It was when Mitsumi was able to change back to her youthful self at sunset that restaurant building was discussed in full. She helped with the blue prints, recipe structures and furniture arrangements. After it was done, she could only sigh and lose herself in her thoughts.

"Lady Mitsumi?" Kianna asked softly with a touch of sisterly worry.

"Hmm? Oh. I'm okay. It's just nice to have my mind back. Inichi and Zenchu think I'm starting to lose myself with each transformation now," she said with a shiver. "In truth...it's starting to get harder to recall what happens with each passing day. I remember some...but not a lot anymore."

"That's...very disturbing," Kianna admitted.

"I know. I think I'm going to go for a walk. I don't need sleep, and I have about three hours of the night left. I know you will insist to be near, but stay out of sight," Mitsumi said gently.

"Hmm?" Rendor glanced over now from where he was resting along the door. "I should go, too."

"No," Mitsumi said. "Too many will look bad."

"Then I shall hide as Kianna does," he growled and rose up to follow them out. "Zenchu is busy with the others at the restaurant. The night is not yet done, as you have said. I can hide well enough in the shadows. Let me put on darker cloth to hide myself."

"If you insist," she smiled. He nodded and was quick to pick up his cloak. Kianna did the same to follow her from various rooftops. Mitsumi was soon out the door and walking out of the apartment complex. She found herself moving down a path towards a small park and sat down on a bench. She pulled her soft, purple kimono around herself and shuddered inwards.

A few moments later, she found herself crying hard from the despair she was in. I don't want to lose my mind! I don't want to always be an old woman during the day! Curse you, Ajito! Curse you for doing this to me!

"Hey," a voice said beside her. She found herself turning to stare with shock at Saitama's face. He was sitting next to her now as though he had always been there. On seeing her in full, he found himself pausing with surprise.

"Master? Did you find out who was crying?" another voice called out. That had Saitama blink and glance over at the blond, spiky haired robotic man with yellow eyes walking over to them both. Small studs fit his ears, and his mouth frowned with concerned. The cyborg was wearing a white, sleeveless shirt and black pants to complete his outfit. The rest of his main body was sleek and jet black from the build.

"Oh. Genos, don't worry. I'm fine. Just watch the area for a bit," Saitama said. Genos bowed and moved to patrol the area. Now he looked at Mitsumi and asked, "So, why were you crying?"

"Oh...um..." she found herself a bit flustered now and wiped her eyes dry on her long sleeve. "Nothing...really..."

"Well, it can't be just nothing with how hard you were crying. I heard you from the road coming back home from heading back from the Hero Association," he said. "Genos also heard you, so we split up to search around. And I found you. So, why were you crying so much?"

"It's...complicated. Far too much to tell. I don't even know you, either. So...why would you care?" she frowned.

"Because I do," he shrugged. "As for not knowing me? I'm Saitama. I'm a hero just for fun. Too damned strong, anyways."

"Too strong?" she blinked.

"Yep. I kill everything with one punch. There's no challenge anymore. So, if someone needs help, I just show up and help. That's all there is to it."

"Oh. That does sound...kinda boring."

"Right? Heh. If anything, I can at least know that I can stop things before they start. Then again, I got so strong that I went bald. That was about four years ago. So, now you know about me. What's up with you?" he asked.

"Oh. My story is too long to tell. And there really is no short version, either. I only have until dawn before I start all over again. It just...it sucks!" she cringed and revealed the golden snake bracelet. "And this is the cause! I can't get rid of it since it was given to me two years ago!"

"Why?" he asked.

"It...causes me intense pain when I try to remove it. It afflicts me with...well...I don't know..." she mumbled. When Saitama was about to pry for more, Genos suddenly jumped over and had his arms out to show he was ready to fire rockets.

"Monsters approaching!" he said. At that, she jumped up to stand in front of him with a scowl.

"Stop that! Right now! Stand down!" she ordered. Genos blinked and narrowed his eyes.

"You are in the way. Please move!" he urged.

"No. The monsters here are my friends and protectors. They mean no one any harm," she said sternly. Now Saitama raised a brow.

"Genos, do as she says," he said calmly.

"Master?!" Genos asked with shock.

"I believe her," Saitama said. That had Genos look at him, but he lowered his arms. Mitsumi now looked out in the distance.

"Rendor! Kianna! Please come here and make yourselves known? It won't matter when the restaurant happens, but we need to show that none will be harmed with you both here as of now. The others will need to appear, too, so ensure Inichi is aware of this," Mitsumi sighed.

"Lady Mitsumi!" Rendor growled out and leapt down to her side. He took off the cloak to reveal himself in the dimmed lighting of the park.

"Mitsumi?" Saitama blinked at the name. Why is that familiar...?

"Yes. Lady Mitsumi. You...met her during the day...at the grocery store with Zenchu. He told us of how he met you there," Kianna said when she leapt down to reveal herself. "That is what that damned snake does. It makes her old."

"And she reverts back to youth at night. From sunrise to sunset. So, when the days and nights shift with the season...you get the idea. It is summer now, so the days are longer. That means she is older even longer. It's...starting to affect her mind," Rendor nodded. Mitsumi trembled and shook her head sadly. "As for us, she treated us with intense kindness when we all tried to attack her at one point. She...helped us remember how we were human once. I lost a whole family from becoming this form. They rejected me when I tried to go back to them after she woke me from the monster haze. So..."

"She let us become her family," Kianna nodded. "We love her and protect her. We serve her. We would never harm any others unless they harmed her or us. We all have our stories. But hers...we want to cure her."

"We just don't know how," Inichi said when he floated down. He was silently listening in to everything. Saitama had the neutral expression on his face the whole time, but he was actually very surprised on hearing all this. Monsters that want to become human again? That's...different...

"How did it all happen?" Saitama asked.

"Master?" Genos asked.

"These are different monsters, it seems," Saitama said. "They don't want to hurt anyone. So, if they don't attack us, I won't attack them."

"Good to know. We were thinking of the restaurant being a focal point for possible monster attacks. Lady Mitsumi could see if she could trigger the human memories of the attacking monster. If the monster refuses to understand this, then it can be destroyed safely. If they were never human to begin with, then we know they can be destroyed without confrontation," Inichi explained. "Ah, also, I am Inichi. I am a highly telepathic and empathic monster.

"I sort of...dabbled in odd experiments when I was human. When I found myself awakened in this form, I felt the power of being a monster exhilarating! When I saw Lady Mitsumi in her travels, I made ready to attack her. But...she asked if I was feeling well after I made my boasting statement of myself. It...made me pause with sudden understanding. It made me realize what really happened to me. I was...horribly ashamed of myself."

"That is pretty much how she confronted all of us," Kianna nodded. "She didn't scream or attack back. She showed genuine concern for us all."

"That she did," Rendor said and watched Mitsumi sit back down on the bench. He moved to sit on the ground and rest his head in her lap to purr deeply at the head scratches through his mane.

"They are like annoying, overprotective siblings," Mitsumi sighed to get her friends to laugh with agreement. "Inichi, please tell the others to not be shocked on this turn of events. We know how they can get."

"Ah! Yes! One moment and I'll relay the message," Inichi agreed and went into a meditative state.

"Okay. So, I'll get their stories later. I want yours. Time's running out. I need to know everything," Saitama said.

"Whatever for?" Zenchu said with his arms crossed from walking over to them now. The sunglasses were off to reveal his slitted, black eyes in full now. His barbed, whip-like tail flicked, but not in a threatening way at all. The other monsters gathered silently, but it was a neutral way the heroes were regarded. Everything was calm and there was no tension in the air at all. Genos was every bit surprised on this, but he stayed calm to do his master's bidding.

"I want to help. That's why," Saitama said.

"How much time is left of the night?" Mitsumi asked.

"We have two hours. I think," the peacock girl said. "The nights are shorter now from summer time."

"Tacki, how is the restaurant?" Mitsumi asked her.

"Super clean!" the peacock girl beamed.

"The appliances are installed and just need to be filled with supplies," Orotsu said and kept his eight arms curled up to show he was not threatening at all. "Once we get them, I'll start making sample dishes."

"We could always use taste-testers!" Kamiko winked at Saitama.

"I'm interested, but much later. Your story," he said and pointed at Mitsumi. "Genos, you're paying attention?"

"Always, Master," he nodded.

"I don't know..." Mitsumi frowned hard.

"It's hard for her to speak of it. So, I'll tell it. She told me everything when I kept pushing her," Zenchu said. Saitama nodded and crossed his arms while still sitting on the bench. The other monsters settled to hear the sad tale with rapt attention. "Two years ago, she was in a relationship with one by the name of Ajito. He was, to put it lightly, a brilliant man. They were together for about six months and planned to marry."

"Jerk..." Mitsumi grumbled.

"Calm yourself, Lady Mitsumi," Rendor rumbled from the constant petting he was still getting from her.

"But he is a jerk for this," Zenchu nodded. "Anyways, he was also a bit of one of those...mad scientists behind closed doors. He experimented on everything. Animals. Plants. Water. Eventually it came to people. Of course, she had no idea about it until all of this shit happened and he confessed it to her. None of us here were one of his experiments, but Lady Mitsumi was. That snake on her wrist is proof of it. It was one of his first experiments, apparently. He gave it to her as a form of 'jewelry'. It's actually a living snake monster."

"That's a monster?!" Saitama asked and pointed at the bracelet.

"Yes. It only reveals itself around sunrise and sunset. Ajito had no idea what he had done until it was too late. The moment the snake was given to her, it wrapped itself around her wrist. The purpose of the snake was to keep her young and ageless. Instead, it messed her up. The first full day she wore it around, Ajito would message her phone constantly to see how she was. It was on sunrise the day after that when the first change happened. When she turned into an old lady at sunrise, she called him the moment she got bitten-"

"That bit her?!" Saitama asked.

"Yes. It injects venom into her to change her," Zenchu nodded.

"So...for two years..." Genos frowned.

"She's been poisoned," Fumio said sadly.

"It worries me that, if the bracelet is removed, if her body would feel a decline. Much like ripping someone off of a drug after taking it for so long," Kianna said. Mitsumi could only shake her head at the thought. Tsuruga snorted and whined a bit at the thought of even more pain for her.

"If it happens, we'll get to that point," Zenchu said. "Anyways, yeah...Ajito was extremely shocked at her change. When he tried to remove the snake, she screamed in pain. It...latched onto her skin. It's like a solid gold piece of jewelry, but it has barbs that sunk into her skin. It's how it is right now. Try to move it and you can take her wrist off with it. Needless to say, everything he tried didn't help her. It was after a month of constant failures that she finally told him off and left him out of outrage and pure disgust mixed with betrayal. She had to try and figure things out for herself with this new problem and start a new life of any kind. We don't know if he's looking for her. If he is, we'll be ready for him."

"What of her family?" Genos asked.

"They were all outraged, but none knew what to do. They were a very distinguished lot, so they sort of...silently out casted her," Kianna said sadly. "Whenever she showed up, they ignored her. They couldn't help her, so why pay attention to her? I even saw it myself when she said hello to a sister on a casual walk a few months later! It was like she wasn't even heard. After a week of it from her family, though, she simply left them with what clothing she had available. She left a small note that she would try to cure herself. They considered her tainted from the monster on her. I fear that, even if it was removed, they'd still think of her as dead to them."

"I won't go back to them, anyways," Mitsumi frowned. "They prey on the unfortunate. If anything, I kept a few valuables on me. Only gifts, though. I left behind any heirlooms they gave me. I didn't want to keep anything from that family in case they tried to hold me accountable for anything. I gave up my last name, too, to fully detach myself from them. I was able to sell a couple of the gifts for a rather exorbitant amount of money. I used that to open my own bank account. It's what kept me afloat for some time. I still have emergency funds from it, too. I also gave up my phone. I don't need it with Inichi here."

"I was the first one she met in her travels," Zenchu nodded. "And I was the first one to learn of her story. I didn't even believe it until I saw her transformation with my own eyes. It took everything I had to keep from hunting that bastard down! So, I will insist that I am the one that confronts him first. If he's still alive by the time I'm done with him, then the rest can take a turn on his sorry ass!"

"Zenchu!" Mitsumi scowled just to have him chuckle at her.

"So, the only way to really help her is when that snake is ready to bite her," Saitama mused aloud. "Sunrise it moves again?"

"Hold on," Orotsu said lurched forward. "I would strongly advise that we wait a month after the restaurant is opened. I know, we all want to help her. But it's a new business. They will be expecting to see an older lady during the day. Elderly tend to have more respect, too. When the business is stable, we will have to 'faze' her out and let the younger self take her place. Such as a form of retirement. And, if Kianna is right, her body will need to adjust without the venom. Including the day/night changes. She never needed to sleep as one side 'sleeps' while the other is 'awake' so to speak."

"Also, we must consider this. She was never injured in full. If she fell down, got scratched or even bruised, each transformation would heal her in full. So, we would need to make sure she would adjust normally," Inichi explained.

"The true nature of the venom was to give someone eternal youth. But...we can see the cost of this. The aging part was separated. It had to go somewhere. That is where Ajito's studies went wrong. During the night, she is a beautiful young girl again. In the day, she ages into an elderly lady. It's now at a point that we don't know if it's the venom or the aging during the day that is degrading her mind. It's restored at night, but I am finding it a constant chore to watch her every move," Zenchu sighed. "Don't get me wrong! I'll watch her until the very end to ensure her safety. I just can't do this alone anymore. Not unless we manage to keep her in one spot so I can get things done during the day."

"I can help you," Saitama nodded.

"Why?" Mitsumi asked.

"Your situation is different. And I'm a hero. I'm very curious on a lot of things. Can I watch your change?" Saitama asked in a point-blank way.

"It's very unsettling," Tacki warned. "I still get chills when I watch it!"

"I have to hold her down. She gets incredibly violent, but not of her free will. It's like she fights off things during the change. When I saw her first transformation, I realized that she must really hurt herself each time. When I convinced her to let me hold her down, she admitted it was the first time that she didn't find herself in an odd place from running around in a panic from the pain. For two years I've done this. Both at sunrise and sunset. I know the others could do it, and they have, but I know how her body is when she's racked with that pain now. I can predict things easier. Anyways, we have almost an hour left. We just met you, but...well...if you want to see this...then, as an act of trust, we will let you," Zenchu nodded.

"You're sure?" Mitsumi frowned hard.

"He's an underrated hero," Inichi said. "He could easily help us. He may be able to be quick enough when it is time to stop the serpent strike, too. Even Genos, being an S class hero, can help vouch that we are not like the others. Let them see what happens."

"Very well," she agreed and let the others move to start escorting her back to the apartments.