…I did. I thought I was going to be a teacher. At one point," she nodded. "I did study in various creative writing courses."
"Sweet Mask, I found your next script writer. Look at this," Inichi said and gave the paper over to him. As he read it, he paused with complete surprise. Now Sweet Mask looked at her directly.
"What is your name?" Sweet Mask asked.
"Um…" she seemed to fidget a bit. "It's Tajima Chou."
"I can actually see this being part of an intricate scene. Such detail! I can see why Inichi is impressed with this. Therefore, I would like to offer you the chance of a lifetime. To write scripts for me. I will pay you, take over your contract from here to be part of my employ and I can even cover your living expenses. What do you say?" Sweet Mask chuckled.
"To work for you…" she whispered and shivered with a form of intense excitement. She blinked back tears from her light green eyes and covered her lightly freckled face with her hands. "I would be…honored, sir…!"
"Very good," Sweet Mask nodded. "You may sit by me for now. You will move out of this mansion by the end of the day. We'll discuss lodging, but I'll have you stay in another location until it is finalized."
"Of course," Tajima trembled.
"Hmm…" Saitama mused and looked at Inichi with a small idea. Inichi looked back at him and found himself curious now.
"Let me see to this last one," Inichi said and hovered over the black haired girl. On studying her writing, he noticed she was wincing. "So…you know how bad this is. Don't you? Just be honest with me, and I shall spare you from my tirade of ranting."
"I do…" she sighed. "I was never…one for writing at all…"
"Did you go to a form of school even?" he asked.
"Not really. My parents tried, but…I was always looked over," she admitted. Inichi sighed and shook his head.
"I shall spare you the details, however you definitely should join the classes I plan to create. I will not recommend for you to miss any of the classes when they start. In fact, Mr. Anno?" Inichi asked the head chef.
"Yes, Mr. Inichi?" Anno asked.
"Is there a place for tutelage for staff?" Inichi asked.
"Hmm. I don't believe there ever was," Anno admitted.
"Remedy that. Now. All staff should have decent education when they are able to learn. This mansion is massive. There are plenty of unused rooms to hold such things. Lady Mitsumi, can we do this?" Inichi asked.
"That we can. Genos can help assist with good curriculums. It's the same thing we plan to do for Fumio," Mitsumi nodded. "We can send out job postings tomorrow with what we need."
"Agreed. So, Sweet Mask…" Inichi started.
"Yes?" he asked.
"What do you normally look for in a proper woman for yourself?" Inichi asked. That got Saitama to smirk lightly and whisper to Mitsumi. She rose a brow at him and chuckled softly before giving him a loving nuzzle.
"Excuse me?" Sweet Mask asked.
"I want to know what you believe your 'perfect woman' is," Inichi said.
"Ah…well…" Sweet Mask frowned in thought.
"Hmm…" Inichi studied his thoughts carefully. "What you thought you wanted is already out of reach. And you would think that such sophistication from another would severely clash with you. Why not go with someone…useful and a touch more of humble birth?"
"What?" Sweet Mask asked. :What are you going about on?:
:The young girl you may take on as your writer. I was studying her thoughts. She is extremely loyal, grateful and was coerced into what she did. She feels remorse. She could even be a bit of a secretary to you. She has those skills. You should get to know her. She may surprise you.: Inichi chuckled. "Do you see now on what I am getting at?"
"Ah…hmm. Well…I don't know. We'll see," Sweet Mask sighed.
"I have yet to prove you wrong. Other than the scripts you have given me so far, you have yet to prove me wrong. Right?" Inichi smirked.
"I'll think about it," Sweet Mask said. "What do we do about the four in the meantime? What is the next step?"
"All of the secret doors in those rooms have been fully dismantled while everyone was here. And I do mean all of them. Including the camera hacked feeds," Inichi said. Then he caught the minds of those that had the rooms with the installed doors. The moment they were revealed, he placed a bubble around the employees to group them together. "And thank you for revealing who was living in those rooms. The rest of you may disperse. The one Metal Knight needs to speak with will still remain. And you eighteen will remain here."
"Eighteen? I thought there were twenty?" Mitsumi frowned. "Or did you inform me of something else?"
"It was reported twenty. We removed one from the mansion. The one Metal Knight needs to converse with is another. Thus, eighteen were left," Inichi explained. Saitama nodded and looked at Anno.
"Should I return to the kitchen? None of my staff are part of this," Anno asked. "I need to work on the lunch menu."
"Okay," Saitama said. When Anno left, he had Takeda follow him out.
"Three of my staff are in this group?!" the head butler grimaced.
"How can ten of my staff be in this group, too?!" the head matron asked. "The rest are clearly from the maintenance crew. But my cleaning staff?!"
"It's how gossip ran rampant. No further gossip unless it is legitimate events. No more spying in other rooms. It's. Done. I want to know why it was done to begin with!" Mitsumi said and stood up with Saitama to address who was left. There was nervous shuffling now. "If no one answers in the next two minutes, I will start firing people. This is a shameful and harmful thing that has been done. I can't have secrets anymore. I have been honest and truthful with everyone. I cannot justify paying those that cannot give me the same in return."
"We were ordered to," a young man said.
"Yes. A few of us were chosen to have the doors installed. It was mainly to make sure others were doing their jobs. We didn't have this when your father was alive, but it was when he died that it was done. Actually…a few months before. To start trying to see what was going on from others that he confided in and worked closely with," a cleaning girl winced.
"I'm sorry, Miss Mitsumi. But…I was the one that reported to your mother about the contract…" another young girl grimaced and hid her face in her hands. "I didn't…know that your father would get killed like that!"
"What?" Inichi blinked and studied the thoughts revealed. "So…you spied on Etsuji's main servant. One of the butlers. You saw the sealed letter that was to be for the law firm with the intended will. You didn't retrieve it, but it you brought it to the false mother's attention. She confronted Etsuji that very night and saw him going over it on his computer. He had just finalized all the details. As he said… 'What's done has been done.' Just as he stated before."
"There was only of my staff that worked closely with Mr. Etsuji. As I was always busy, it was Tengan that assisted him," the head butler said with a form of pain. "Tengan…he was one that was killed for being kind to Miss Mitsumi."
"And that means that he was also killed for being so close to Etsuji," Sweet Mask frowned hard. The cleaning girl trembled hard and nodded with agreement.
"I had left a few days later after the murders happened," she admitted. "I still bear the guilt from that day. When I heard that Tengan and Tao were killed off…I just…I didn't want to be in a place where all of that was happening!"
"Tao?" Saitama asked.
"She was assisting Mr. Anno in the kitchen. She was trying to help Mitsumi with better food. She convinced Mr. Anno that something wasn't right. It was why he wanted to know what was going on," another member of the cleaning staff said.
"I saw Mr. Daiki strike down Mr. Anno," one of the maintenance workers said. "When I saw him leaving a day later, it was all too clear on what was going on."
"Ugh…" Daiki winced.
"A lot of us left after that happened," another young girl from the cleaning staff said. "Those that remained, well…you know what happened, Miss Mitsumi."
"That I do," Mitsumi frowned and shivered from the memories.
"Ah. No. Stop. I'm right here. None of that crap. Look at me," Saitama said and found himself hugging her tight. "I know. It sucks. But no more of it. However, I have a question for all of you standing here. Why did you use the doors again if there was no need to? Metal Knight found signature imprints of those doors being used."
"They were tracked?!" a member of the butler staff gaped.
"Yep. So…were you spying on others just to do it?" Saitama countered and let his pupils flicker a bit more to spook them all.
"I did it out of curiosity if it worked. I hadn't done it since," a cleaning staff member admitted. "I'm actually glad those doors are gone."
The others murmured their own agreements on this. Only the young girl that hacked the camera systems showed no true remorse. Inichi noticed this and said, "Interesting how you have no words on this. As it stands now, you have an appointment interview with Metal Knight. Tsuruga, you may escort her now."
"I shall do so," Tsuruga snorted and rose up again. Tanktop Girl was ready to jump down from his arms, but he didn't release her. "Get on my back. Actually, just ride on my shoulders."
"What? Why?" she asked with a small grin.
"I don't want you to walk. And I could use the exercise," he chuckled. "Grab my horns, too. I don't mind."
"Seriously?" Tanktop Master blinked at this while the others chuckled and snickered softly at it.
"I want it," Tsuruga shrugged and flexed his shoulders out when she climbed up onto him. She braced her legs around his neck and set her hands on his horns. "Good. Now then. You. Let's move."
"Oh…" the blond girl swallowed and found herself moving in front of him to head to the elevators.
"As the rest of you have admitted that you are done with the spying, then you may all continue to stay and work. If anyone else starts to do this, you may think to Inichi. He will not reveal names, nor will he point out the one who spoke out. He will report directly to me if the situation is dire. Understood?" Mitsumi asked. At the nods given, the group was finally able to disperse. When it was just her family left, she showed complete irritation.
"I know," Saitama said and kissed her forehead. Only then did the glowing finally die off. "I want to leave here in another thirty minutes. And we need a key to this mansion. Right now."
"Here," Daiki said and gave over one of the spares he had on him.
"Good. Rendor! Test this?" Saitama asked and tossed him the key.
"Yep. I'll do that now," Rendor agreed and found himself lifted up by Tatsumaki to do just that at the front door.
"It's a bit of a skeleton key. Test it however you like," Daiki said.
"I'll do so!" Rendor nodded and got taken away.
"What do we do now?" Mitsumi asked Saitama.
"I want to check out the gaming room. When Metal Knight's done and that guy is ready to head back with us that's sleeping, we'll go home," Saitama said and scooped her up. King grinned and rose up to follow him.
"I found this awesome fighting game," King grinned. "Maybe I'll go easy on you. We'll see."
"Shut up!" Saitama growled and got Mitsumi giggling like crazy.
"Games? Pretty cool," Garou chuckled and let Lily lean into him to follow them. Inichi looked at Fubuki, and she smiled softly.
"Shall we go to the laboratory, my love?" Inichi asked.
"We can," she nodded.
"I'll join you," Sweet Mask said. "Ah, Tajima? Please collect your things. You can wait for me in the main room, or you can meet up with me in the laboratory. You can make the choice."
"I…would like to meet up with you," she said with a soft blush.
"Of course," Sweet Mask nodded and blinked at how the soft blush seemed to enhance her lightly freckled face. He glanced at Inichi when a light chuckle escaped. I suppose I'll see how things go. I didn't know I liked freckles...