As they rounded the corner, people were already fleeing the scene. Buildings were damaged quite badly, and Mitsumi could only gasp at what was being done. "We need to look for survivors!"
"I shall assist!" Inichi nodded. Zenchu nodded to Saitama and ran off to merge with the shadows to search even faster. Rendor was about to head off, but Tatsumaki pat him on the head for attention. Then she simply lifted up the rubble with a light thought to move it elsewhere. Inichi and Fubuki were now able to pick through various areas and move whoever Zenchu brought over. Genos worked to scan for any heat signatures to point out where others were trapped.
Only after the area was fully cleared out did the monster fully show itself. It resembled a large purple ball with a massive, blood-red eye in the center. A giant mouth filled with teeth was next to be revealed. Small tentacles protruded from it in the form of eyes and other mouths. Four tiny, clawed hands for movement stood it upright to regard them.
"Oh. You were never human," Mitsumi frowned. The monster just blinked at her. The heroes regrouped with the monster family, and Saitama calmly gave Mitsumi over to Zenchu to protect her.
"If you don't kill it, then I'll do it," Tatsumaki sniffed.
"I think he'll kill it," Zenchu smirked.
"We'll see," she stuck out her tongue. Rendor only chuckled and watched Saitama get slammed down on the moment he stood in front of it. Then the monster got ripped in half when he punched straight through it.
"It's dead," Zenchu grimaced. "Very dead."
"Hmm…" Mitsumi mused and Inichi found himself laughing like crazy.
"What?" Saitama asked and pulled her back into his arms. "And whatever Genos sprayed on this costume is amazing! Nothing sticks to it!"
"I wonder if those monster tentacles would be good to serve as food," Mitsumi said. Now the others with her looked at her like she was crazy. "Not for us, of course. I meant for my sister."
"Ah…well…hmm…" Zenchu actually found himself curious.
"She always considered herself a gourmet. I want to know how much so," Mitsumi grinned slightly. "It can be served to her if she doesn't want to answer questions. After a time, she always screamed to have something to eat or nothing would get done."
Inichi now thought to Sweet Mask on the whole thing. Sweet Mask was definitely appalled. But he was also very curious. :Okay. I need to know, too. Can that be harvested? I can always say that we cannot feed her something good if she continues to lie and berate us. It's what she's doing, anyways.:
Zenchu moved up to the dead monster and used his claws to hack off several eye and mouth tentacles. They clearly weren't moving anymore, but Inichi was quick to send them off in a small bubble to let them get cooked in their entire disgusting splendor. Five minutes later Inichi burst into laughter at the response. He regarded them and said, "It appears that your sister is not the gourmet you thought she was. She took one look at it and, ah, vomited."
"Ah. Well maybe she lost some weight," Mitsumi shrugged to get them laughing. "And if it only took a few of those things to make her ill, I wonder what some of the entrails would do…"
"That is gross," Saitama grimaced.
"My family is nothing short of a bunch of monstrosities. Why not feed them what they are?" Mitsumi asked calmly. "Zenchu, do you think you can harvest all of the major organs from that?"
"Lady Mitsumi…really?" Zenchu winced.
"They put me through hell. They should get a taste of it back when they get caught," she said. "In fact, we should just feed them monster parts from this point forward. If it turns them into monsters, then they can get killed off by the heroes."
"That's…actually…huh…" Fubuki rolled the thought around in her mind.
"Wait…" Inichi now looked at Mitsumi when a thought came through. "What…did they…?"
"Mitsumi?" Saitama asked.
"There was a lot that they did to me after Father died," she swallowed. "It was…another reason I left them."
"They fed you…" Inichi glowered.
"What was it?" Zenchu asked.
"Pet food. Various kinds. Not true meals at all. They treated her like an animal. A mere pet in the home. As much as pets are regarded and cherished, they simply wanted her to know her true place in their eyes. A lowly animal kept out of kindness," Inichi growled. Fubuki's jaw dropped. Even her sister was in shock.
"That…how does one gain any form of proper nourishment?! Much less the respect of their own family?" Genos asked with complete confusion.
"After three days of not eating, I snuck out and managed to eat properly. Then I started to stockpile my own food in secret," Mitsumi shivered. "I sent back every bit of what that family gave me to their kitchens. They knew I was likely hoarding food after that, but Father was always resourceful. There was a space under my bed that lifted up into a hidden storage shelf. It had refrigeration, cubby holes…everything. They had no idea. I simply stopped showing up to family events and meals. Why be with those that wanted me dead much less refuse to feed me the same things they ate?"
"I'm going to see if I can shred this thing down into tiny pieces!" Zenchu hissed and launched at the carcass. He had to vent out some rage and this was the perfect opportunity. Saitama was deep in thought now.
"How long did this go on for?" he finally asked.
"Half a year. Before Ajito approached me," she trembled. He scooped her up in his arms and carried her right back to Neutral Grounds. Inichi had sent the whole discussion to Sweet Mask. He was livid.
:You were right. Blizzard of Hell was right. There are worst monsters out there than true monsters. Send me every part of that thing. We can disguise it to look like anything. As for taste? We'll leave that up to the family. I want to send them gift boxes of this stuff…: Sweet Mask smirked.
:And should they become monsters themselves?: Inichi asked.
:That's why I want it done. Monsters will appear as monsters. That's where heroes come in to squash them out. Granted…some monsters…don't deserve to be called monsters.: Sweet Mask said in a soft, mental tone.
:And for that, my friend, I thank you.: Inichi said with utmost respect.
:Oh. There's another script heading your way from another writer…: Sweet Mask mused. Inichi laughed softly.
:If I have to send it back with a fecal stain on each page, I shall do so.: Inichi grinned mentally to get Sweet Mask laughing hard. When he looked at the carcass, he saw that it was broken down into various parts, bits and pieces. All of it was sent to the Hero Academy with Sweet Mask's approval. Now the small group was able to head back to the restaurant.
"Saitama…" Mitsumi sighed when he was insisting on feeding her again.
"After what I just learned about this part of your past, I feel a need to make sure you eat very well," he muttered.
"Oh, I ate much better than them. I look nothing like them at all," she chuckled and let him feed her a piece of Wagyu beef. "I had a much healthier lifestyle. You saw my sister! The others are either too buff or far too thin. I don't need to look like the others."
"More Peking duck, please," Saitama said to Orotsu.
"Of course! I'll de-bone it, too," Orotsu nodded. "I will also add some fresh vegetables with a light honey glaze."
"Thanks," Saitama nodded and pressed a kiss to Mitsumi's forehead. "I knew I had it rough. But…"
"I know. There really wasn't much I could do about it," she frowned.
"No more of that," he muttered and let her press into him. "After we finish here, I want to head home."
"How much longer?" she asked.
"Ten minutes," he said. She nodded and got pulled even more into him to show how protective he was now.
"The association now has a specialty stock of meat," Zenchu snorted and sat with them. "And it will happen again with each true monster kill."
"Really?" Saitama smirked.
"For people like her family? Definitely," Zenchu growled.
"We are just feeding them what they are. It's what they did to me," she shrugged. Saitama's face mildly darkened at the thought.
"I need to take you home. We can have Inichi send over what's left of our meal. Again," Saitama said and lifted her up in his arms.
"What's going on?" Bane asked.
"Genos can tell you," Saitama muttered and was quick to leave with her.
"Saitama!" Mitsumi frowned. She realized he was soon running with her to get home as quickly as possible. She pressed her face into his neck now and found herself settling into his lap on the couch a moment later with the door closing behind them. "You run fast."
"I know," he nodded and turned to glare at the door when it opened again. Zenchu just nodded, closed the door again and moved to lay back on the long couch. Then he had his tail move a small ottoman over for Saitama to put his booted feet on to relax more. "Thanks."
"Yep," Zenchu nodded and watched whatever Saitama turned on for the television. "Need drinks?"
"Nope," he said and watched the blue bubbles containing their leftover food move into the kitchen from a purposely opened window. "We'll have that later."
"Okay," Zenchu said and sighed with contentment.
"Saitama?" Mitsumi asked softly.
"Yes?" he looked at her.
"What's going on in that mind of yours? I want you to tell me," she said.
"Well…" he sighed and squeezed her to show he had no fault with her. "I love you terribly. More than I…ever thought possible. And every time I think I've heard everything about you…I haven't. Being rich? Eh. I don't care about that. But how you were treated by your own family? That's what pisses me off. I think I really hate politics now."
"I see. And…yeah. I always hated politics. It's why I did everything I could to stay out of it," she frowned. Zenchu was mildly listening, but he was completely relaxed. He knew they needed to talk.
"So…" Saitama said and lowered the volume to the television. "I want you to tell me if there was anything else that you need to tell me. I need to know."
"Should we go back after?"
"No. I wanted today to be our day off. As I was sort of forced to work today, we will take the rest of today off including tomorrow," he said with a light smile. She blushed and got pulled up a bit more to rest on him easier. He kissed her forehead and muttered, "Please. Talk to me now."
"Right after Father died. That was when things changed. A month before he died, he told me that…things were happening. He showed me the new will. The deed to the home. He said he had things planned several months out when he was on 'business trips'. He knew people that he trusted with his own life. They helped him out. Then he had them hide away to keep Mother from finding them. Do I know who they are? I don't," she admitted. "Father used money easily to help them hide without a trace."
"Would they come out if we asked around?" Zenchu asked.
"I don't think so," she frowned. "If she was caught? Then yes. They would come out. They'll know she isn't a threat anymore. It's while she's free. It's…funny. Now that I think about it."
"Hmm?" Saitama gazed at her.
"The whole reason for me to mildly come out of hiding with my new family was to gain acceptance with them. For them to not be afraid. To prove that we could have a normal life at last. I never expected…the same to be with me," she swallowed. "Much less freed from a madman and a family that wants me dead."
"The moment we killed him, they came out to find you. That's their fault," Saitama said calmly. "So, we'll just pick them off."
"When Father died…I was given a very bad set of cards," she sighed.
"Nope. You got the perfect set. You drew the Wild card. That's me," Saitama grinned and kissed her heavily now. "You can play me against any card that gets thrown at you from this point forward."
"Flirt," she chuckled and got kissed again.
"Only for you," he mumbled in the kiss and growled when his phone rang.
"I'll answer it," Zenchu grinned and caught it when Saitama tossed it to him. "Hello? Who's this?"
"I need to speak with Mitsumi!" a commanding female voice said loud enough to be heard without the speaker.
"Uh. No. This isn't even her phone. It's her fiancée's phone. He's busy making out with her, so they're both busy," Zenchu snorted.
"That sounds like my mother…" Mitsumi frowned.
"Speaker," Saitama said quickly. Zenchu did so and held it out. "Hey. Leave Mitsumi out of your plans. If you don't, I'll have to find you and punch you. You may see me as the hero 'Caped Baldy' in the rosters. There's a new roster out now for S class if you are looking at the one from last week."
"What? She's marrying a B class?!" the woman laughed out.
"Yeah, you didn't hear me. Look at the Hero Academy site for S class heroes. Again," Saitama said with an edge in his tone. Now there was dead silence. "Good. Don't. Cross. Me. We already got your other daughter. I know you want Mitsumi dead. I know about her father. I know you killed him."
:Inichi! That fat bitch of a mother is on the phone!: Zenchu hissed out.
:I'm tracking for her now! See if you can find out where the others are!: Inichi said quickly.
"So, where's the rest of the family? Holed up in the big house?" Zenchu baited. "Hiding like a bunch of rats?"
"You'll never know where they are! And what proof do you have about Etsuji's death?! You have nothing!" the woman growled.
"You didn't deny that you killed him," Mitsumi said loud enough to be heard. "Atsuko didn't give Father the tea that night, either. You did. The poison was in that cup. But it's okay. Father gave me the deed to the house. All I have to do is run you and the others out. You want it? Come and find me. I dare you!"
"I do have a question for you, though," Saitama said calmly. "Why did you feed Mitsumi pet food for several months?"
"I don't have to answer that!" the woman snapped.
"Yes. You do. Because if you don't, I'm going to find you. I'll get my answers from you directly. You have a LOT of enemies now in the Hero Association. You will be found, caught and strung up faster than you can blink!" Saitama spat out. That got her to gasp and quickly hang up the call.
:She is in City L!: Inichi told them all.
:We will not go after her. I want her to come to us. She will send her children first. Only when she has no more to send out will she come after us herself. As we know where she is, we can start to box her in.: Saitama smirked.
"Wait. City L?" Mitsumi frowned. "No…it can't be…"
"Mitsumi? What are you remembering?" Saitama frowned and sat up a bit to hug her. "Tell me."
"Father…he had a house out there…his own private retreat. It was also the most secured house he had. Just enough for us for when things went bad. I think the main house is abandoned now," she thought hard.
"Oh?" Saitama mused. "You think we can walk in and claim it?"
"I still don't think it's that simple. I'd rather have it inspected first. I know Metal Knight was to help find the files, but I don't know what is there in full. I don't know the state of what the house is in, either. As it is, I want to start decorating our home here. Build it up. Expand rooms and such. Now that I know I can use my emergency reserves, I want to…sort of spoil you," she grinned at Saitama. Now he looked at her with surprise.
"Spoil me?" he asked.
"Yes. I've lived in a form of luxury. You haven't. We'll still be simple on things. But…certain things I think we can…explore," she mused and traced a finger along his jaw.
"Such as?" he found himself grinning.
"A bigger tub maybe. A larger bed. A massive television screen to play some games on," she giggled and got kissed heavily by him. "Of course, we may need to build some rooms for children…"
"True," he nodded.
"But…is there anything you would want?" she asked.
"Huh. I never thought of that," he frowned. "I was just…happy to get what I was able to get. I never bothered with extra stuff."
"Oh. Well…was there anything you think you would want?" she asked.
"I have everything I need. Right here," he said and kissed her softly.
"Saitama…" she blushed. Just as he kissed her again, his phone rang again. Now he was starting to get pissed.
"I'm going to break it," he growled.
"Let me take it," Zenchu said and answered it. "Hello? Eh…no. He doesn't want to talk to you. He's busy fucking your sister."
"What?!" Saitama gaped when Mitsumi burst into sharp peals of laughter. "Why did you say that?!"
"Because you plan to do it anyways," Zenchu grinned widely. "Oh. You're still there. Well, tell me who you are. Fumihiro? Ah. Youngest brother? Well…if you really say that you stuck up for your sister, why did you let your mother feed her pet food?"
"Fumihiro? Ugh. No thanks. His idea of sticking up for me is shrugging and walking away," Mitsumi frowned. "He never cared about me at all."
"You hear that? Oh. He hung up," Zenchu set the phone down and stretched himself out. "Maybe you should change your number?"
"I doubt it will work. I may as well destroy it and let those that really need me reach out to Inichi. He can decide if I need to be reached or not," Saitama mused and yawned. "I think I can finish off that meal, though."
"I'll go heat it up lightly," Zenchu nodded and got up to do just that.
"What should we do tonight?" Saitama asked and kissed her forehead when she cuddled into him.
"I wanted to dance for you," she smiled.
"So you did! Okay. We can plan for that. I'm sure the others will be here shortly. We might have a couple hours alone," he thought.
"Just about," Zenchu agreed and brought over the heated meals for them. Saitama rose up the volume on the television and sat up with Mitsumi to finish eating. Right after that, he pulled her close to let her snuggle into him. Now he looked at her when she started to play with the zipper on the front of his tunic.
"What are you doing?" he grinned lightly at her.
"Wondering why you have this here," she mused.
"It's decoration."
"You should hang a charm off of it. The hole in the zipper is large enough."
"Ah…no."
"Why not? It would look so cute with a little stuffed bunny keychain!"
"No," he said with a slightly larger grin.
"Then why even have this on to begin with?" she asked with a small smile of her own. Saitama gave a small, playful growl before lifting her up to carry her into the bedroom and kick the door closed. Zenchu just grinned and had his tail grab the remote to start browsing what channels were on to calmly wait out the time.
