Saitama and Mitsumi seated themselves in the main front line of the arena seating. The moment he got comfortable with her, Overgrown Rover trotted over and climbed right onto them to snuggle down.
"Damn it…" he sighed. "It's gonna do this all the time now!"
"I'm fine with it," Mitsumi smiled and scratched under the monster dog's chin to lull it into complete comforting submission. All six eyes half-closed from the affectionate scratching. It never had this before and likely would never tire from it at all. On gazing at other family, friends and heroes moving to settle in other seating, she lost herself in thought and sighed sadly.
"Hey. What's going on?" Saitama asked and gently squeezed her.
"Just…can't believe the dream I had…" she frowned. Overgrown Rover sensed that something was wrong and gave a small whine. It nudged her to snuggle into her neck. Then it exposed its belly to get a loving belly rub to sigh with complete delight. It even let its tongue hang out to make her giggle at it.
"That's my job!" Saitama said to get her laughing softly. "Maybe I should have left you where you were if you're gonna do this…"
The monster dog huffed and licked his cheek to get him scowling. That got her laughing at the whole thing. Black Sperm was soon pulling itself up into a chair next to them to sit back and watch everything curiously. She reached over to gently scratch its back to get it swooning from the attention.
"Different," it muttered. "I like different."
"That we all do," Zenchu chuckled. "Hmm. Wind Crane isn't here? I thought she'd want to see this. I need to check on her."
"Let me know if she needs us," Mitsumi said. He nodded and was quick to move to the housing that held her nest. He found her huddled into it and trembling. Was she in pain? What's going on?
"Babe? Is something wrong?" Zenchu asked. She looked at him and tucked her head under her wing to shiver again. "Ah…yeah…something's wrong…"
"I was sent over!" Kamiko said and gently checked Wind Crane. "Oh…"
"What?!" Zenchu asked.
"She's…getting ready to lay an egg…!" Kamiko gasped. "You! Leave! I'll help her! You'll fluster her!"
"Shit!" Zenchu hissed. "I…okay. Let me know if you need me."
Wind Crane looked over at Zenchu with a sigh, but he nodded to her to show he understood. She did stretch her neck out to let him run a hand over her beak before watching her tuck her head back under her wing. Sighing hard, he nodded to Kamiko and made his way back to the others.
"I have just learned that Wind Crane is in her nest. She is readying herself to start egg laying," Inichi frowned from where he hovered over Mitsumi.
"Wind Crane is going to lay an egg?!" Mitsumi asked with shock. "Do I need to help her, too?"
"Kamiko is with her," Inichi said to assure her. "I'll keep watch over Kamiko's thoughts. I will not intervene with Wind Crane unless she contacts me directly. And, Zenchu, calm down. Things will be fine. In fact, I'll move you closer to Lady Mitsumi. She can help you focus."
"Says you!" Zenchu grunted and paused at Mitsumi's gentle touch to his arm. He winced and sat down next to her to let her rest a hand on his shoulder. Then he paused at the sloppy lick he got from Overgrown Rover. "That's gross. But thanks for that."
"Do that again!" Saitama grinned to get Zenchu stammering with shock at the next few rounds of sloppy licks he was given. He wiped off his face and scowled before sighing at Mitsumi's soft giggles at him.
"Here. This might help you, too," Fumio said and gave him one of the white flowers that started to line the arena now. Zenchu took it and breathed in the scent to further calm down.
"I'll be fine," Zenchu muttered. Garou was now walking over to sit by him with Lily in his lap to show his own form of silent support and concern.
"Gonna be a dad before us, eh?" Kamikaze chuckled from where he sat nearby. Tacki was in his lap and listening in.
"Not just yet. The egg will have to hatch first. Or eggs," Tacki said with a nod. "Kamiko will know what to do. I can make heating blankets, too, if the nest needs it. We'll ensure the nest is fully guarded. Hmm. I should work on those blankets now. They'll be good to have, anyways."
"I want the nest moved underground," Zenchu said. "Or we make extremely limited access to the entrance of it. Right now, anyone can walk in. I don't like that at all."
"I…could help…" Black Sperm said.
"Ah! That's right! You can clone yourself!" Mitsumi beamed. "That would be amazing if you can help us! We get so many that just think they can get in. It can be damaging all over. If you want to help, then that is perfectly fine. Just don't tax yourself, okay?"
"As she said," Saitama nodded. "Hmm. You can get into a lot of different places, too, eh?"
"Maybe," Black Sperm nodded.
"A small mission, then," Saitama smiled to get its attention. "Can you make a clone to scout over City Z? Whatever is truly abandoned, we may want to purchase it. We need lots of land. We want to move a lake here. Five miles of land and lake. Maybe more than that. You can report to Inichi on what is found. Can you do that?"
"Yes!" Black Sperm beamed at him.
"Thank you so much!" Mitsumi giggled to get it beaming even more at the appreciation. "I want this whole area to be safe for family and friends. Anything you can help with is always appreciated."
It seemed to puff up with pride and jumped off the chair to focus. Five small offshoots of itself appeared and formed before running off in different directions. Nodding at that, it climbed back up into the chair and said, "That should do. Will wait and see."
"Thank you," Mitsumi said again. Overgrown Rover huffed and nuzzled into her chin for attention. It was rewarded with a hug and more back scratches for the effort. Saitama was clearly not happy. She looked at him and laughed before asking, "What is it?"
"My dog is not supposed to replace me for snuggles," Saitama muttered.
"Aww. I can snuggle both of you!" she grinned.
"No. I don't like to share!" he said with a stern shake of his head.
"It was neglected for two weeks! I'm just helping make up for lost time," she said to get him looking at her with disbelief. "And I'm glad you have pet monsters. Any other pets would have been critically hurt. So, monsters are always good pets. Right, Zenchu?"
"Ah…" Zenchu started and glared at Garou's laughing form. "Shut up."
"Well, I always said that Zenchu was a pet monster," Saitama said.
"Not funny!" Zenchu scowled.
"I made the same comment," Fubuki grinned lightly.
"I will have Inichi get you back later for me," Zenchu snorted to get her barking out laughter at the thought. He sighed and pulled up the flower to relax in its soft fragrance. Overgrown Rover turned to see the flower and tilted its head with curiosity. It leaned over now to sniff it and paused.
"Hmm…" Inichi mused and studied the monster dog's thoughts. "Oh? How interesting! It knows the scent…"
"Did it find the flowers before?" Fumio asked when he walked over to sit with them. Black Sperm moved to sit in his lap and enjoyed a back scratch. Fumio was clearly treating it like a pet, and it didn't mind in the slightest.
"It appears so. It ran off when ordered to attack Mr. Saitama. After it fled, it didn't know where to go. It was only a few hours, but it stumbled onto the field. The flowers calmed it down to a point that it realized it wanted to be with Mr. Saitama. Right now, that scent is telling it to guard Mr. Saitama and his home. This includes his family. Us. And it completely adores Lady Mitsumi!" he chuckled and sent a waving sensation of affectionate approval to it to stun it even further. He knew it never had such a sensation before, and it further strengthened the bond to serve and protect the family.
"Such a good puppy!" Mitsumi said and saw it blink all six eyes before looking at her. Then she squealed when it started to lick her face non-stop. Then it saw Saitama and lunged over to lick his face.
"Hey!" he said and laughed. "Eh…monster drool. Gross."
"Well, it clearly missed you," Mitsumi smiled and laughed again when it reclined on them both before rolling onto its back for belly scratches. Saitama was letting it rest its head on him for his arms to hold it, and its back end was stretched across Mitsumi's lap with its rump aimed at Zenchu. At the odd sound that came from it now, Zenchu pinched his nose shut.
"That little shit farted! On me!" Zenchu said to get them all dying with laughter. "What the hell?!"
"I approve," Saitama nodded to get Mitsumi in tears of laughter. At the sight of Garou and Lily coughing and holding their noses on being by Zenchu, she laughed even harder. Now Saitama looked at her. "Mitsumi! Breathe!"
"Trying…" she whispered out and laughed when Overgrown Rover licked her face again to help out.
"Well, what do you expect from belly rubs?" Tacki asked while stitching up a large blanket for Wind Crane's nest.
"I can't comment…" Kamikaze grimaced to get her looking at him.
"Oh, stop!" Tacki scolded while the others started laughing again. "You always rub at my belly when I feel sick and stuff. I can't help what that does."
"Maybe I can change your diet…" he mused and grinned at her small glare.
"With what you feed me? Doubtful!" she smirked to get him glaring back at her with amusement.
"Always did that," Black Sperm said with a nod. "Liked it. Crowd of others. Runs through them. Bad smell."
"That thing would crop dust?" Zenchu blinked.
"Yes," Black Sperm grinned. "None complained."
"Everyone else was a squeak toy to it. Of course, they can't complain," Garou chuckled. "And you were stuck with it in a room for two weeks!"
"No food. No smell," Black Sperm said to get them all laughing again.
"Hang out with Zenchu after each meal," Saitama said to the monster dog to keep the laughter going. "Actually, you know what? You're coming with me to tomorrow's assessment! If anyone insults, you fart on them."
"Oh no!" Mitsumi cringed and laughed again with the others.
"I can totally see that happening," Zenchu said.
"Hmm. I could make a fake leash for it," Tacki mused. "They'll think it's under control, but it will only obey Saitama."
"I could see a pretty jeweled collar," Mitsumi beamed and gave another belly rub to the monster dog. "Would our puppy like a pretty collar? With sparkles and pretty images?"
"Hmm…" Inichi focused to mentally ask it directly. "It wants to know why. Why should that be?"
"It shows you're my dog. If anyone complains, I'll handle it," Saitama said. It blinked all six eyes at the answer and looked at Saitama before licking his face. "I guess…yeah?"
"It does agree," Inichi chuckled. "Ah. It would like to have one of the flowers in the collar. May I suggest a silk one with the scent?"
"Yep! We can do that," Tacki said. "Oh. Honey, you said the dog was bigger before, right? Can it still change size?"
"Not sure," Kamikaze shrugged.
"Hmm…" Mitsumi seemed to smile at an idea and looked at Inichi. "Please relay what I plan to ask. So, puppy, can you make yourself really small to fit in my arms? Then, if we get attacked, you can grow bigger and scare off others?"
Overgrown Rover thought about what was asked before jumping down from the laps of its owners. It focused and shivered before shrinking down a bit more to be lap dog size. Then it trotted up and jumped into her lap to snuggle her with small licks. Now Saitama mused at something and leaned over to whisper softly. The now tiny monster dog jumped down and bolted around and under chairs, people and tables. Then it jumped back up to settle in Mitsumi's lap.
"What…is that smell…?!" King blinked.
"Saitama! Did you get it to run around and…?!" Kianna gasped and coughed at the stench. Zenchu was dying with laughter now at the whole thing.
"I really hope this doesn't affect the food!" Anno grimaced and had Takeda quickly start to fan the air clear of the offending odor. Orotsu had to pause in his cooking to laugh at the whole thing. Suiryu had to make sure he didn't step in anything before getting back to work on some rice.
"I wanted to see if it worked," Saitama nodded and grinned at the face licks he got now. "Such a good doggy!"
"More food. Bigger stink!" Black Sperm grinned a touch wickedly. "Oh. Can do more."
"Really? Like what?" Mitsumi asked.
"Balls of…um…energy. Spits," Black Sperm said.
"I think I saw that," Garou said. "But…it hasn't since Saitama hit it."
"Eh…I don't think it has to go that far anymore," Saitama shrugged.
"Hmm. I actually don't think it needs to on being this size. You'd think it would need to be a giant size to harness all that inner energy," Mitsumi said thoughtfully. "Being this size, well…there's no need for it."
"It has balls of gas instead," Bane said to get the others agreeing.
"I have an idea," Inichi said. "Let us see what Iwasaki can do. After that, we shall test if Overgrown Rover can become full size again to attack the training target. If it agrees. And…ah! It does."
"Okay," Saitama nodded and found his hands full with a squirming monster dog licking his face again. "I get it! Yes. You're a very good doggy. I'm very happy with you. Keep doing good."
It jumped down to grow larger again to rejoin them and lay over them both. It was quite content this way, and Zenchu didn't like how it kept its rump aimed in his direction. After another minute of waiting for Iwasaki, Zenchu finally stood up and said, "I'm standing behind you. That dog reeks!"
"Did it fart again?" Saitama asked neutrally.
"Yes. It did…" Garou winced and coughed before moving with Lily to the other side of Saitama. Fumio was laughing hard at the whole thing. Black Sperm just shrugged as this was a normal thing it was used to.
"Odd how I don't really smell anything. The wind is also in our favor, so it may be carrying everything away from us," Mitsumi chuckled and got her cheek licked. "You're such a good puppy! Yes, you are!"
It huffed, snuggled into her and whined for more attention. Saitama was clearly getting grumbly over it before he found himself blocking the onslaught of face licks. "Okay! Okay! Fine! Just remember that she's my wife, okay?"
It looked at him and blinked all six eyes before snuggling into them both happily. When Suiryu walked over with a plate of appetizers, the monster dog gave a small growl in warning. Mitsumi sighed and said, "He is Saitama's disciple. Please be tolerant. He is learning to be better."
Overgrown Rover looked at her and sighed before rolling over for more belly rubs. Then Saitama looked at it and said, "If you wanna chase him later when he's running, you can. Only on our land, though."
"Master?!" Suiryu gaped.
"I told you that things were gonna amp up. Get ready for it," Saitama nodded and plucked up a small sausage roll. "It won't hurt you. Just run you around in circles for a bit. Get used to it."
Overgrown Rover snorted and stretched out to snag a small roll for itself. Then it sighed and rested its head on its forearms while watching the others calmly. A small growl of appreciation escaped it when Mitsumi scratched along the top of its head. It was clearly happy and content.
"Flashy Flash, you have my skin?" Iwasaki asked when she stepped out of the main apartment building in her monster form.
"I do," he nodded to show the filled felt bag. "Your clothes are in here, too. Everything is safe."
"Okay," she said and stretched out her wings before following him to the arena. On approaching the others now, Overgrown Rover perked up and sniffed.
"She is family," Mitsumi whispered and continued to comfort the monster dog. "A different type of monster. I'm sure you saw the visions from Inichi. She was tricked into becoming what she is now. She is good. There are other good ones out there like her. We want to help free them. Be kind to them. If there are bad ones, my fans will tell you. Okay?"
It whined and looked at her before licking her cheek gently with understanding. She hugged it and sighed to show she knew how it felt about it. Zenchu watched Iwasaki line herself up with the metal target pole to size it up. Genos moved to ensure it could withstand just enough damage.
"Aim towards the top to avoid building damage," Genos instructed. "We shall assess from the sides. Ready?"
"Yes," Iwasaki nodded.
"Child Emperor is watching from a live feed. So is Metal Knight," Inichi confirmed and saw the bird monster brace herself before letting out a shimmery blast of bright, fiery light.
"If that's not a light attack, then I don't know what is," Kamikaze chuckled. "Not bad at all, eh?"
"It looks like it could easily do a bit of damage," Bane mused on how the top of the training rod was melted away.
"I'd have her hit me with it, but…" Saitama mused.
"It won't do anything, dear," Mitsumi smiled and let him kiss her forehead. Then he rested a hand over her belly. Overgrown Rover studied his hand and licked it before moving to press into his hand while it was on her belly.
:It knows?: Zenchu looked at Inichi.
:Oh, yes. It definitely knows!: Inichi agreed. :It already plans to stand watch over any children that arrive.:
Zenchu nodded at that and watched Iwasaki walk over now. She nodded her head and said, "I think…after seeing that…I may want to stay as I am. As much as I want to be cured, just knowing that I may be an elemental monster like Zenchu…I think it's needed."
"I can agree!" Mitsumi chuckled. "If another light monster appears, then you can still make the call to be cured. We're not forcing you, but we still would like to see who else would like to be cured of being a Secret Skins."
"I know. I think we may see them appear in a couple days. Oh! That reminds me! A few may show up to the assessment tomorrow. I told them to wave at me to show that they want to be cured. They'll reveal themselves this way, too. I'd like to have them moved to a private area away from any bad ones that show up. Can that happen?"
"It can. And it will. I just relayed the information to Sweet Mask," Inichi agreed. "Go and change back, should you feel the need."
"I think I'll stay like this for now," Iwasaki bobbed her head. Then she swiveled her head with alarm. "Wind Crane! She's…!"
"Ugh!" Zenchu winced and found himself shadow phasing to just outside the structure around her nest. He fought himself on going in to see her.
:ZENCHU. COME HERE.:
"Wind Crane…" he sighed and walked in. Kamiko pointed to a chair for him to sit in, and Wind Crane rested her head in his lap. He gently ran a hand over her greenish-blue top crest and felt her shudder. At her soft, whimpering keen, Kamiko was quick to move behind the crane monster.
"That's it! Almost there!" Kamiko said to assure her. Another hard shiver was done before she seemed to slump. Then she shivered again in the form of pushing. This happened two more times before the crane monster sighed with relief. "Four eggs! Amazing!"
"Four?!" Zenchu said with shock.
"We'll see them better in time. For now, though, she needs to rest. She'll need to eat, too. She has to recover. I let Inichi know. You can help feed her," Kamiko smiled. "She's done amazingly well for her first clutch."
"I just gotta ask," Zenchu said and let Wind Crane rest her head in his lap. "I mean…will one of the eggs have to leave? You came here from an egg. From another planet, maybe. Will the same thing happen with these?"
Wind Crane looked at him and seemed to shrug. He sighed and frowned in thought. Then Kamiko said, "I don't think any of the eggs will leave. I mean, I wonder if it was a way to preserve her when it happened. What do we know? If it does happen, then just know that they'll be fine. We'll figure it out if it comes to it. Just let her rest and recover."
"Yeah," Zenchu said and watched Tanktop Girl and Tsuruga come in with several buckets of fish for him to feed her.
"Four eggs? Nice!" Tsuruga chuckled. "Congratulations!"
"Thanks," Zenchu laughed softly and tended to Wind Crane. As they helped Wind Crane recover, Anno and Orotsu focused on making a celebratory cake. Black Sperm had made two more clones to strictly watch over the new nursery nest. It was much slower at making more internal cells, but it was only going to utilize them to work with its new family to protect them. It felt valued and appreciated to a point that it wanted to do all it could for them.
"Okay, doggy! Ready to see if you can beat up the rest of that?" Saitama asked and pointed at the nearly destroyed target. Overgrown Rover huffed and jumped down before focusing inwards. Its form grew and tripled in size. Then it tripled again. And then again to stand nearly as tall as Wind Crane would.
"That's the giant mutt I remember," Kamikaze cringed. It opened up its massive jaws and took in a large intake of air before clamping them shut. Then it opened them again to let out the spherical ball of death to obliterate the target.
"It did not aim towards the sky!" Genos shouted when he saw how the ball was already heading towards other buildings. Saitama set Mitsumi aside, appeared in front of the path it was going and quickly punched the energy ball up and out of the way. He made sure it safely disappeared out of sight. On looking at the target pole, it was completely removed and obliterated.
"Fixed," Saitama said. He looked at Overgrown Rover, pointed at it and said, "You're such an awesome and good doggy!"
It loped over to bowl him down and lick him from head to toe to get everyone dying with laughter. Then it shrunk down to its large dog height to snuggle into him and lick his face even more with excited grunts and whines. Saitama was able to stand up and carry it back over to Mitsumi to have her hold it. She looked at him and said, "Ah, I think you need to change your clothes, dear."
"Yeah," Saitama said and wiped off the drool from his bald head. "I'll be back in under two minutes. Doggy, don't let anyone near her until I get back."
It huffed and stood over her to glare and snarl at any others now. He nodded and was quick to move and change his clothes. It was so diligent with the order, that even Anno couldn't bring her a plate of delicately grilled sweet meats until she gestured for it to be set near her. When Saitama appeared in a fresh shirt and shorts set with his usual basic shoes, it looked over and licked his face to show that everything was fine. He sat next to her to show the need to protect her was done.
"Way too protective," Mitsumi sighed and finally got a sweet meat.
"Hmm. We'll work on that," Saitama nodded. "What's next?"
"We are waiting for the other two to arrive to see what cuisines we can create," Orotsu said from outdoor kitchen setup. "They should be arriving shortly. I look forward to seeing them."
"Right…" Saitama nodded and let Mitsumi snuggle into him. At how Overgrown Rover now reclined against them both happily, he could only muse at what interesting dishes will be served at dinner. He was also concerned about Wind Crane. We'll see to her after dinner. She's surely eating now. Even I wouldn't want to disturb any monster eating their dinner. They can be just as annoyed as I would be!
