It was two hours later when movement was heard outside the bedroom door. Saitama and Mitsumi were resting together in the bed with a form of intense relief. The relaxation was what they needed, and he could only sigh that it was coming to an end. At least for now…
"Saitama?" Mitsumi frowned.
"Eh. I hear the others coming back in," he muttered and kissed her.
"I'll need to get fixed back up. I still want to dance for you," she smiled. He rose up a bit on his side to lean a touch over her. She gave a light trace over his arm to feel him shiver. When her fingers reached up to his jaw, he pressed a kiss into her palm before pulling her close to cradle.
"Tomorrow. We are going to stay home," he said.
"And do what?" she mused.
"Whatever we want," he grinned and kissed her passionately. "I love you."
"I love you," she whispered back and got kissed again.
At a knock on the door, he sighed hard and rolled his eyes. "Yes?!"
"Master? Is everything well?" Genos asked.
"I'm fine. We'll be out shortly," Saitama responded.
"Of course. Ah, will Miss Mitsumi need assistance?" he asked now.
"Oh. Yeah. When I leave, she can be seen to. She wanted to dance," Saitama said. He waited a minute before mumbling his irritation on being disturbed, but Mitsumi just chuckled at him and pat his cheek.
"We'll have plenty of time alone again. I just hope I can get some sleep," she said and yawned. Saitama cracked a small grin and ran a hand over her form under the bed sheet before finally forcing himself away. She watched him dress now and could only give out her own form of a sigh.
"Hmm?" he glanced back at her after putting on his boxers.
"You could have had any girl you wanted. You know?" she mused.
"Well, I don't want any other girl. I found her. That's you," he said with a small smile. That got her to blush. "I'll let all the other guys out there have at them. Just not you."
"I love you so much…" she whispered. He was about to put the pants on, but he stopped. Now he tossed them aside to move right back into the bed to sit on it, pull her into his lap and hug her tight. She wrapped her arms around him and let him hold her. He closed his eyes and gave out a heavy sigh of contentment now.
"Five minutes," he muttered and kissed the top of her head. "Just five minutes like this."
"Okay," she said with her own sigh of comfort. She closed her own eyes and pressed herself into him a bit more. "I would really like to see…if we can play games like this. I do love the feeling of you holding me."
"We can do that," he chuckled.
"With your top off?"
"Even better," he grinned and kissed her temple.
"I really do like it when I'm held like this," she said and ran a finger over his muscular arm. He tilted up her face to gently kiss her.
"I'll make sure you can do this a lot more then," he smiled. "Of course, I would want you to, ah…keep your legs uncovered for me."
"Oh?" she giggled at his soft laugh. Now he ran a hand over a leg to give a small, appreciative sound.
"Legs are okay to see by others. Nothing else," he nodded.
"I'm sure Tacki can make me some cute shorts. Even a short skirt or dress for me to wear for you," she mused.
"We can ask her," he muttered and kissed her softly.
"Okay," she whispered and let the kiss get stronger. It was almost at a point that he was ready to ditch the boxers, but there was a knock on the door to interrupt them. He grumbled again before deciding to ignore it and quickly remove his boxers to tackle her.
"Give them ten minutes," Inichi chuckled to Tacki. "They need the extra time. While we wait, let us prepare the area she will dance on outside."
"Oh. There is a sale tomorrow at the grocery store. I'll show this to Master Saitama," Genos said and set the paper aside. "He always likes getting deals."
"Good to know," Zenchu chuckled and looked over when the bedroom door finally opened to show Saitama walking out in his hero garb. "I thought you'd be wearing something else."
"She'll be dancing outside and we don't know who will show up to watch. No chances," Saitama said. Then he saw the grocery paper to snatch it up quickly to review it. "Oh! Hmm. I wanted a day off tomorrow…"
"It's just food shopping. You could always send me," Zenchu shrugged. "Then again, Lady Mitsumi does like to look at a good deal or two. Make it a date for her. It'll be fine."
"Some of the items for sale look pretty good, too. Ah! I'll make her dinner," Saitama grinned and started to circle certain items of interest. Tacki and Kamiko now darted into the bedroom to help Mitsumi get dressed back up. He had just finished figuring out what to get for the sale when Mitsumi came out wearing the silvery blue fan dancing gown again with her hair re-styled back into place with coiffed loops. He looked up to see her testing the fans to flick them out to open wide and then flick back closed with incredible accuracy. His jaw dropped.
"What?" she asked.
"How…did you do that…?" he asked on watching her.
"A few years of practice," she winked. She flicked a fan out again, and it was now that Saitama saw that each fan had small feathers attached to the brims of them. Each main vein of the fan was also dotted with the same crystalline blue color to sparkle and flash in any light. She waved it in front of her like a small wing before flicking it closed.
"Oh!" Genos blinked. "That was unexpected."
"It is," she chuckled. Saitama set aside the paper to rise up now and walk over to her. He pulled her close to kiss her hand that held her engagement ring.
"I take you as my wife…" he whispered.
"I accept you as my husband," she whispered back and got kissed passionately. Then they both looked at the others in the room. "Oh…"
"Did you both just get married?" Fubuki had to ask with a small grin.
"No. It's just something we said we would say to each other each day. Even after it's officially done," Saitama said. "After last night…I wanted it."
"Oh! That's actually a bit romantic," Fubuki chuckled.
"I did have a very odd thought, though," Mitsumi admitted.
"Hmm?" Saitama asked and kissed her forehead.
"That board member. If he knew that our restaurant worked for the Hero Association…why did he still send those men to it?" she frowned.
"It may have been a paid contract that he couldn't back out of," Genos said. "Also, men for hire can be plentiful if one knew where to look. He could always sacrifice them, remove them from a payroll and simply hire new replacements."
"Like a common mafia concept. Ugh!" Fubuki frowned.
"He also didn't think that it would be filled with heroes," Inichi chuckled. "He forgot that I can call anyone for help. And I don't need a cellular phone."
They looked over when Suiryu came in to confront Saitama. They looked at each other calmly, and Suiryu asked, "I start training under you tomorrow?"
"After tomorrow," Saitama nodded.
"You know," Mitsumi mused. "now that I own the building and surrounding land, we could build a small dojo for you…"
"What?!" Saitama blinked. "But…that…that…no!"
"Why? It would also be a place to train our children. Should we have any," she said softly. Now he looked at her with a small smile. "It would be a way for me to teach how to do fan dancing, too."
"Oh…" he now found himself liking the idea.
"I can request for Bane to give information on building concepts," Genos said. "It may also be beneficial to have the dojo on his lands. It can be used for emergency housing."
"Ah! I like that!" Mitsumi beamed.
"I did make an announcement to various heroes that you may be doing a rare art form of fan dancing…" Inichi chuckled.
"What?" Saitama glowered.
"Hmm?" she frowned at him.
"I don't want a lot of people staring at my girl!" he growled.
"Saitama," she smiled and put a quick peck of a kiss to his nose to make him blink and look at her. "I'll be fine. It's a performance. There may be a point in it that you may even be able to walk up to me, too. Inichi can tell you when and guide you. I see fan dancing as…not only art…but a way to show that I don't want to be with any others."
"Hmm…" Saitama frowned. "Fine."
"And if any others show up…we'll have a lot of heroes there…" she grinned. That got him sighing and shaking his head. Now she looked at Suiryu with a small smile. "You are welcome to see about helping to build the possible dojo. It would be easy for Saitama to clear the land."
"Awesome! I'll see if I can find something," he said and moved out the door. Inichi told him who to look for with a quick mental thought.
"I can do it, too," Tatsumaki said from where she stood next to Rendor.
"What are you doing here?" Saitama asked.
"She's with me," Rendor said to remind him.
"Oh," he shrugged. I didn't think he liked them young…
:Ah, Mr. Saitama, remember that she is Miss Fubuki's older sister. She is of age. Mid-twenties, if I recall. I do believe that her intense power has been repressing her proper growth and mental intellect. But I'm not going to voice that to her!: Inichi laughed.
:I really don't want Mitsumi to dance in front of everyone. A lot may think they can get close to her.: Saitama frowned.
:That will not happen. If it does, do you think any of us here would tolerate it?: Inichi now asked calmly. Saitama just sighed and kept his arms around Mitsumi. Then Genos handed him the paper. "Oh!"
"Hmm?" Mitsumi smiled and saw the paper. "Ah! A sale!"
"You like them, too?" Saitama asked.
"I do! It's how I was able to float by on a lot of things," she nodded. "Ooh! Bok Choy is half off?! We need that!"
"The sale is for tomorrow," Saitama grinned and got kissed. "It was suggested as a possible date out."
"Yes! And I can make dinner, too," she beamed.
"Ah…I wanted to make dinner…" he frowned.
"Oh. Then I'll make dinner the next night," she nodded. That got him laughing and hugging her to him even more. "I tend to make dinners in bulk from my days…before. So, I don't mind feeding everyone this way. Orotsu can take a small break!"
"I'll work on dessert," Orotsu chuckled.
"When do you dance?" Saitama asked and let Mitsumi press into him.
"The moon should be quite high in the sky for the best effect," she smiled. "I can dance anywhere, but I want tonight to be special. It will be the first time in three years that I'm doing this again. And I'm doing this for you."
"For me?" he smiled softly. At her nod, he kissed her lovingly and hugged her to him. Then he looked over at Inichi. "How many are showing up?"
"Ah…quite a few from various classes…" Inichi mused.
"Is there seating?" Mitsumi asked.
"That is being worked on," Inichi asked.
"I should help them," Rendor said.
"Fine. Let's go," Tatsumaki nodded.
"Will you let me do anything?" Rendor asked her now.
"Maybe. I haven't decided yet," she said. He sighed, but it was with laughter, too. When they left to start working on seating arrangements, Saitama noticed that it was just getting dark. He now walked outside with her and saw several heroes already out and about to help set up chairs.
"Hey," Lightning Max waved. Saitama nodded to him and paused on seeing Death Gatling there. Stinger was also there next to him with Glasses.
"Hmm…" Saitama frowned, but Mitsumi kissed his cheek to calm him back down. "If any of them approach you and ask you on a date, they get slapped!"
"Darling…" Mitsumi soothed and got a kiss pressed to her mouth.
"Gonna be quite the crowd, eh?" Kamikaze smirked. Then he saw Zenchu setting up a section for chairs. "When are we gonna fight?"
"Let's wait until after Lady Mitsumi's dance," Zenchu said. Then he rose up his clawed hands to block a sword swing. "Or not…"
"Really?" Mitsumi frowned.
"I was just testing him," Kamikaze said. Then he quickly blocked a tail whip. "That isn't fair!"
"Fair? What does that mean?" Zenchu grinned a touch wickedly. They looked over when Tatsumaki started to layer various building stairs around to form a stadium seating with some rubble underneath them. Rendor was calmly telling her where to place them to make them as sturdy as possible.
"Thank you," Rendor nodded.
"Okay. Now what?" she asked.
"I may ask Genos to see if he can provide lighting," Rendor said. "Sometimes moonlight isn't enough. Let's make some places for him to try standing at and for setting up lights."
"Anyways, where were we?" Kamikaze asked to find himself suddenly dodging Zenchu's shadow attacks. "Use the damned claws!"
"Ah, no. I have reasons. And you don't know where they've been!" Zenchu hissed and ducked past several sword swipes.
"I've been smacked around by worse!" the swordsman scowled.
"You sure?" Zenchu asked and pointed at where he tore a cuff in half.
"What?! Hey!" Kamikaze gaped. "You'll pay for that!"
"I can fix it!" Tacki giggled. "Let me know when!"
"Oh. Now, please," Kamikaze sighed. He paused when Fumio darted over with a sewing kit, and Tacki stitched it back up with unmatched skill. "Wow!"
"Thanks! I love to redecorate, clean and mend things," she beamed.
"Huh. Can I bring some stuff to you later?" he asked.
"Sure!" she chuckled and started to trot off.
"Wait," Kamikaze said to her. She tilted her head at him and ruffled her peacock tail. "How did you change again?"
"It was a cursed urn. At least we think it was," she shrugged.
"You know…some curses can be lifted with a kiss…" he mused. Inichi looked over at him and barked out laughter.
"Oh. I never thought of that. I have a beak, though. I can't even wear lipstick," she shrugged again.
"We wish it was that simple," Kamiko chuckled and walked over. "I was transformed by a possible cursed charm. We told you before."
"Blame my short-term memory," he snorted with a small grin.
"Besides, I'm a monster," Tacki said. "What could you possibly see in me? I mean…sure…King is taking a chance with Kianna. I guess Inichi is sort of with Fubuki. But…"
"Oh?" Kamikaze frowned.
"It's okay. Thank you for at least making me smile," she said and turned to walk off again. Mitsumi moved to hug her and give a bit of comfort now to show she was still valued.
"Idiot. Go get her," Kamiko said to Kamikaze now.
"What?" he blinked at her.
"So, were you joking about the kiss?" she asked and crossed her arms over her ample chest.
"Well…not exactly," Kamikaze admitted.
"Then what did you see in her just then? I'm curious now," she chuckled.
"I just…I honestly don't know," he said. "For a moment I saw…something more than just her features."
"You saw the human she once was," Inichi said when he floated over.
"Yeah. I liked it. No one ever knows how to mend clothing. But…you can't even tell that my sleeve was torn. I was impressed," he shrugged.
"That's how she is. She loves to help, repair and clean. She can fly now, too, in that form. As a human, she was flighty and had a wonderful, brilliant character. She doesn't like to feel useless," Inichi said softly. "Reminding her that she may never have a chance at romance…it makes her feel exactly that. Useless."
"Damn it…" Kamikaze grimaced and put his palm in his face. "Screw it. I gotta fix it now."
"Oh?" Kamiko asked.
Kamikaze strode right over to where Tacki was standing by the main apartment door. "Hey…ah…"
"Tacki," she said softly.
"Yeah. Tacki. Look…I'm sorry if I…made you feel weird," he started. Now she started to laugh and shook her head.
"Come here," she said and led him into the apartment. He followed her, and she went to a chest that was designed for easy opening. Leaning down, she took out an old magazine catalog and set it in front of him with her mouth. "I try not to touch it too much. I don't want my fingernails to catch on it. Flip to page five."
"Okay…" Kamikaze said and did just that. "Whoa…who is that?!"
"Me. Before I became this…" she said and looked at the photo of the spunky girl with brown eyes and light brown hair holding brushes, a color wheel and set of color cards. "I loved painting and renovating. Cleaning. I said it before. But…that's who I was."
"And they took a photo of you?" he asked.
"Yeah. I was promoting myself for cleaning large places. It was…also that promotion that…led me to what I am now…" she said softly. "There are times…I still remember. I dream. What it was like before this. And I yearn…to return to that! But…"
"But?" he asked.
"I don't know how…" she shivered. He saw a tear fall from her and he grimaced. "I don't…think…it's possible…so…I try to make…the most of it. And…I'm so grateful…to Lady Mitsumi…for finding me when she did! But…I just don't know…what will become of me now…"
"Sit with me out there," he said. She blinked her brown, bird-like eyes at him. She watched him carefully put away the magazine and followed him at his soft gesture. She found herself sitting next to him, and she blinked when he put an arm around her in a casual way. "What do you do for fun?"
"Um…I clean…" she shrugged.
"You don't fish?"
"No. But I can prep it for cooking."
"Okay…um…do you play games?"
"Not really," she chuckled.
"You're not really giving me anything to work off of…" he started and got her laughing and shaking her head at him.
"What's going on here?" Bane asked and pulled up a seat by Kamikaze.
"Getting to know my new girlfriend," Kamikaze said with a small grin.
"Ah…what?" Tacki looked at him now.
"What she just said!" Bane said with amazement. Inichi was just dying with laughter and was quick to send it to the others.
"Welcome to the club," King said and sat with them now with Kianna on his arm. "It's not that bad at all, eh?"
"Tacki actually loves to make new outfits," Kianna grinned. "She made Saitama's new outfit. As well as Lady Mitsumi's, too."
"Really?!" Kamikaze said.
"Yeah. I get a good creative streak," Tacki nodded. "Kamiko helps get me the measurements. We both pick out materials and make the clothing."
"Lady Mitsumi will need new clothes for the summer. She was thinking of shorts, short skirts and short skirt dresses," Inichi said to her now.
"Oh! I'll get started on it-!" Tacki said and got gently pushed back down by Kamikaze's arm around her. "Oh. Okay. I'll start it later."
"Thanks," Kamikaze nodded and watched Zenchu walk over now.
"I see everyone here as family. If you want to date her, I'm cool with it. But the moment she says something's wrong, I won't spar with you in a friendly way. Just the big brother talking here," Zenchu warned.
"Point made. I would do the same thing," Kamikaze nodded and chewed the stick in his mouth. Now they looked around to see that the place was filling up with heroes that wanted to see the event. To their surprise, Sweet Mask even showed up. He was now walking over to Inichi with a folder tucked under his arm.
"New script?" Inichi mused.
"You could say that," Sweet Mask said and handed it over.
"Hmm…" Inichi mused and flipped through the pages. "Ah…hmm. Did the one who wrote this do art?"
"Not that I'm aware of," Sweet Mask shrugged.
"He should go back to drawing stick figures massacring each other instead of butchering precious lines of literature," Inichi muttered to get Sweet Mask coughing out laughter. "This is a pirate scene. Pirates do not go 'to a toilet'. It's known as a head. Even over the railing when at sea does the same thing. Does the writer even do a little thing called research?! They do not get thrown in jail on a ship. It's called a brig. Sweet Mask, please tell me you read this!"
"I did…" he cringed.
"And you still brought it to me? Why? Do you want me to lose what brain cells I thought I already lacked in comparison to my transformation?" Inichi asked to get Sweet Mask in tears of laughter. "At this rate, I fear I may have to write all of your scripts! Again! And what is this short-handed garbage? Look. Page three. How does the hero cross the deck and then suddenly appear below the deck?! The audience loves details! Details do not allow plot holes!"
"I am aware…" Sweet Mask agreed.
"Is the main character a magician, too?" Inichi asked to get Sweet Mask laughing to a point that he had to sit on the ground from it. "Page six! He climbs up the ladder with both hands and suddenly produces a bouquet of flowers to his love. How? The flowers are not mentioned where on his body they are from, how they were retrieved…"
"I get it!" Sweet Mask finally begged out while laughing.
"If Mr. Saitama makes the dojo a true thing, I may have to require a proper writing course to re-teach half of these 'writers' that have absolutely no concept of proper plot creation! They lack even the most common of basics! Final scene is a sword fight. What the hell is a pirate doing with a claymore?! A sword like that is non-existent in this era! Use a dagger! A cutlass! A claymore is for a knight! Sweet Mask, stop hiring idiots to write for you! My mind feels like it's on the verge of collapse!" Inichi groaned.
"I just…had to show you…what I had to work with…when you were gone…" Sweet Mask finally admitted. Inichi smacked his face with his small hand for the classic face palm.
"So you put me through your hell now?" Inichi asked to get Sweet Mask laughing again. "I love you like my dearest of kin. And you always know how to piss me off with crap writing like this! Stop laughing!"
"I can't…!" Sweet Mask seemed to groan out his answer and wipe tears away from laughing so hard. "Wait. Where are you going with that?!"
"I'm going to ask Genos to incinerate this rubbish," Inichi said.
"No! I still need it! I mean…please. Just…help me with it?" Sweet Mask asked now. Inichi sighed and muttered softly.
"I feel like a school teacher about to deliver an F Minus to this ridiculous writer!" Inichi sighed hard. "I finished your other script and sent it back with the toilet paper."
"Ah…yes…I did get it. Yes. You definitely fixed it and shamed the writer of the, ah…other script…" Sweet Mask said and finally managed to stand up.
"Very well. I'll do the same thing with this one. I suppose…" Inichi rolled his red eyes. "Ah. The dance is going to start. Find a seat. I need to help Lady Mitsumi with this. You'll see why. And take this back for now."
"Right," Sweet Mask said and took the folder back. As the moon rose up in the sky, Saitama was calmly watching things with Mitsumi from the rooftop of the apartment building. He had run up it with her to have a bit of alone time away from the others for a few minutes.
"The moon is almost ready. I'll need you to take me back down. Okay?" Mitsumi smiled. He nodded and kissed her passionately.
"Okay. Where do I sit?" he asked.
"Front row seat. Zenchu will help you," she smiled. He nodded and took her back down the building to finally watch her dance. And she'll be dancing for me.
