Five hours had passed before the smells of breakfast woke up Saitama from where he was. He sat up and yawned. Then he glanced over and paused in shock at Mitsumi's elderly sleeping form not far from him. He looked over to see Zenchu eating a bowl of egg fried rice and waving at him.
"You let me sleep here?" Saitama blinked.
"Well...yeah. You were pretty zonked out," Zenchu chuckled. "Lady Mitsumi insisted to rest near you, too. We weren't going to stop that order."
"Here!" Tacki said and plopped a bowl of egg fried rice in Saitama's lap. A glass of orange juice was set alongside him on a lap table next.
"I need to wash my suit..." Saitama sighed, but he started eating heartily.
"We can do that," Fumio said.
"Actually, I have a nifty talent that I discovered. I can try it out? I mean...you'll have to undress and I can try it out. I can pull dirt out of almost anything," Richoo said. "And it comes out dry!"
"Hmm. Okay. Maybe I can bathe, too..." Saitama mused.
"There is a bathroom for that," Kianna nodded. "You can use it for as long as you need it."
"Thanks," Saitama nodded and was able to finish off his meal. When he was done, he was escorted by Rendor to the bathroom. Kianna and Tacki had already drawn up a hot bath, and they set aside soaps, towels and a robe for him when he was done. He was in shock at how he was being treated. After five minutes of just thinking over everything, he finally undressed and put on the robe to hand his suit, underclothes and boots to Rendor. "Here. Um...thanks."
"Of course," Rendor nodded and gave over the clothing to Richoo to clean. On studying the tub, he saw it was not a traditional one. It was a square tub with stylish black tiles lining it and definitely deep enough for full reclining in. It was even large enough for two people! He also realized the bathroom was extended out into the next apartment to accommodate for more space. He was quite impressed. Saitama spent thirty minutes simply soaking in the hot water with intense relief before scrubbing himself down. He put on the robe again after drying off and walked out to see the others.
"You look better," Kianna nodded.
"Yeah. It's nice to take a bath," Saitama agreed. "Usually I just scrub myself down with hot water."
"No more of that," Mitsumi said from where she was sitting up and eating a rice ball with strawberries in the center. "Did he eat?"
"I did eat," Saitama nodded and moved to sit down with her. "When my clothes are ready I'll dress."
"Very good," she nodded. "The bath was good?"
"It was...very good," he nodded.
"Good," she smiled and drank down some warmed milk. "We need to go to the restaurant and see how it is."
"Actually, we need to go to the lenders first," Zenchu said. "You need to pass down the restaurant to your niece."
"I do? Oh...hmm. True..." Mitsumi frowned. "My granddaughter."
"Yes. My mistake," Zenchu nodded. "Saitama, I don't know if you can come with us for this. You may have to stay at the restaurant. Or find something else to do while we do this."
"Nope. I'm going with you. As a member of the Hero Association, I should witness it," Saitama said with a shake of his head. "I could even grab King, too, come to think of it..."
"Call him!" Rendor nodded. Saitama nodded and found his phone nearby. He saw a few messages from Genos and was able to reply to him of the plans. When Genos called him, he sighed and answered it.
"Master, I'm going to join you in this," Genos said. "Two S class heroes will show urgency."
"Hmm. Okay," Saitama shrugged. "I'm calling King now."
"Allow me to do that! Tell me where to meet with you!" Genos insisted.
"Oh. Okay," Saitama said and let Zenchu text the building location. "I guess Genos will get King."
"Good. We'll meet there in an hour. I just told Genos," Zenchu nodded.
"Do we go with you?" Kianna asked.
"Zenchu, Rendor and Tsuruga will come with me. The rest of you guard the home and the restaurant," Mitsumi said.
"Agreed," Tsuruga nodded and snorted. Rendor nodded with Zenchu. Richoo gave over Saitama's hero suit and clothing to change back into. The bald man was impressed at how clean and soft it felt. Even his underclothes felt much cleaner than he usually got them. He was happy that his boots were cleaned, too! As they started to walk out of the apartment complex, Inichi had the push cart ready to go. Then he floated out of sight and kept out of any sensor ranges.
"Yeah. He'd really be a nuisance," Zenchu grinned. Inichi just laughed in his mind and watched the small group carefully. He noticed something right away and was quick to report it. Zenchu looked up at the group of C class heroes approaching them. "What the hell is...?"
"You're that group for the restaurant, right?" a chubby hero asked.
"Yeah. We have business to do," Zenchu nodded.
"I need to cook and get things ready. If you want to accompany us, then it's fine," Orotsu said. Saitama just stared at them all with his usual blank stare.
"Excuse me," King said from behind the group of lower class heroes. They all freaked on seeing him. "I want my breakfast. Move."
"Oh! Ah...y-yes, K-King!" another hero stammered.
:I asked if I could bring him here. He agreed.: Inichi chuckled. Now that King was walking with them, the other heroes could only gape and grumble before moving off to do something else.
"Oh. You all there," King said to the group of heroes without turning around.
"Yes?" a man in a frog suit asked when they stopped to turn around.
"Don't go to their home. If you do, I'll have to talk to each of you. One on one. Got it?" King growled.
"Ah...right! No, we won't go!" the man in the frog suit agreed.
"Inichi's been telling you what to say?" Zenchu smirked at King.
"He has. It...helps. If I just need to play with intimidation, I can do that," King shrugged. "If I really want to prove a point, I'll beat Saitama in a game."
"Shut up!" Saitama growled to get them all laughing.
"Master!" Genos said and sped over to him to walk alongside him. "I heard that a group of C class heroes were going to try and see how strong the monsters from the restaurant were! I was going to stop them."
"No need. King showed up and made them leave," Zenchu chuckled.
"That is relieving. I sent a message to the Hero Association concerning this. That heroes are going against their orders. They are going to set up an announcement sign to not attack any monsters that work for the restaurant. We just need pictures of the ones working there to have on file to ensure that no other monsters will get the idea. That would require all of them that are currently with us. If new ones are added, then we will need to add their photos.
"Also, the Hero Association will request to know all of the strengths and weaknesses of each one. I think this is to know how to handle them if something goes wrong," Genos frowned. "I doubt that it will, but..."
"I get it," Zenchu rolled his eyes. "We will keep one token of ours secret. Basic things will be given. I'm sure not all heroes give out everything they do all at once. I see that as a fail-safe if we are wrongly attacked."
"The moment our restaurant errands for legal documents are done, I want to speak with the Hero Association board," Mitsumi said. "If they are going to make such demands of us, then we will have demands of them!"
"Agreed," Rendor nodded.
"You can stay at the restaurant," Zenchu said to King. "Just to play as a bouncer for now. It's still under construction, but it will help."
"I brought a portable game, so I'll be fine," King nodded. "No, Saitama, you're not playing this one! I don't need you saving over my game again."
"What?" Saitama asked to get them snickering at him.
"Come," Mitsumi sighed and got let out of the push cart. When she walked in with the small group, she paused at how much work was done. "Hmm. You really want this place opened at the end of the week! Orotsu, do we have a stocked kitchen? Everything is tested?"
"Yes. I'll go back there now to see how things will work. If we need more ingredients, I will start a list," Orotsu nodded and moved to his designated area. King now moved to sit along a finished wall. Saitama moved to sit down, too, and he paused when he went to reach for Mitsumi. He sighed and forced himself to simply sit alone. This sucks! I can't wait for that snake to die! He felt Inichi calmly agree and he focused on the strong monster. :So...what all do you know on what's going on?:
:Ah! Mr. Saitama! Yes. The Hero Association really wants to take no chances with us. One mistake and we are done. Genos's idea of a contract is structurally sound. It should be recommended the moment Lady Mitsumi meets with any of the board staff. Some other S class heroes may try to come by, too, to ensure that nothing will go out of place.
:Also, that Sweet Mask one. The first class A rank one. I have been giving idle thoughts to not care about us. To wait until we are done building before coming out. Whenever he thinks of wanting to see us, I deter him with thoughts of his acting needs. As well as other things he has mildly forgotten to make him lose track of wanting to visit right now. I am purposely keeping him fully preoccupied.
:He simply cannot see us until we are up and ready to serve the public for him to fully grasp what we are about. He is an...interesting case. So we are not yet ready for his appearance. It's really not that hard to issue distractions to him. Leave that to me.: Inichi sighed. Saitama only nodded and continued to watch the others with his usual blank stare.
He ate and drank what was brought to him, but he felt a bit lifeless without Mitsumi at his side. She brings a spark of life to me. Something...that went missing when I got too strong. I don't feel bored around her at all. She's...different to me. And I like it. But it's a different feeling, too. Something that I don't want to lose. I...what is it...?
"I just love this shade of blue," Kianna smiled and looked at the paint the interior decorator brought. "Should we do white curtains?"
"I was thinking of a more romantic atmosphere in the main dining area. Like dark reds with gold. We can do this shade of blue with white decorations in the bathrooms," the lady beamed. At what Kianna said, Saitama's eyes popped wide open.
Love?! Wait a minute...! He now examined various scenarios that happened to him with his odd mood. Can it be that...I'm in love...?! But...I just met her! Then again, some people have had this happen before, right? Love at first sight? But that's all in books and movies! Isn't it? I just...I need to think...
"Master, we are being requested to follow," Genos said to get Saitama's attention. Zenchu, Rendor and Tsuruga were getting ready to leave with Mitsumi getting settled in the push cart. "It was decided for King to stay here, but we can request for him to come over if we need him. My presence should be enough."
"Okay," Saitama nodded and got up to walk with them. "So...where are we going now?"
"A building that holds legal crap for leasing to the city. A necessary evil," Zenchu grunted. He didn't bother hiding what he was now. Their presence was already secured that they were not threatening at all. He even got waved at by various people, and he waved back to show there was nothing wrong. "I'm still surprised that we are...somewhat accepted."
"It took time, but many now see that you are trying to benefit others. You do not want to damage anything or harm anyone. There are plenty of other monsters out there that want to hurt and destroy. Those are the ones that we don't need in our society. At the same time, sometimes it can take a monster to hunt a monster. I have been thinking about this for some time," Genos said while he walked with them. Now Zenchu looked at him with a bit of thoughtful surprise.
"A monster to hunt a monster? I haven't thought of that!" Zenchu admitted.
"It would be something to consider," Rendor nodded.
"Are we there?" Mitsumi asked in her frail tone.
"We are now," Tsuruga snorted and walked with her push cart easily. At the sight of the group, many employees of the building paused with shock. Zenchu was just glad that the main entry was large enough for Mitsumi's small push cart. The place had to be accessible to wheelchair facilities at times. He was also happy that the ceiling was higher. He didn't need to stoop down at all.
"Do not worry," Genos said calmly. "We seek to speak with the ones that are letting them lease the restaurant building close to the main square. Where are they?"
"Oh! Um...third floor. Second door on the right," the secretary said. "I'll let them know you are coming up."
"Thanks," Zenchu nodded.
"Do we call on any heroes?" a young woman in a business suit whispered.
"No. I am a hero," Saitama shrugged at her. "Just for fun. But Genos, here, is a class S. You're fine."
"Oh!" she blinked.
"Yes. I am known as Demon Cyborg. I know this group of monsters personally. They are no threat," Genos nodded.
"Demon Cyborg!" a man breathed. "Oh! Um, can I get your autograph for my son? He's always wanted to meet you in person!"
"After our business is conducted, I will see to the fanfare. Let us do this job first," Genos said with a small nod.
"Young man, if you bring your son to my restaurant when it is opened, I will even let him eat with Genos. It would be my pleasure," Mitsumi beamed.
"Oh! Yes! Um...thank you!" the man gaped.
"To...eat with me?" Genos frowned.
"Many people love to just hang out with celebrities. It's considered 'special treatment' to some," Zenchu smirked. "We could do celebrity days with registered booking, this way..."
"A possible payable venture?" Rendor mused. "That...seems ideal..."
"The elevator is here, but I think we may want the stairs," Genos suggested.
"Why?" Saitama asked.
"It is being suggested. In case management tries to stop us between floors," Genos frowned.
"That doesn't sound very fair. If they do, I'll just make a way for us to get out," Saitama shrugged. "Besides, if anyone stops us then they're keeping heroes from doing their jobs. Right?"
"This is true, Master Saitama. And if I call for other S class heroes to help, the ones responsible would need to come forward," Genos agreed.
"Exactly," Mitsumi nodded. Zenchu hid his grin. It was all said quite loudly, and Inichi was already keeping tabs on who had the idea to stop the elevator. Now they were free to use it and get to their designated floor. When they got there, they found the room they had to go to with the door wide open. It was hastily abandoned. At least from how it appeared.
"This is weird..." Zenchu frowned. Then he saw the paperwork on the table. "Wait...this is demolition orders?! For our restaurant after we paid to open it?! What the hell is going on?!"
"Let me see," Genos said and took them up to scan them. "These papers are fake. No seals of approval. It's just a print out and left here to scare us away. Inichi is telling me to go into the back room here. Apparently, there is still a flaw in the rental agreement. You are paying double for what others have paid before because of who you are. You actually paid for a whole year of rent."
"WHAT?!" Zenchu seethed. Then he paused at the silken white flower that Mitsumi took out to calm him down. He sighed hard and shook his head. "What are we to do, Lady Mitsumi?"
"Call the Hero Association, please. We need one of their members here right now," she said calmly. "If we have been stolen from by the city directly, then that is a violation. These people would be seen as enemies."
"A type of monster?" Rendor smirked. Saitama saw a door in the back of the room and tested it to find it locked. Then he simply ripped if off its hinges.
"Oh. I broke it," Saitama said with his usual blank stare.
"Ah...!" one of the men in a black suit and tie gaped.
"What is the meaning of this? I am Demon Cyborg. An S class hero," Genos said with a menacing tone.
"Shit!" another man cringed.
"Explain yourself right now," he said and let his eyes glow a bright yellow.
"Hey. Stop it," Saitama said and waved his hand up to make Genos back down. "You. The one crying. Shut up. Explain this."
Saitama held up the fake orders. Then Zenchu leaned over and said, "Oh, yes. And also explain why we paid for a full year when you said it was half a year. I really want to know."
"Don't attack us!" the third man whimpered. He was much larger in stature, but it was Mitsumi that got out of her push cart and walked over with her cane for balance. Zenchu was right behind her now to ensure she was safe at all times.
"We came to you in good faith. You lied to us. Are you even really who you say you are?" she asked. Now the three men paled. "Ah. You are thieves selling fake documents. Inichi, please detain them."
"Wait!" the first man said and found himself encased in a blue bubble with the other two men.
"We need to find out where our money went. And we need to find out right now. This is most disturbing," Mitsumi sighed sadly. "Hmm. Ah. Inichi did know about this, but we were not in a position to directly question it. So, we had to wait until we proved ourselves innocent of things. I see."
"Inichi should have told us, anyways," Zenchu scowled. "But I understand why he had to keep this from us. We had no way to really confront anything. Did we? Ugh..."
"And they say monsters are the ones to worry about?" Tsuruga said with disgust. "These guys are even worse!"
"Now see here!" the portly man said. "We did lease the building to you!"
"I want to see the documents of the lease," Genos said and crossed his arms over his chest. "I will scan them and compare them with other legal papers known in the system. Where are they?"
"I..." the portly man failed. The shredder was glanced at. Zenchu started to hiss, but Genos was already in the bin and pulling out the shredded paper. Within five minutes he had every paper pieced together, sorted and scanned.
"I am sorry, Miss Mitsumi. You have been a victim of fraud. These papers are not legal, nor are they binding," Genos frowned. "Let me see. The true owners of the building are dead. This is what I am able to research online with a quick network patch. So, if they were dead, the building did, indeed, belong to the city. The true deed is...hmm..."
"I thought you didn't have internet hookup?" Saitama looked at him.
"Inichi..." Genos said with a small nod.
"Ohhh!" Saitama blinked.
"He is giving mental thoughts to those around him and gleaning what he can. The people of this building do not know that these three are criminals. I will let it be known right now. We need to find out where your funds went. If they were spent illegitimately, then you should be reimbursed in full," Genos said and glared at the three culprits.
"Oh, come on...!" the second man whimpered.
"Nope. He's right. We're going to find out," Zenchu said. Then he looked over at the important man that walked in with his assistant just the other day. Tsuruga was able to move the push cart slightly to give them space to walk in.
"Hi. I was told to be here. What's going on?" the man asked.
"We were lied to," Mitsumi huffed and let Zenchu explain the issue in full. Now the important man glared at the three men in question.
"I see. We were looking for these three men for a long time. There was, in fact, a reward. We will see where your funds went and have them restored. Can we get these three transported somewhere?" the important man asked.
"Hmm..." Saitama thought. His face never changed, though. Then he looked at the table and flipped it over with one hand.
"What?!" the three men screamed together.
"Oh, look! We have money. Lots of money..." Saitama blinked. It was Rendor that was quick to pluck up the various envelopes of currency that were taped to the bottom of the table to investigate. Genos and Zenchu put the table back to rights and went over everything.
"This envelope has the funds we gave over. We had cash," Zenchu said and pulled up the envelope in question. "I know it will be considered evidence, but this needs to be reimbursed back to us. Or it can be used to simply purchase the restaurant and we pay usual city fees. If there was a reward, though, we should get that separately for catching them red-handed."
"There are other deals here, too, that they did. They didn't have time to get to the bank to deposit anything within four days," Rendor mused. "They cheated a lot of people. Even the Hero Association..."
"What?!" the important man gaped. Now he saw a contract within the envelope handed to him and he glared at the three men. Walking out to the hallway, he was quick to make a phone call. After a bit of discussion, he walked back in to regard them all. "I need everyone here to come with me to the Hero Association. Right now. We will get all of this cleared up."
"Then let us go," Mitsumi nodded. Saitama helped her get back into the push cart, and Zenchu started to push it to follow along. The three guilty men were already trying to make excuses, but Inichi was able to make multiple bubbles for transport as long as he knew that it wouldn't be fully long term.
"Riding in that looks like fun," Saitama mused at the push cart.
"I won't mind pushing you and Lady Mitsumi around together. Maybe after you marry her, though," Zenchu said calmly.
"What?" Saitama looked at him like he was crazy.
"I won't push you around at any other time. Besides, if you decide to get frisky with her in the push cart, we could get a curtain cover," Zenchu continued. That had Saitama's jaw drop at the thought. "Oh. Never thought of that?"
"Master Saitama has never thought of being in a relationship," Genos said calmly. "He has been too busy mentoring me and being a hero for fun."
"Have you ever been out on a date?" Zenchu had to ask now. Rendor and Tsuruga were remaining quiet, but they were definitely holding in their laughter. The important man and his assistant were hardly paying attention. They got to the elevator and went down it. When the doors opened for them to walk out of the building, Saitama gave a deep sigh.
"I...well...no..." Saitama admitted.
"Before that Ajito schmuck, Lady Mitsumi had never dated, either. Come to think of it, I don't think she ever kissed him. And he wanted to marry her for just her intense beauty alone. I'll need to ask her a few things," Zenchu frowned to himself. "If you both are amateurs at dating, you might not get very far right away. That could be good for relationship building, though..."
"I would have to agree on this," Genos nodded. The whole time they were talking, Saitama was just getting madder and madder at each passing second.
"Saitama..." Mitsumi whispered softly. That got him to jump right in front of the push cart to lean down to listen to her ultra-soft whisper. He sighed and shook his head.
"I see. Well...we'll see what happens," he nodded. On looking at Zenchu, he said, "She never kissed him because she never planned to marry him."
"What?" Zenchu blinked.
"He was forcing her hand into marriage. He would have succeeded if he didn't do what he did," Saitama said and now moved to walk again. Zenchu's face darkened, but he kept his anger in check quickly.
"We can get in my car," the important man said.
"We will meet you there," Mitsumi said when she fully woke up from the sunlight. "Inichi will transport us with the three guilty men."
"That I will, Lady Mitsumi," Inichi said when he floated over them.
"Um...oh..." the important man seemed to gape. "Well...let me make another phone call to expect you..."
"Of course. As much as I could tell them with telepathic thought, it will be best for you to make the announcement," Inichi agreed.
"Right..." the important man nodded and made the phone call. After that, he looked at them all. "Okay. You can approach now. They will know to expect you. I'll be there with all the evidence of what happened. We'll clean all this up and get things sorted."
"Good to know," Zenchu said. Inichi was quick to encase his small group in a blue bubble to lift them up and carry them off.
