"Are we done yet?!" Saitama grimaced at the never-ending stream of recruits for the last hour and a half. "I was told we were done thirty minutes ago! This is insane!"
"Saitama…" Mitsumi sighed and cuddled into him to let him squeeze her. "We still have the others to see to after this, you know."
"Craaaap…" he groaned. Overgrown Rover whined and licked his cheek to get a light scratching. Huffing now, it snatched his hand with its mouth and set it against Mitsumi's belly. Then it pressed itself against his hand with a small grunt. He sighed and found himself chuckling. "I know. I just want to go home for a bit. Go to Neutral Grounds for some fun. Enjoy a nice night flight. Just irritated now."
It huffed again and pressed harder for his hand to go against Mitsumi's belly even more. Saitama blinked at this and paused. Now he looked at Mitsumi with a puzzled expression on his face. She looked down at Overgrown Rover and said, "What are you trying to tell us, puppy? Inichi? Can you help us here?"
"Oh?" Inichi asked and hovered over to study the monster dog's thoughts. Overgrown Rover whined and panted. "I see…"
"What is it?" Saitama asked.
"Your child is trying to form in her. Lady Mitsumi isn't pregnant yet, but it is forming to a point that it may be ready to start trying. Ah, Kamiko? What do you suggest?" Inichi asked her.
"Let me see," Kamiko moved from Genos's lap to now kneel before Mitsumi. "Puppy, can you move a bit, please?"
It growled protectively, but Saitama quickly said, "Hey! Kamiko is a doctor. She helped Mitsumi with the poison in her body. Let her help, please. When she comes over to help Mitsumi, let her through. I trust her even when I am not there."
Now it blinked all six eyes at him, sniffed Kamiko's hand and licked it. Only then did it move aside for Mitsumi to be checked over. Inichi chuckled and said, "It's good you said this now. If Lady Mitsumi does get ill over anything, Kamiko will be allowed to come over to help safely. I confirmed what you said."
"Also, doggy, you reach out to Inichi if anything does happen with Mitsumi. Inichi can get me fast," Saitama said to get Overgrown Rover to lick his cheek that he was understood. "Tacki and Kianna can also help her. The main girls that live with us, okay? Fubuki might also be able to help. Zenchu and Garou, well…the girls can tell them what to do."
"Good," Kamiko chuckled and now felt gently around Mitsumi's belly. "Hmm. No hardening yet. We won't really see anything for a good week. Puppy, if you sense something that I don't, let me know with two licks to my hand. Okay? That will let me know to check her."
It huffed and reached up to lick her face. Now she found herself laughing and petting the tiny monster dog before going back over to Genos. Saitama sighed and let Mitsumi snuggle into him. He looked at her and asked, "Are you okay?"
"A little tired from all the food," she chuckled and let him kiss her softly.
"I got a message for a mission on information?" Drive Knight asked when he suddenly appeared next to the board members. The red line in his face mask glowed vibrantly, and he crossed his arms over his chest.
"Drive Knight! Wow!" a recruit gaped when a group appeared. Drive Knight ignored them all to show he was focused primarily on his mission.
"Yes," the first board member said lightly. "A possible GOD monster that made up the Secret Skins. We need to know if it really is a GOD monster or just a dragon rank monster with intense powers."
"Interesting. I accept the mission. Timeline?" Drive Knight asked.
"The sooner the better, but no real timeline. Just be discreet and don't get caught," the second board member stressed.
"If you find something crucial, please think of Inichi to relay the information to him. He'll hear you when you think of him, and he may even be able to help you in various ways. This way we will get any information even faster," Sweet Mask said. "I can definitely confirm that Inichi is trusted with everything."
"As I have also gathered on learning about this group of monsters. Very well. Do we have a focus point for me to start the search?" Drive Knight asked.
"Iwasaki? Where does the main gathering happen? What city?" Sweet Mask asked. "You don't have to tell us the exact area, but we need to start searching now while we can."
"Um…" Iwasaki blinked and thought to Inichi. :I need to hide this from Wind Crane…:
:Write it out. She can hear thoughts when she wants to.: Inichi said. Iwasaki nodded and gestured for something to write on. This was soon given over, and she wrote out the city. Drive Knight took it and nodded.
"Thank you. How do you know?" Drive Knight asked.
"She is a reformed Secret Skins member. And my girlfriend," Flashy Flash said lightly. "She was woken up like the others here. There is a cure for her, but for now she is content as she is."
"Ah. Very good," Drive Knight nodded and jumped away to speed off and start his search. Wind Crane studied where Drive Knight went, but he was already veering off in other directions. The only thing was that she was an incredibly strong monster with the ability to control and manipulate the wind. The very air around her was her method of travel. When she looked ready to follow him, Zenchu cleared his throat.
"Babe, we have babies now. Let's make sure they hatch and are healthy. Then we'll talk about the other stuff. Okay?" Zenchu smiled and pat her neck fondly. Wind Crane sighed and settled back down with a form of defeat. "I know. I want to fuck them all up, too. But we have to think about the new kids. We also don't want to bring Lady Mitsumi to harm."
"He's right," Saitama nodded. "My kid is trying to form in her. I'll punch out over half of this planet if she's hurt."
"Oh, shit. You could, huh?" Garou blinked at the thought.
"Yep," Saitama nodded.
"Yeah. He can," King grinned slightly and supported Kianna's lightly napping form against his shoulder while he played his portable game.
"It took me ten minutes to punch down twenty feet when you all found me up north," Garou mused. "Of course, it took me two hours to get to where I was."
"With one punch, I carved out five miles underneath this building. And I took out the training room they were testing me in," Saitama said with a small shrug. Now Garou looked at him with wide eyes of disbelief.
"He did. We witnessed it," Kamikaze grinned.
"Yep," King nodded and chuckled at Kianna's cuddle into his neck. "Are you feeling okay?"
"I am," Kianna smiled and got squeezed gently. Then she looked over at Garou. "I wasn't there for it, but Rendor was. And Zenchu, too."
"Very true," Rendor chuckled. "He wrecked that place to pieces!"
"And that was when he was only a B class. Before the red haze was known," Mitsumi chuckled and let Saitama kiss her lovingly. "You even shattered the bullet-proof glass…"
"Hmm. Maybe Zombieman was right about moving to another planet…" Garou muttered to get small bits of laughter all over.
"Tacki, I had reached out to Blue Ripple. He wants to know if you are able to make a combination of armor from his scales and Wind Crane's feathers. I am…bringing something to you now…" Inichi said and focused slightly.
"I still have his scale," Tatsumaki grinned and took out the large, shimmering scale of greenish-blue. The board members just gaped at the sight of it. Even Sweet Mask had no idea of its existence.
"Put it back, dear," Rendor chuckled and kissed her blushing cheek. At the sight of a small mound of various scales set before Tacki, she was quick to pick up the largest one to study it. Then she frowned.
"What's wrong?" Kamikaze asked.
"I need holes in these. This is so I can see about a good, sturdy thread to go through them. With the feathers, it's a bit easier. They're also easy to clasp together and stitch in. But scales? I need holes punched into their bases. I can't do that…" Tacki frowned. Saitama gestured for a scale, and Genos was the one to get up to hand him one. It was studied closely, and Saitama carefully pinched down until his fingers touched each other. Then he plucked out the flattened scale piece. Tacki beamed at this and even kept the flattened piece as possible filler for other things.
"How many holes in each one?" Mitsumi asked.
"I need three well-spaced ones. I can mark where the holes need to go," Tacki said and got to work with a small felt marker.
"Oh! It was mentioned that we all may be able to get cloaks of feathers for protection. Could we also get those scales added?" the third board member asked.
"That is up to Blue Ripple. They are his scales. He's purely a water monster, and he cannot walk on land. He's built much like the water reptiles from long ago. I could bring him here, but he's massive. He can easily tower over half of your association building in height," Inichi frowned in thought.
"I can bring him!" Tatsumaki nodded. "That's easy for me. Ask him if it's okay. I don't mind."
"You even managed to loosen up the entire area we needed to move him in," Mitsumi chuckled. "Yeah, you bringing him here for a short while won't bother you at all. Inichi can do quite a bit, too. I wonder if you can both combine your powers to work together…?"
"That would be something to test!" Inichi grinned at the idea.
"As long as it doesn't hurt our growing child," Rendor said and let Tatsumaki kiss him softly.
"What?!" the second board member blinked. Now Sweet Mask looked over with complete surprise. Tajima hid her face from the excited blush.
"Yeah. She's pregnant from me," Rendor chuckled and squeezed Tatsumaki to him. "Be careful, okay?"
"Okay," Tatsumaki smiled and cuddled into him.
"Hmm. Blue Ripple does need to speak with us. He cannot be out of the water for more than an hour. How many more recruits need to be assessed?" Inichi asked the board members.
"I think we have ten groups left," the third board member said while looking at the digital files on a tablet.
"This cannot wait. Either we stall them, or we risk them being shocked that such monsters exist," Inichi seemed to shrug.
"Is his photograph on the Neutral Grounds wall?" Mitsumi asked.
"We need to get it," Kamiko said.
"I can take a photograph," Genos said.
"It can't be helped, then. Can you get him, please? If he's ready, that is," Mitsumi asked Tatsumaki. The green haired girl nodded and let Inichi tell her when it was good to bring him. The next group of recruits appeared just as Blue Ripple's massive form was floated over in a green haze.
"This is disturbing," Blue Ripple seemed to cringe, but he shook off the sensation. On glancing at the gaping humans, he simply chuckled. "I already ate. And I don't eat your kind. You all taste bad and have stringy meat. You're safe from me. Unless you provoke me."
"Are you able to read their thoughts?" Inichi mused.
"I can. If I want to," Blue Ripple snorted.
"You're…a GOD monster…!" the first board member gaped.
"Am I? I'm honestly not sure of that. But, well, let's evaluate this theory. Shall we?" Blue Ripple said and lowered his massive catfish-like muzzle towards them. Sweet Mask was simply speechless from the waves of power he sensed from the massive monster. "I can control any and all bodies of water I reside in. I could have followers, and for a while I did, but it got boring really fast. Not to mention they stopped listening to me. I had given them gifts and took them away when they refused to work with me."
"What gifts?" Mitsumi asked and let her fans levitate her and Saitama up to hover next to Blue Ripple. She rested a hand on his muzzle to pet him and laughed when Overgrown Rover grumbled a bit with jealousy in her arms. "Don't worry, puppy. I can only pet Blue Ripple. I can't snuggle him like I can with you."
"Hmm. I could shrink myself smaller…" Blue Ripple mused.
"Can you?!" Mitsumi gasped with delight.
"No," Saitama said quickly.
"Why not?" Blue Ripple snickered.
"You'd be considered her pet," he said. Now Blue Ripple paused at this and looked over at Wind Crane's lightly laughing figure.
"You know what? I'm going to try it," Blue Ripple said.
"Wait! I may need more scales!" Tacki said.
"I know. I never said I couldn't revert back. It would be much like the monster in Mitsumi's arms. I just need to ensure I am back in my lake near the end of this hour. Especially to give over the larger scales. I can still answer any questions," Blue Ripple said and focused to start shrinking smaller.
"GOD monsters should be above cuddles…" Saitama muttered when Mitsumi found herself hugging Blue Ripple's lapdog-size body. Overgrown Rover whined and pawed at her shoulder before finding itself snuggled in her other arm.
"I'm so happy!" Mitsumi said with complete delight.
"Eh…" Saitama sighed with defeat. "Fine…it makes you happy…"
"So, you don't mind being her pet now?" Zenchu asked Blue Ripple.
"You know what? I don't. And I can safely live in any body of water near her this way until my land and lake can be transported. If a tub of water is found, then I don't even need to go back to my lake. I like this!" Blue Ripple chuckled and rested his head on her shoulder. "I've been missing out on this. Never again."
His flippers wrapped around her arm for stability with his flattened, paddle-like tail pressing against her side. He closed his liquid-white eyes with complete contentment at her soothing pets. His voice didn't even change its tone, either. Her fans now moved to settle both her and Saitama back in their chair, and Saitama could only sigh and laugh at Mitsumi's happiness. She deserves to be happy.
"Monsters are meant to be killed!" one of the recruits finally spoke out.
"Bad monsters, yes. Not ones that have awoken and reject that side of themselves. They become my family. They help us. And they get to be so snuggly and cuddly!" Mitsumi giggled and cuddled the tiny, powerful monsters in her arms. Overgrown Rover huffed and snorted at the odd man out before snuggling into Mitsumi's other arm with complete contentment.
"Eh…did you even hear that one of them may just be a GOD monster? Even Wind Crane? And she's sitting right here behind us? So, we have two possible GOD monsters here…and you're flapping your lips like that? Seriously?" Saitama asked with a weird look at the recruit. "I'd slap you, but I don't think you're worth the time."
Wind Crane clacked her beak and glared when the fans swirled around the accusing recruit. That was when Mitsumi chuckled and said, "You appear to be stronger than you look. You'll be moved into another area for further testing."
"Talk about bad monsters…" Zenchu muttered to Garou and got him to crack a grin in knowing. Kamikaze rose a brow and chewed the stick in his mouth lightly. Even Genos looked over with a touch of interest. King was mildly paying attention, but was still focused on his game. Bane was busy getting a snack, but he was still glancing over with Tanktop Master. Flashy Flash was mildly hiding Iwasaki from view when she recognized the man. The current group of recruits got escorted away, and the area was made ready for the next group.
"So, Blue Ripple," Mitsumi said while gently stroking his back along the fin that graced his spine. He was completely content where he was, and Fubuki was able to help bring him a large bucket of water to keep him with them for as long as he wanted it. "You mentioned you were able to give gifts to others. What were they? Do you remember?"
"Ah. I was talking about that," Blue Ripple chuckled. "Maybe I can wait a bit and take a nap first…"
"No. Talk now, please," Saitama said.
"I suppose…" the water monster snorted. "The gifts I give work best with those that work with water. But, regardless, my four primary gifts that I bestow can be any one of the four. Water breathing to allow one to breathe in water like air. Current control to control the very waves and water movement around them. Sonar calling to be much like echo location and communication with others. It could even be used as an attack if focused right. And the last common one is the ability to make any form of water become a bit of golem. As in, the water can take on a temporary form to protect the one that called it. Just for a short while."
"No shape changing?" Garou asked.
"I could give that gift, but that was quickly abused," Blue Ripple sighed. "Even then, it would be limited to forms for water needs. Nothing further."
"So, someone could turn into a mermaid?" Fubuki smiled.
"That was how it started with those stories. Thus a bit of the abuse of the gift," Blue Ripple confirmed. "Unless the one who wishes for that gift can prove themselves to me, I cannot grant it."
"I wouldn't mind that water breathing gift. That might come in handy," Saitama said with a small grin.
"Granted," Blue Ripple chuckled.
"Um…that's it?" he blinked.
"That's it. It won't work now, of course, but you can test it in any body of water. Even a swimming pool," the water monster nodded.
"Do not place a bet for anyone to hold their breath longer than you underwater," Zenchu said to get Tanktop Master coughing with agreement.
"So, Wind Crane, can you grant gifts?" Saitama asked. The large crane monster looked at him and then back to Mitsumi. "Ah. Yeah. I married your clan girl. Okay. I don't need any more gifts from you."
"So…I'm a present?" Mitsumi blinked at him to get the others laughing.
"If you are a present, then I need to unwrap you in the privacy of our bedroom," Saitama said with a small grin to get her blushing. "I wouldn't mind unwrapping you every night at this rate…"
"Stop it!" she flustered and got the others laughing at it.
"Fan Dancer! Oh wow! It's you!" a young man gasped when his group of recruits came before them.
"Hello! Nice to meet you. I wish you all the best in your assessment," Mitsumi chuckled. Blue Ripple turned and blinked at the voice he heard. Mitsumi looked at him and asked, "Is something wrong?"
"I heard a similar voice a very long time ago. Before my lake was sealed off. I wonder if that one had an ancestor I encountered…" Blue Ripple thought aloud. Now the guy just gaped at the tiny water monster.
"Huh. I guess you know each other?" Saitama asked.
"My great-grandfather wrote a story about a camping trip he did! That he saw a massive blue monster and it chased him off!" the man trembled. "We all thought it was a joke! He even drew a sketch of you, too! But you were much bigger. Like…way bigger…"
"I shrunk small for now. However, he left out that he got chased out of my grounds due to leaving his garbage all over my beach," Blue Ripple snorted. "I asked him to please take his trash with him. He acted brave and said 'Make me!' So, I sent a tidal wave at him to carry both him and his trash out of my domain."
"That…well…huh…" the man blinked. "That would explain why he always kept things so clean after that…"
"Glad I made such a positive expression on him," Blue Ripple smirked and got Inichi dying with laughter. When another young man stepped forward, Mitsumi noticed that something felt awkward from how he was staring at her.
"Can I help you?" she asked him.
"I never knew that beauty like yours ever existed," the man muttered softly. "Even the hero books don't do your photo any justice."
"Oh. Thank you," Mitsumi smiled and nodded pleasantly. Saitama was acting bored, but he kept her firmly in his lap.
"Are you really eloped with Caped Baldy?" the man asked.
"I am. In fact, I may even be pregnant by him," she chuckled.
"Can you abort it? I mean…he can't be that strong! Wouldn't you want a strong child with me instead?" he asked now. Saitama cut his glare right at him and let the fiery smolder of his pupils reflect in his eyes.
"You did not just ask that!" Zenchu seethed.
"What in the hell…?!" Garou blinked. Bane was ready to get up to help take the offending man away. Even Tanktop Master was livid. King now paused his game to stare at the man with shock. Kianna even found herself blinking wide awake at the outrageous question.
"Why would I even do such a thing?!" Mitsumi asked with absolute horror. "I would never do that to the man I love! To the man that saved my life! And Saitama's not strong?! He's rank 3 in S class! They wanted to make him rank 1, but he said no! And above all of that, I want this baby, too! How dare you!"
Overgrown Rover let out a savage, hissing snarl of complete protection. Even Blue Ripple turned to lock his milk-white gaze on the man. Wind Crane calmly got up and strode over with four large steps to unfurl her wings and curl them up around both Mitsumi and Saitama to hide and protect them in full.
"You really said that in front of Mom and Dad?!" Fumio scowled and kept Black Sperm with him securely on Wind Crane's back. "You shouldn't be here to even try and be a hero! No one with a true hero personality would ever even think of that!"
"That was one of the rudest questions I've ever heard," Tacki said with complete disgust. "You should just go home. Right now."
"She's so close, though! I just…I can't leave until I at least hold her hand…" the man said softly.
"You absolutely creep me out," Fubuki cringed.
"Stand behind me," Sweet Mask muttered to Tajima. He felt an odd need to protect her, and she moved to stand behind him easily.
"It appears that we need to talk to you separately about your infatuation with Fan Dancer. Before the others here do the talking for us," the third board member said calmly. Tatsumaki was already getting ideas of how far she could fling the man away from the roof.
"It is best that he is removed. Quickly," Genos nodded with agreement. Kamiko was just infuriated now, and it further proved that the man had to go.
"Be glad Tsuruga isn't here," Rendor said with a small growl of his own.
"I'm just barely keeping myself contained…" Zenchu muttered. Then he yelped when Wind Crane pecked his tail. "Hey! I wasn't planning on doing anything to him. Yet."
"Lily isn't here to reprimand me," Garou said thoughtfully. Now Wind Crane looked at him and lightly pecked his arm. "Ow!"
"Lily did say that Wind Crane could do that," Tacki grinned. With the offending man taken away, Saitama had Mitsumi locked in an intense, loving kiss within Wind Crane's protective wings.
"I love you," Mitsumi said and pressed into him.
"I love you, too," he muttered and kissed her again. "I was a split-second away from jumping up and killing him…"
"I know," she said and snuggled into him. Overgrown Rover and Blue Ripple were still in her lap, but they were resting against her legs.
"No one will ever tear you away from me. No one will ever rip our baby from you. I'm not putting up with that crap," he growled.
"You forget," Blue Ripple said with amusement. "You have me and Wind Crane to get in anyone's path before they can even reach you. True, I may be based on water. But I can be much like Wind Crane with sonar blasts. I can easily give anyone a splitting headache."
"Good to know," Saitama smiled and reached down to very gently rub along Blue Ripple's fan spine with appreciation. "So…you don't mind being my pet, too? Maybe?"
"You have this monster dog as your pet. I am Mitsumi's pet. I will tolerate you," Blue Ripple laughed softly before reaching his neck up to rest it back against Mitsumi's shoulder. "Many have called me a water dragon. So, I'll just say this. As dogs are a man's best friend, dragons are a girl's best friend."
"I like that saying!" Mitsumi beamed with delight and snuggled him.
"Wind Crane does have the hind quarters of a dragon, too. Think on that," Blue Ripple chuckled. Saitama shook his head, but he was still highly irritated.
"Love, let's finish the recruits off. Then we'll check the others to remove the evil ones. The ones that want to be cured will need to come back with us for the flea removal. Okay?" she asked and gently ran a finger over his cheek.
"Okay," he nodded and pressed a long, passionate kiss on her mouth before hugging her tight. "I'm gonna want some alone time after that crap, though."
"We'll get that," Mitsumi promised and let him kiss her one final time before signaling for Wind Crane to back away.
"We have eight groups left to view. Then we have the other group that had intense strength to view. The others you wished to personally inspect were left for you alone to assess," the third board member said. Kamiko looked at Genos to whisper softly.
"Master Saitama, Kamiko and I would like to head home to prepare the isolation chamber. May we do this?" Genos asked.
"Yeah. Get that ready," Saitama nodded. Inichi was quick to help send them off. Then Garou motioned to Inichi.
"I miss Lily. Can you get her?" he asked.
"Oh? Hmm. Ah! She misses you, too. I shall bring her now," Inichi agreed and focused lightly. Saitama got comfortable with Mitsumi in his lap. She was busy getting snuggled by the tiny strong monsters in her lap, too. Overgrown Rover moved to take Saitama's hand to put back against Mitsumi's belly before resting its body on top of his hand. Saitama just sighed and chuckled. My dog is best dog in the world. And I'll let it happily eat whatever tries to hurt my wife and growing child.