When they got to the Hero Association, they were all let down gently. Mitsumi was quickly stared at, but Saitama's slightly new look also had other lesser heroes gaping. Saitama simply pressed a kiss to Mitsumi's temple while keeping her close to let her walk next to him. If anyone looked at her for too long, he gave a mild glare at them to have them quickly looking away.
"I don't think I can join you, so I'm going to see if there is anything I can do to help with others," Fubuki said.
"That is fine. I shall inform you of what happens," Inichi nodded.
"Monsters here?! In the association?!" a new hero said.
"We are a special exemption," Zenchu said calmly. "We actually help you guys out. Read your bulletins."
"Yes. We are from the Neutral Grounds restaurant," Rendor nodded.
"They are of no threat," King growled at him.
"You must be new," Genos said. "I do not recognize you on any rosters."
"Please don't hurt my family. They don't like attacking anyone unless I am harmed," Mitsumi said softly. Saitama just sighed and continued to carry her off.
"Who is that?" the hero asked.
"Just check the bulletins," Zenchu said again and continued to follow her.
"Every time we come here..." Mitsumi frowned.
"I know," Saitama said and pressed a loving kiss to her mouth before getting approached by a female associate employee in a business suit.
"Ah, this way," she said. "Um, it was just to be a private meeting with Caped Baldy, so..."
"Okay. We're leaving. Bye!" Saitama beamed and turned around to leave.
"Wait!" she said and quickly moved in front of them to check her tablet. "I'm so sorry! That was the old order. The list available for exception now is for, ah, Mitsumi and the monsters...with her? To accompany you?"
"I'll go wait on a couch," King nodded.
"We'll be out shortly," Kianna chuckled.
"I shall wait with King," Genos nodded.
"Fine. If anything happens..." Saitama sighed.
"I shall inform," Inichi nodded. They followed the female employee until they got into the elevator to get back up to the sixth floor. Then he regarded the female employee directly. "Now that we are safe from ears around us, I need to tell you something now. It is imperative that you bring some detainment personnel. Do this right after we are let in to see the board members. Do not question why. Say nothing yet. Just do it. Have them waiting just inside the entry to stay out of sight and listening in. You will know why when it is revealed."
"Oh! You mean that schmuck is...?!" Zenchu paused at a connection made.
"Hush! Nothing yet!" Inichi warned. :Mr. Saitama, I must request for you to set Lady Mitsumi down and in Zenchu's care the moment we settle in front of the board. You will know why when it happens. You will need to move fast.:
:Oh? Hmm. Okay.: Saitama agreed without changing his expression. The employee was highly surprised by this, but Fubuki was now quick to show up at Inichi's request from another elevator. Then King and Genos also rushed over the moment Inichi reached out to them.
"Do as Inichi says," Fubuki said sternly. "This is bad."
"If it is true..." Genos frowned.
"Have I ever lied to you?" Inichi asked.
"Not a single time. Let's do it," King nodded. The employee opened the door to let Saitama, Mitsumi and her monster family in. When the door closed, Inichi advised to Fubuki when it was safe to start slowly bringing in the other heroes and detainment personnel. Saitama moved to sit in the front row of chairs with Mitsumi and her family group. Mitsumi was seated next to him to be next to Zenchu.
"Glad you could make it, Caped Baldy," the first board member said.
"I really hate that name. Just call me Saitama," he said with an eye roll.
"Oh! Um...of course, Saitama. Well, we did some intense discussion with others in our upper management team," the first board member said again.
"And?" Saitama asked with boredom.
"We really want to move you into rank 3 of our S class," the second board member said.
"Oh?" Saitama now blinked at them all.
"That's...impressive!" Mitsumi smiled.
"You would be just under Terrible Tornado. We would only call on you for emergency matters. If you agree, just tell us now," the third board member said.
"Sure," Saitama shrugged. "Um...what does Sweet Mask think?"
"As much as he was against it, he agreed that your strength cannot be ignored. He did relent, but it was with...intense bitterness. Anyways, you will get a pay increase as long as you do your job diligently. You will be monitored, of course," the fourth board member said.
"Also, you may have to leave, ah, Miss Mitsumi behind for important missions," the fifth board member said. "For safety as she is a civilian."
"No," Saitama said with a shake of his head. "She's safer with me."
"Yes. You would like her to be away from him, wouldn't you?" Inichi sighed and glared at the fifth board member. "Considering that you are the one that sent those four hooligans to her warehouse. And then again to the restaurant while it was filled with heroes of various rankings."
"What?!" the fifth board member gaped. Now the other four board members looked at him with complete shock. "You have no proof!"
"The gun in your back belt loop says otherwise," Inichi said calmly. "Your four hooligans have been detained. So, now we get to find out why you were covering up for your own crimes. And rather easily, too."
"Like hell you will!" the now ex-board member scowled and took out the gun to point at Mitsumi. He didn't even have a chance to pull up the gun to fire. Saitama was there in his face, grabbed his shirt collar to haul him in the air and smash him through the window. Now the man was dangling six stories high and screaming for Saitama to stop. Even the desk the man was standing behind was ripped in half from how Saitama simply plowed through it without blinking.
"You just tried to kill my girlfriend," Saitama said with a dark look on his face. "You were the one behind the attacks on her business and her family. So, now I have to decide. Do I drop you? Or do I give you over? Decisions..."
"Saitama..." Mitsumi whispered from Zenchu's protective embrace. "Bring him inside. Let him go to them for true judgment."
:Inichi, I want him to piss himself. I'm going to drop him. You catch him.: Saitama thought out.
:Hmm. I would say no, but he did try to hurt Lady Mitsumi. Fine. I'll play catch. However, throw him in here. If you drop him, it would give you a bad first debut for your new rank.: Inichi suggested. Saitama now turned and hurled the man inside and up towards the ceiling where other management was watching behind blacked out windows. Inichi caught him in a bubble to float down to the waiting security detail. Now Saitama glanced at the remaining board members before turning to walk back over to Mitsumi. He pulled her into his arms and hugged her to him. He was still pissed.
"I wanted to drop him. Inichi said no," he seemed to pout.
"Aww. Well, maybe you can slap him later," she smiled.
"Oh! Really? You think I can?!" he grinned and looked at the board members. "Can I hit him?!"
"Ah...well...if he doesn't tell us anything..." the second board member mused out loud.
"He tried to shoot Lady Mitsumi. A hit isn't enough," Zenchu grumbled.
"You have no proof!" the man insisted.
"Then why did you try to shoot her?!" King asked.
"Still! No proof!" he spat out.
"Check his phone," Inichi said. "Ah. Thank you for the unlock code, too. Amazing how humans just think of things when you mention a single word."
"What?!" the man gaped. Genos was quick to confiscate the man's phone by detecting where it was on him. On giving it to Zenchu, Inichi now told Zenchu the code to use to unlock the phone and they found the texts.
"Oh, goody. Here is the order from...Lady Mitsumi's mother...to kill her daughter the moment she was alone..." Zenchu read out. The ex-board member screamed, but he simply couldn't break free from the men that held him down. "Oh, look! We have a payment history for bribes and settlements for vandalism!"
"And he was...part of our association...?" the first board member gaped when he saw the phone texts and proof of crimes done. "Do background checks do nothing? Or did he get into this after the fact?"
"Some good men turn to crime and live a double-life," Rendor snorted. "I knew plenty of 'good men' before my transformation. I made lots of discoveries and had my work taken from me saying I had no proof. After it happened for the tenth time, I simply stopped reporting my findings and left a small chiseled mark near something I found. Then, if one found it and said it was new, I'd point out the chisel mark as my proof. That was how I got my name out there again and they got thrown in jail."
"You were that one?! That famous explorer that went missing?!" the second board member gaped.
"Oh. A fan? Nice to meet you!" Rendor chuckled. "My human name used to be...Kaito. If I remember it right. I prefer Rendor as my monster name. It suits me better. Maybe, if I can find a way to change back, I'll take up the old name again. It would be best."
"No way..." the third board member whispered.
"You remember your name! That's very impressive! I'll have to see if I can remember my old name, now," Zenchu sighed.
"I want to hit that guy!" Saitama said again.
"If he doesn't talk, we will see if you can help him talk," the fourth board member sighed. "Until then, congratulations on your promotion. And, ah, thank you, Inichi, for helping us with a traitor that was causing problems under our noses. I still can't believe it..."
"Let's get Metal Knight to pick apart the phone and trace things. That should be easy for him," the first board member said.
"Agreed!" the other three said together. Saitama sighed and led Mitsumi out the door when he knew it was safe to do so. Now he saw a massive crowd of heroes watching him and he got an intense idea. He looked at Mitsumi, and Inichi quickly had their small group circle around them for a mild protective barrier.
"Mitsumi Takashi," Saitama said and knelt on one knee before presenting her with the ring. "Marry me."
"Ah...I...yes!" she gasped and let him put it on her finger. He pulled her close to kiss her after that to hear gasps of awe all around him.
"And so you all know that as of now...I'm rank 3. In class S," he said calmly. "If anyone has any issues with this, come up to me. Now."
There was dead silence around them. He glanced around before giving a small nod and pulling Mitsumi into his arms to carry her out. When they got outside the association building, he got stopped by a massive robot.
"Hello," the robot said when it approached him. "Congratulations on your new promotion. I am Metal Knight, but this body is not mine. I would like to try and evaluate the strength of your punch. Is there a way we can do this?"
"Oh? Huh. Hmm. Okay. Go to City Z. The Monster Association left a lot of areas freed up from people. I'm only suggesting this because, eh...people die."
"I get that. Okay, I'll meet you there," the robot said and was quick to jet off. Genos narrowed his eyes, but he trusted what Saitama did. Inichi now put a circular bubble around them all to take them back to City Z.
"Maybe we can relax a bit after that. Or did we want to go back to the restaurant?" Saitama asked Mitsumi.
"Maybe the restaurant. The day is still a bit young," she nodded. He smiled with a slight nod before getting set down with the others.
"I'm curious," Fubuki nodded. Then she glanced up at the sight of her sister. "Tatsumaki?!"
"Hey. I want to see this, too," she sniffed and hovered in the air. "I still can't believe that baldy made it to class S! Right below me! Of all the people to do it, I still won't accept it!"
"You were there when he destroyed the training room," Genos frowned.
"It doesn't matter!" the green-haired girl huffed.
"Have you tried the food at the restaurant yet?" Mitsumi asked.
"Eh..." she shrugged.
"Come and join us after this," Mitsumi smiled.
"Oh...fine," Tatsumaki sighed.
"Want another cookie?" Rendor grinned. Now she looked at him and took the offered cookie up to enjoy immensely.
"I'm going to head for cover. Way behind him," Zenchu said. "I saw him punch before. He'll make a draft around us that causes a dust storm."
"I can help keep that down," Fubuki nodded.
"As can I," Inichi said. He watched Metal Knight's robot land heavily and brace for the impact of the punch. All of its gauges and test meters were active and ready. King backed away with Kianna and the rest now. Saitama set Mitsumi down to stand next to him and kissed her forehead.
"Remember what you did before?" Saitama asked Mitsumi in a very gentle tone. She smiled softly at him now.
"I do," she nodded.
"I'll be running at it now, so you will need to hold on tight. Okay?" he said.
"Should I stay with Zenchu?" she frowned. "I don't know if I'll fall off you. I mean...you run very fast..."
"No. This way I know I can have you with me at all times," he nodded.
"Ah, you should practice running with her," Zenchu said. "Let her stay with me this time. Inichi will keep her safe with me."
"Eh..." Saitama grimaced. "Fine. We'll work on me running with her hanging on to make sure it works."
"Good," Zenchu said and plucked up Mitsumi to leap away to safety. Now Saitama looked at the robot, nodded, just blipped in front of it and now throwing one of his death punches. He didn't hold back this time.
The robot simply exploded and incinerated from the impact. Then there were other small explosions that happened all around them from the hidden sensor meters to gauge how wide the blast happened. There were twenty of them hidden away. They all simply exploded from the overload of power that hit them. Even worse was back at Metal Knight's main base. His computer system simply shut down. He was in complete shock at how much power Saitama held within him. I just...can't measure this...!
"Saitama!" Mitsumi cringed when an explosion happened near her. He was to quick dash over to her to snatch her up and hug her.
"I'm here. Easy," he soothed and glanced around with irritation.
"Hey!" Child Emperor said when he found his way over with a hovercraft. "What happened?! I saw explosions everywhere!"
"His fault!" Tatsumaki glowered and pointed at Saitama.
"Excuse me?" he asked with a blank stare at her.
"I said your fault!" she snapped.
"It was not," Inichi sighed. "Metal Knight had this entire place set up with sensor ranges. Saitama's force simply blew them all up from overload."
"What?!" Child Emperor gaped and tried to call the S class hero. "Ah...um...I can't reach him..."
"What?" Fubuki asked.
"His line...it's dead! What does that mean?!" Child Emperor asked.
"Tell me," Inichi asked. "Does the data he collects go straight into his main computers at his location?"
"Um...oh...you think...?" Child Emperor paled.
"I cannot...hear this one...but one must think that if Saitama's power destroyed everything from overload, well...you may not be able to reach him for a couple days," Inichi shrugged.
"So, he's out of range of you?" Fubuki frowned.
"You could say that," Inichi agreed.
"Anyways, I'm hungry. Udon noodles?" Saitama asked.
"We can share a bowl," Mitsumi nodded.
"Master Saitama, when did you plan to get married?" Genos asked.
"What's this?" Child Emperor asked.
"Oh! You don't know," Zenchu chuckled. "Saitama is now S class and ranked at 3. And he proposed to Lady Mitsumi."
"WHAT?!" Child Emperor gaped at this.
"Eh...I punched too hard?" Saitama shrugged. "That's pretty much why they wanted to move me up so fast. Sweet Mask didn't like it, but...he hits weak."
"Wait...how do you know that?" Child Emperor asked and landed to stand with them now.
"He attacked me when he realized I was protecting good monsters," Saitama shrugged again. "I didn't feel a thing when he hit me."
"He attacked you...and you lived?!" Child Emperor gaped.
"This guy couldn't even get touched by me. He wanted to see if I could do anything to him. I didn't even rip up his old suit!" Zenchu sighed. "So, yeah...I won't let him hit me."
"We were going to go back to the restaurant. Later tonight, we may check out the night markets. If you have nothing planned, you could come with us," Mitsumi smiled. Saitama was keeping an eye on the surrounding areas and mildly paying attention now.
"Oh! Well, I was still working on evaluating the blood," Child Emperor said. "Your place was locked and I didn't want to just barge in."
"Ah! How considerate! As an act of trust, we can make you a key," Inichi nodded. "Or...perhaps we can simply take over an area specific to needs for research? We may need stronger security measures."
"I can work on that!" Child Emperor nodded. "I'll need a day or two, but that won't be too tough."
"Great!" Rendor chuckled. "I can let you into the apartment and work with you while they go to the restaurant."
"I'd much rather have us all there to witness what happens," Zenchu admitted. "I mean...this is something we all need to see."
"Well, I would still have to run tests on the blood to see what it finds. That could take time. So, let's do this. I'll run back there to get everything set up for the tests to run. Then I'll join up at the restaurant. How about that?" Child Emperor asked. That had agreeable notions all around. Inichi now transported Rendor and Child Emperor to the apartment to get that done.
"I can bring them to us when they are ready," Inichi nodded.
"Good. Can we get some food now?" Saitama asked. Mitsumi sighed at him, but she got squeezed from him, too.
"I suppose," she chuckled and let Inichi transport them all to Neutral Grounds.