It was twenty minutes later when Saitama and Mitsumi walked out of the bedroom. They had undressed, bathed and came back out in civilian clothes of basic shirts and shorts. He moved straight to his spot on the couch with her to let her nestle into his side. He sighed and finally started to relax with her.

The others went to their rooms for now, and King was comforting Kianna from her excitement about finally getting cured. All they had to do was wait for Inichi to return to them, and Child Emperor was preparing the cure for administering it. Lightning Max decided to head down into the basement part of the home on hearing about the treasure there. He wanted to secure it in full.

"You really wanna see that temple later?" Saitama asked.

"I do. Don't you?" she asked and trailed a finger up his chest.

"We'll see how we are. Because if you fall asleep, I'm not waking you up," he smiled and kissed her forehead.

"That attack we did…for a moment I thought my body was ready to combust! Then you punched and it carried that feeling away," she admitted.

"Oh? Huh. I didn't feel it. But I'm glad it helped you. I'll make sure to always be at your side for attacks like that. I still want to test everything we can do, but I don't want other heroes to muscle in," he yawned.

"At this rate, I think you may fall asleep before me," she chuckled and rested against him. "I could use something to eat, though."

"I can prepare you a Peking duck dish. I'll de-bone it, though," Orotsu said and got to work. Zenchu was relaxing on a couch and enjoying a mental chat with Wind Crane. He was still on alert in case Mitsumi needed something. When her small meal was ready, he was quick to give it to her. Saitama shared it with her before handing the empty dish back to him. He ended up yawning again, though. He was clearly exhausted.

"Hmm…I'll ask Inichi to pick up more fish. Wind Crane needs it. I was thinking we could make a giant feeding dish for her at some point. Tsuruga and Shenjou may be able to help with that," Zenchu said. "Oh…a challenge for Inichi! I wonder if he can search for the largest tuna out there for Neutral Grounds…"

"I'm sending him that challenge right now," Orotsu chuckled with delight at the idea. "And…he accepts it."

"Oh! I still want deer!" Mitsumi said.

"He's almost done sending people home. He'll snag one on the way here. I'll prepare a place for it outside," Orotsu said and was quick to grab several carving knives and a bucket to collect the blood.

"Tacki may want the skin and antlers. It would also be interesting to see if we can get some of the bones. Save those?" Zenchu asked. Orotsu nodded and went outside to make an area to carve up game and fish. "We should make a shed for such a thing…"

"We could," Mitsumi smiled. She looked at Saitama to find him asleep. She sighed and gently moved herself from his side.

"Is that wise?" Zenchu asked softly.

"I just…need a little time for myself. Like before," she smiled.

"Suiryu is in his room upstairs, if I remember. Okay. I'll watch over you. But if Saitama throws a fit, it's on you," Zenchu said. She nodded and was able to slip on her sandals before going outside with him. He was quick to snag the romance book that was brought from her room in City X for her to read. When she went to the bench she sat at before, she paused to find it broken. "Sweet Mask broke that one when he attacked Saitama. I saw a spare, but I'm not leaving you alone. Too risky."

"Okay," she frowned. Wind Crane landed next to her to show she was going to keep watch. Now Zenchu nodded and moved off quickly to replace the bench.

"All alone?" a voice said in a distance. Mitsumi frowned and turned to find Speed-o'-Sound Sonic standing there. He was able to replace his clothing, and he had his arms crossed over his chest. Wind Crane let out a small growl and hovered over Mitsumi protectively.

"I am not alone. As you can see, I have Wind Crane with me. She's an ancient monster and quite capable of protecting me," Mitsumi said. "How did you know where I was?"

"I remembered that you came here before. I followed the path and heard you talking. So…I'm here," Sonic nodded.

"Did you come to discuss my offer?" she asked.

"I actually came to take you away," Sonic admitted. Then he froze up when Wind Crane unfurled her wings and wrapped them carefully around Mitsumi.

:YOU ARE A FOOL. NOW SAITAMA WILL BE HERE TO KILL YOU.:

"What?!" Sonic gaped. He had no idea that Wind Crane was able to mentally speak like that.

"Unless I do it first!" Zenchu hissed and struck out at him to make him dart back. "Please tell me you were joking!"

"He was not," Inichi said when he was quick to appear and place Sonic in a bubble before levitating him into the air. "I was almost ready to come back here when I heard his thoughts. I sped over here soon after. Very wise decision to have Wind Crane stay with Lady Mitsumi."

"Lower him. Now," Saitama said from where he stood in front of Wind Crane within seconds of being woken up. "Mitsumi. Don't you dare leave my side again. Okay?"

"Oh…okay…" Mitsumi frowned.

"I love you. I love you to the point that I'm going to kill this guy. I don't want him to be hired by you if he's gonna pull this shit. If he took you away, I would be hunting you back down and leaving him splattered against the walls. Right now, I'm going to splatter him against trees. I'm done with his shit," Saitama said.

"I just…wanted a little time to myself…" she admitted. Now he looked at her with confusion. "I love you, too. But there are times I need at least five minutes alone to myself."

"Mitsumi…" Saitama sighed and walked over to her. Wind Crane withdrew her wings to let him approach her to hug her. "Every time I let you go somewhere alone...something happens. Or this happens. With guys like him. What am I supposed to think? To do? You were alone before, and Suiryu approached you. You left my side again and that guy showed up. To steal you away from me! I don't know why he wants to die. Apparently he does. But I can't let you be away from me.

"I got woken up, found you gone and I panicked! I panicked! Then I hear someone wanted to steal you away?! Panic turned to pissed off! Please…"

"I'm sorry…" she whispered and let him hug her tighter. "There are times I get restless and want to walk around. I didn't want to wake you up, either. You needed the sleep."

"If you're not with me, then I can't sleep. I actually started to wake up before I got woken up. If you get restless, wake me up. I'll be fine with it," he said and kissed her tenderly. "As for that guy…"

"Lady Mitsumi is far out of your league," Zenchu said. "After this, completely unreachable. She offered you the chance of a lifetime! Now it's gone. Good job in fucking it up."

:YOUTH DOES STUPID THINGS. SUCH HAS HAPPENED BEFORE. I WITNESSED THAT MULTIPLE TIMES.:

"I'm sure you have," Inichi agreed with Wind Crane. "I still have heroes that wish to be here. However, I will speak privately with this one first. Much like with Sweet Mask. Give me a bit?"

"Take a year," Saitama grunted and scooped up Mitsumi into his arms. "I'm too pissed off. I need to level a building."

"Let him watch," Zenchu said and pointed to Sonic. "I know he saw what happened with eight fans. But with Saitama alone? Yeah. He needs to see it."

"Can we get him to stand in the way?" Saitama asked to get Mitsumi sputtering with laughter. He looked at her with a blank face. "I'm totally serious right now. You have no idea how serious I am."

"Wait!" Sonic hissed out and finally found nerves to speak. "I actually did come here to talk about the contract. Seeing her alone…yeah. Stupid move on my part. I admit that. And…I'm sorry about that. But I did want to discuss her offer. Also, I noticed some kind of birds on fire flying in the sky at one point. Then a person next to me on the street screamed in pain and bolted. A few people did, actually. It didn't affect me, but…"

"What?!" Inichi said and studied the thoughts. "Those are Secret Skins!"

"Did anything else happen to those things?" Zenchu asked.

"When I saw another later, it looked like…severe sunburn? I think?" Sonic frowned. Inichi sent a message to Sweet Mask and any other hero to look for humans that appeared sunburned and to apprehend them for questioning.

"You may have earned a reprieve from me, at least," Inichi said. "Sonic, those humans were monsters living in human guise. Wearing the skins of humans. I will send you what happened at the desert."

"Okay…" Sonic said and accepted the vision. His jaw dropped.

"My mother was one of them," Mitsumi frowned. "If you want to see how she died, Inichi can show you that, too. We told you she was one of them, but I don't think we showed you how she died."

"We did show you, actually, but I believe I only gave you what she looked like. Not really how the fight happened. Either way, I can send you the whole thing in full. If you would want to see it?" Inichi asked.

"I see…" Sonic frowned. "I…guess I can see that?"

Inichi nodded and was quick to send him the full fight. Sonic grimaced that it only took five seconds to kill her. Saitama took this time to gather up Mitsumi into his arms and bolt off to where other buildings were still standing. Zenchu moved to follow, and Wind Crane leapt up into the air to perch on a close building to observe all of it. Inichi was already pulling the blue bubble with Sonic along behind him to let the man see exactly how pissed off Saitama truly was.

"Stand behind me," Saitama said gently to Mitsumi on setting her down.

"Okay," she said and got kissed passionately. Then he gazed at her in a way that made her heart ache at the full blown emotion that finally showed in his eyes.

"I love you, Mitsumi. I told you before that I'd probably feel myself get ripped in half if something ever happens to you. If anything ever happens to you. And I did. I felt it! When you left me alone like that…I really did panic. I worried. I never did that before with anyone. Now I know I always will with you. It scares me to think that something was going to happen to you. It almost did," he whispered and hugged her tight. "Please promise me this. Don't leave my side anymore. Wake me up. I'm not myself without you now. My promise to you in return is that I will never get mad at you if you wake me up."

"I promise," she nodded and hugged him back just as tightly. "I love you, too, Saitama. I never want you to worry over me like that again. It hurts me to see you hurt like that. It's not fair to you. And it wouldn't be fair to me."

He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath before letting it out slowly. Then he looked up at the seven story building that was not quite ready to fall down. He had her stand behind him, and he pulled his right fist back before punching at full blast. The moment the building started to groan from the shockwave, he turned to gather her up and leap away to safety.

He carried her away in his arms as it collapsed behind him. He didn't even see two other buildings collapse behind him after that. He did glance up to see Sonic's jaw dropped at the carnage before him from Inichi's blue bubble. He smirked and pressed a kiss to Mitsumi's forehead before muttering, "He should have stood in the way."

"Really?!" she asked and got a small grin as a reward. "Ugh!"

"I won't mind him guarding over you under contract. He did give us valid information about the Secret Skins. But he will never be alone in doing so. I can't trust him to do that. Hell, he can continue to try and kill me. I don't care. But the moment he goes after you again…" Saitama said with a slight edge in his tone.

"I know," she agreed and pressed into him. "My cramping is pretty much gone now. It's just bleeding."

"Good. I'll have you check yourself and we'll dress in our hero suits. We'll check out the temple after Kianna is cured. Sound good?" he smiled and got kissed deeply as his answer. "I'll take that as a 'yes'."

"Yes," she laughed softly with him and got carried the rest of the way back. "I am curious about something, though."

"Hmm?" he looked at her.

"Your hero suit. How did you get it?" she asked. "I always wore kimonos to keep things simple during…you know."

"Yeah. Well…I saved a store owner. Someone that made suits and such. He kept fixing my tracksuit up. After I saved his store from getting taken over by a gang, he made me my suit. Said I inspired him to do it. Anyways…I had it ever since. I'm still shocked how it got upgraded! The old one…I'll still keep it. It was a gift, anyways," he nodded.

"It's already being put in a display case for Neutral Grounds," she beamed.

"Can we…keep it at home? I don't want it stolen," he admitted.

"Oh! Well, we can definitely do that. Maybe a centerpiece for when people walk in? Possibly?" she smiled.

"I'll think about that," he grinned kissed her forehead. "Huh. Come to think of it, the main guy I caught that controlled that group…he was a human that changed into a monster! He called himself a sea…monster? Sea person? Something like that. But…I don't know if he was a Secret Skins thing. He looked like a pervert."

"Really?" she frowned. "I wouldn't know. If he's still alive, we can definitely look into it."

While he continued to carry Mitsumi back to their home complex, Inichi was now confronting Sonic in the blue bubble. "I don't know what caused you to think you could get away with such childish and immature behavior. I do hope this curbs those thoughts away in full."

"What is he?!" Sonic demanded.

"We don't know," Inichi admitted. "However, now you see what he can do when he gets fully angered. He really wanted you to get in the path of his destruction. Do you plan to pull this ridiculous stunt again?"

"I…" Sonic grimaced and sighed. "I would say no, but…"

"Did you want me to stop you with this image of what can happen if you try?" Inichi asked. "You did apologize. I know you meant truth to it. Mr. Saitama, however, is still ready to kill you. If you make this mistake again…"

"Stop me," Sonic said and sighed harder with defeat. "I'll still see that guy as my enemy. But…if I take this contract…I guess I'll see it as a way to try and catch him by surprise. As much as I want to defeat him…"

"Do not use Lady Mitsumi's contract that way!" Inichi warned. "You can see Mr. Saitama as a sparring partner. Not as a means of defeating him. You saw what he can do now. You know he was ready to end you. Break that line of thought. Now."

"It's difficult!" Sonic scowled.

"He actually said that he doesn't care if you try and fail to kill him. My suggestion is this. You can use him to spar with. If you try and catch him by surprise, then fine. But do not think you can kill him or defeat him. In fact…" he mused at an idea and was quick to bring Sonic to the main complex. "Mr. Saitama!"

"Huh?" he asked with a blank face before he walked into the apartment with Mitsumi in his arms. "What?"

"I need you. And I need one of Wind Crane's feathers. Actually, we need two of them," Inichi said with a small grin. Mitsumi already knew what was planned, and she whispered to Saitama. He grinned and set Mitsumi down to bring out two of the blue-black feathers. Wind Crane was quick to fly down and land to witness this.

"What's this about?" Sonic frowned.

"You'll be ready to face Mr. Saitama if you can break this feather in half," Inichi said and released Sonic from the bubble to take up the foot long feather. Saitama broke it in half easily. Sonic smirked and moved to break the feather. Then he paused when it wouldn't break. It wouldn't even bend.

"What…is this?!" Sonic asked with frustration.

"One of her feathers," Mitsumi said and pointed at Wind Crane.

"What?!" Sonic gaped. Wind Crane ruffled her feathers to let one loose and she snipped it in half with her colorful beak.

"I can't even break them," Zenchu snorted.

"Nor I. No one else can," Mitsumi shrugged. "It's like ultimate armor."

"No one else can break this?!" Sonic asked with disbelief. Saitama was given more feathers, and he snapped them in half with little to no effort.

"Exactly. Once you can break that feather in half with your fingers, you may be able to try and approach Mr. Saitama," Inichi chuckled. "Let this become your new mission?"

"Ah…" Sonic's eye twitched with shock. Now he looked at Saitama and held out the feather. "Break this."

"Eh…okay," Saitama said with his blank look and took it. With two fingers, he snapped it in half. "Satisfied?"

"What the hell?!" Sonic gaped. Saitama now began to snap the feather into smaller pieces to break it down even more. All the pieces were put in a bag for Tacki to sort through later. A new feather was given to Sonic, and he was swearing with disbelief.

"I like Inichi's idea. So, I challenge you. You break that feather on your own with two fingers. Just like what I did. That will prove to me that you might be able to land a hit on me. I'll even let you take a real stab at me when that time comes. Agreed?" Saitama asked. "And, as long as you don't act stupid around Mitsumi, I don't mind you working her contract. If you still want to do it, that is."

"I want five million yen instead," Sonic said.

"Okay," Mitsumi nodded. Sonic just gaped and blinked at her. "What? If you want ten million yen, then that's fine, too. I told you before. Money is nothing to me. I bought the building that we are in front of. It's mine now. I even bought five miles of City Z for monster rehabilitation purposes. I still have limitless funds at my disposal. Did you think I was lying?"

"Ah…" Sonic seemed to pale.

"It's like I said, too. I can build you a dojo and buy you land to live on. You don't even need to spend a single coin. I can cover everything," she smiled.

"It's too good to be true!" he said.

"Nope. She's telling the truth," Saitama said and kissed her cheek. "Anyways, we have stuff to do. You want to work for her? Or not?"

"How soon…can a contract be made…?" Sonic struggled out.

"I can have it done by the end of the day. If you need a room for now, we do have some apartment rooms here that are vacant. There are no rooms taken on the seventh floor," Inichi said. Now Sonic looked at him as though he was crazy.

"Your call. I don't care," Saitama said and walked Mitsumi into the fourth floor main area. Sonic was just stunned on everything.

"Well?" Zenchu asked.

"Eh…seventh floor? Okay…um…left side corner? I guess…?" Sonic found himself saying. What am I doing?!

"Very good! It's unlocked and ready for you. Just remember. You may not have signed the contract yet, but, once you do, you are bound by it. You will get the funds the moment you go into a bank with the note I will give you. Agreed?" Inichi asked. Sonic nodded and made himself move to the destined floor.

"Keep an eye on him?" Zenchu asked when out of earshot.

"Of course. I need to head back to see to the other heroes. Three heroes wished to stop by. Biting Snake Fist Sneck, Tanktop Master and Puri-Puri Prisoner. Bane was looking at different apartments for a temporary room to stay in for emergencies, though. I believe he was looking around on the second floor. There were none staying on that floor, too."

"Nope. Genos and Kamiko are on the second floor. But, they took the inside left room. They didn't take a corner room. But…doesn't Puri-Puri Prisoner have to go back to prison?" Zenchu frowned.

"He does, but I promised to give him some information. He will be sent back after his inquiries are met," Inichi nodded.

"We have rooms behind us, too, right?" Zenchu mused.

"We do. The rooms are double-sided for maximum space. I would just prefer to have these front-faced rooms filled first. Also, we may be opening up the whole floor to the rooms for maximum space for family. Unless they prefer their own dwellings. Let me collect the heroes. I'll return," Inichi said and was quick to speed off. Zenchu looked at Wind Crane and shrugged at her.

"You'll eat Sonic if he fucks up?" Zenchu grinned. She bobbed her head at him and clucked out a chuckle. "Good. I'm sure you were ready to. Anyways, I'll be inside. Yes, we can still talk."

She gave out a yawn and settled herself on her draconic hind legs to hunker down and rest. Her tail coiled up around her now, but she was still highly alert. She never needed to sleep unless she was weakened. Then she did the one thing she always did to guarantee a safe surrounding. She closed her eyes and began to do echo-location. She got nothing out of the ordinary and planned to do this every five minutes to ensure it.