For an hour and a half, they looked at each person that came in. Each person they looked at had nearly the same story. They regretted being cruel to Mitsumi, asked if the vile woman was dead at last and given a second chance to serve with repented kindness. Questions were answered about working with friendly monsters and proven that everything was fine. Saitama would have been bored with it, but this was all safety for Mitsumi. He paid close attention to everything.
There were about ten new faces that appeared, and all Mitsumi did was greet them pleasantly with no issues at all. Every prior employee that came in was studied and questioned carefully. Only one showed they didn't care and were told to leave. Tanktop Master and Tsuruga escorted that one out to show they were never wanted back. Mitsumi's fans didn't go off once, though. That was until she stiffened at the sight of a tall, wiry man in brown clothing that came in to sit down. Her fans were quick to vibrate and reveal her and Saitama without a second of delay. That sparked Garou and Zenchu to nod to each other with eagerness that a possible fight was going to go down.
"That's him?" Saitama asked and stood up with Mitsumi to set her down. At the way she glared at him, he knew his answer. The moment he stood up, Himiko winced and pressed into Zombieman's neck to hide her face.
"You're the one that tried to rape me in the hallway on the third floor!" Mitsumi spat out to the shocked man. "We found your room, too!"
"What room?!" the man asked. Then Genos displayed the room on the screen to get him blinking with shock. "Ah…well…"
"What's this?!" Daiki spat out. He hadn't seen the image yet. Any others that didn't were completely outraged. Zombieman tensed and kept Himiko's eyes shielded from the image. He knew it would make her feel even worse.
"Was it a job well done to leave that behind?!" Mitsumi hissed out with fury.
"You bitch!" the man now shrieked. Then he paused at the sight of Rendor becoming his monster form. Then he noticed the other heroes in the room staring at him with disgust.
"He's a monster. Isn't he?" Daiki asked.
"Yes. He is," Mitsumi said and watched her fans get ready to strike. "Hired by our fake mother to try and hurt me. Possibly even kill me. There was one other, too, but this one is right here…"
"Wait. We're in the house. Another will want to see him later on the roof," Saitama soothed her. "I can knock him out."
"But Saitama!" she cringed and blinked at the loving nuzzle he gave her.
"Did you already forget what I did in that hallway to you?" he murmured in her ear to get her blushing hard. "Should I…help remind you of that later?"
"Stop it!" she said with embarrassment to get Zenchu and Garou laughing softly. The others snickered and glared at the faulty man in the chair now.
"Did you rape her, then?" the man smirked. Rendor snarled out at the remark, but Inichi kept things calm. :He's baiting. Hold back.:
"I'm her husband," Saitama said neutrally and set Mitsumi aside. Zenchu was quick to stand to guard her. Garou stood up and tensed to show he was ready to pounce the moment the word was given. "You're a Secret Skins monster. I'm also Caped Baldy in the Hero Association. You don't realize that there are other allied monsters and heroes in this room? And they all want a piece of you?"
"You're her husband…and a strong hero…" the man paused. Now he looked around and paled at the sight of the others waiting to tear into him.
"I also killed that fake mother with one punch," Saitama said and crossed his arms over his chest. "As to why I'm dressed like this…well…my wife is the last Wind Crane Clan assassin. I am married to her, so I'm part of this clan, too. We are here for personal business matters. Such as hoping that you would show up so I can kill you for trying to hurt her long ago."
"You can't kill me!" the man spat out. Before anyone could say a word, the fans around Mitsumi showed no mercy. They wanted to avenge her for the torment she went through. They swirled around the man with the blades flicking out to slice away skin and cloth.
"Mitsumi?" Saitama looked at her. "I thought we were letting me talk?"
"It's all them. Not me. That thing will need to get moved outside, though. They can grow big. But my fans…they're pissed," she frowned. He nodded and watched the monster get revealed. She's right. They grow massive when outside of the human host skin. I'll be as quick as I can. He lightly crouched down to show he was ready.
Before anyone could blink or even see what type of monster it was, he was quick to dash over, grab the monster and rush with it out the door. He dashed down the flight of steps to the entry floor and straight out to the outside entrance of the double doors. The most anyone saw that was waiting for their interview was a massive blur of blue-black feathers flapping around from a cape hauling something away like it was trash.
"I'd give you to Wind Crane, but we have no time," Saitama said with his fiery pupils flickering again. He didn't even blink when he punched hard to kill off the monster. He had angled it at the roof, though, in case Wind Crane wanted to help. The only thing he saw after that was dark blue skin evaporating when Wind Crane squawked at what was left from the rooftop.
Nodding to himself that it was done, he was quick to run right back into the study to stand next to Mitsumi again. It was all done in under ten seconds. Mitsumi looked at him with a small smile. "Dead?"
"Wind Crane squawked after I punched. Very dead," Saitama nodded and pulled her into his lap when he sat back down.
"I will incinerate that," Genos said to the scraps of cloth and skin.
"Wait," Sweet Mask said. "Can we find one of those fleas? Is it still in the skin after being shredded?"
"Huh. That does have me wondering if it's possible," Tanktop Master said.
"Fleas? Oh! Those things…hmm…" Flashy Flash frowned. "Make sure it can't go anywhere towards us if it is alive."
"Hmm…" Inichi thought and went through the pieces of skin. At the sight of a lump, he separated it out from the rest in a bubble.
"I want to see if it still lives outside the host," Sweet Mask said.
"Ah. A bit of research…" Inichi mused.
"Siren, my dear, don't go near it. I don't want to know if it will attach to another monster," Metal Knight said from the ring.
"Don't worry. Inichi has it," Siren assured him.
"I'd see if we can study it, but I don't want it to infect me," Child Emperor said with a frown. "We'll have to kill it."
"I can cut it out," Zenchu said and revealed his claws. It was done now to reveal a very alive monster flea. "Oh, look. The flea lives."
"NOT FLEA!" the little monster squealed with rage. The others in the room were horrified at the sight of it.
"Genos, set it on fire. Let's see if it lives," Saitama said. Room was now made to ensure nothing would get damaged, and Genos activated one flame thrower to sear the monster bug alive. It screamed out until it went quiet from death and becoming nothing but ashes. "Good. But this shows that the monster fleas can live just fine without the host. We don't know if it would try to infect another. We don't want to test that theory, either. We saw jars of them sealed away and all alive, so it does make me think they can just go to whoever is around them. I don't know about animals, but, once again, not testing it."
"Unless they were being fed something else to stay alive, I don't see how they would live so long. Unless hibernating. Maybe," Kamikaze frowned. Tacki made a face at him and showed him the finished, white haori. He gestured to the atom symbol on his back. She beamed and took out some red thread to get to work. He grinned and kissed her forehead with appreciation.
"Everything okay?" Tatsumaki asked Rendor when he reverted back to human. "I mean…do I need to do anything?"
"I think we just need to be here to support Lady Mitsumi. Thank you for being here with me," Rendor smiled and let her kiss him passionately.
"How many are left out there?" Saitama asked and sat back down to let Mitsumi sit back in his lap.
"We have about twenty waiting," Genos nodded.
"Good. Bring them in," Saitama nodded back. The fans covered over him and Mitsumi again, and he pressed a loving kiss to her mouth to comfort her.
"I love you," she sighed and leaned into him.
"I love you, too," he said and kissed her forehead. "We're almost done."
"I'm getting really hungry," she frowned. Now he looked at her and tapped on Zenchu's shoulder.
"Get her a snack," Saitama said to him.
"Inichi has something coming to us right now," Zenchu nodded. A small plate of takoyaki balls used as appetizers on small sticks was bubbled over now, and Zenchu held the plate up for them.
"I'll take that over if you get tired," Garou said.
"I don't get tired. Asshole," Zenchu smirked to get Garou snickering.
"You sure neither of you were separated at birth?" Saitama asked and enjoyed the flavors of cooked squid, beef and Peking duck in the various fried delicacies. Mitsumi was definitely swooning over her flavors.
"We are brothers from different mothers. And different times. That's how it works," Zenchu said. "But I think he was born from his mother's asshole."
"Fuck you and the horse you rode in on," Garou retorted to get Mitsumi snickering with laughter at it all.
"I keep asking Wind Crane to bite him when he rides in her mouth," Saitama shrugged. Zenchu gave him a dirty look now.
"And she doesn't spit him out from the taste? Wow…" Garou blinked.
"I will have you wear this plate," Zenchu warned his brother.
"Not until I'm done with it," Mitsumi said to have him sigh. "And it's fine porcelain, too. So, you will do nothing with that plate. I'll simply stop doting on the both of you to make it even."
"But…Lady Mitsumi!" Zenchu frowned.
"Yeah! That's not very fair!" Garou pouted.
"Equality overrules all," she chuckled softly and smiled warmly at them both. "Save this anger for the next jerkoff. There were two that tried to hurt me. One has been dealt with. I don't know if the other showed up."
"Okay…" Zenchu moped.
"Yeah…" Garou sighed. Saitama took up the nearly empty plate and watched Mitsumi bend down slightly to hug both of her brothers.
"I love you both, my big brothers! We'll have an awesome dinner after this," she beamed at them to get them smiling and nodding. She finished off the tasty snack with Saitama to let Inichi take the dish away quickly for them.
"I see you worked with us before?" Daiki asked the young man that was now seated in front of him. "Hmm. You were one of the kitchen staff. You were…our primary chef nearly all the time. That's good! I'm glad you came back. We can definitely give you that job back without any issues. You'd know what to do. However, I need to know one thing."
"Yes?" the slightly older black-haired man asked. He blinked his black eyes at them and showed a touch of nervousness in his business suit. He was actually a bit athletic and appeared quite the looker to other girls.
"Do you remember Mitsumi?" Daiki asked. "The youngest of us?"
"Oh. I do…" the man frowned.
"She's the owner of this house as per Father's will before he died. Before he was murdered, that is. His direct heir. She'll be the one paying you now," Daiki said. "Our mother was a monster in disguise. So, Father made Mitsumi his sole heir to protect his legacy."
"It's true," Himiko nodded from where she was in Zombieman's lap. "We didn't know anything until recently."
"What?! I mean…is it dead?!" the man asked. "The monster?!"
"Very dead," Saitama said when the fans and lights revealed him with Mitsumi. "I killed it."
"He did," Sweet Mask nodded with the others in the room.
"Oh…Miss Mitsumi…I'm sorry…I know…I was told to make those horrible dishes. I did my best to try and disguise it…but…" the man trembled and looked away shamefully. Her beauty always stunned him in secret.
"I see you mean well. It has all been removed from the kitchens," Mitsumi said. "There were also other things in the kitchen that were found and removed…"
"Yeah. They were organs harvested from her," Saitama said flatly.
"WHAT?!" the man gaped and stared at him. "That's…no! They said it was from hunted animals! I just…"
"It's all destroyed," Genos said and comforted Kamiko when she leaned into him. She was still furious about the whole thing.
"I mean…how…?" the man asked. "Wouldn't you be dead?"
"She kept everything from everyone. Didn't she?" Mitsumi frowned. "Inichi, let him know. He does show remorse."
"Of course, Lady Mitsumi," Inichi nodded and showed the visions of the snake bracelet. The man was stunned and hyperventilating from the discovery.
"So much happened…none of us were told…" the man grimaced.
"Let me talk now," Saitama said and kissed her softly to comfort her. At the look the man gave now with confusion, Saitama said, "I'm her husband. We were married by Wind Crane Clan tradition. She's the last Wind Crane Clan assassin."
"What?!" the man gaped.
"If she knew what she was trained as in secret, I don't think anyone would be alive," Saitama said with a shrug. "Anyways, I won't let her kill anyone or hurt anyone. That's my job. She points out the bad man. I slap or kill the bad man. So, if you're not a bad man anymore, then I won't slap you or kill you."
"Oh…" the man paled.
"I don't really recall any true kindness from you," Mitsumi said softly. "Just slight indifference. But it was better than the others around me. You tended to keep away and treat me no differently than a…well…"
"Than a what?" Saitama asked carefully.
"A common pet…" Mitsumi swallowed. Saitama's gaze cut right into the man's black eyes with a flicker of fiery pupils. She sighed and said, "Even when I was younger, you'd just rush me out of the kitchen. It would be in a gentle way, though. But…after Father died…I did notice that you didn't even bother to acknowledge me at all other than shoo me away. With a broom."
"A broom?!" Zenchu spat out.
"Of all the…damn it…!" Garou seethed with the others now.
"Do you plan to treat her like that again?" Saitama asked.
"No! You have my word of honor! With what honor I have left, that is," the man said sternly. "If I knew…if I knew anything…"
"Hmm…" Inichi studied his thoughts. "You had a secret crush on her. I see. It was why you took a bit of pity on her. As well as tried to be gentle in your way of treating her as you did. You tried to learn more on why she was treated that way…wait. Daiki, you beat him?!"
"I didn't know at the time!" Daiki grimaced and held his head in his hands. "I was doing what I was told! That thing kept all of us blinded!"
"I didn't know if I should come back, but…I figured I would try. Maybe learn what happened. Apparently…I got more than I bargained for," the man sighed. Saitama got up now with Mitsumi in his arms and carried her with him to the table. He pulled the resume up to read it and held Mitsumi easily with one arm.
"Anno Shoji. Hmm…rather intense cooking history…" Saitama mused.
"Yes. After I left here from being smacked around by Mr. Daiki, I figured I would try to revitalize myself. I started to take various cooking courses from anyone that would take me. I was, actually, supposed to learn from Master Chef Joben…but he disappeared…" Anno frowned. "I was…devastated. I mean…I could have learned so much!"
"Actually, he's here now," Mitsumi smiled. "He is an octopus monster and refuses to change back. I'm very sure he will gladly tell you what happened to him. He does far more in the kitchen now, too. He does need a sous chef of sorts. He wants to train apprentices again."
"What?! He's here?! I…" Anno gasped.
"Sign this contract to vow no more nasty stuff to my wife. It will get you back on payroll. Then you can go to the kitchen to meet him," Saitama nodded.
"I promise, Miss Mitsumi, I won't hold any more malice to you. I was told to hurt you. To call you names. To…feed you less than quality food. I'm glad I don't have to do that anymore," Anno said and was quick to sign the contract after a mild reading. "I do want to tell you something. Now that I know the truth."
"And that is?" Mitsumi asked.
"I did…have a fondness for you. Your father, though…he knew. He told me that you were not meant for me. I'm not sure what he would say about your husband now, but…" Anno frowned.
"I'm S class and rank 3. I'm known as, ugh, Caped Baldy. I think he would have approved of me. I protect her from everything. I killed her fake mom with one punch. I killed the one that drugged her and did lots of crap to her with one punch, too. In fact, I just killed another one that was a fake man, but I had to rush him out of the house and punch him outside. He also tried to rape her long ago," Saitama said. "I didn't want his guts in my house. Too much to clean."
"You were that blur?!" Anno gaped.
"Yes. That was me," Saitama said. "As I said, I didn't want monster guts in my home. Neither did Mitsumi. As it stands, I rescued her from all this crap. She married her hero. That's me. I also gave her monster family a chance. As you can see, some of them were famous people once. They can now help us again, because she woke them up by being nice to them and showing them flowers."
"We still need to get legally married, but the fans married us together. So did the creator of the fans. Wind Crane, herself. She's a massive crane monster and currently guarding on the roof," Mitsumi smiled. "She was starving to death when we finally found her. She's fine now, but she still likes to eat when she can."
"What does she eat?" Anno asked.
"Anything! You can ask her, too. She'll tell you," she chuckled.
"That smile of yours…" Anno sighed and shook his head. "I always wanted to see you smile. I always saw you in tears. Always afraid for your life. No more of that. I'll do all I can to ensure that doesn't happen."
"I do have a question for you, though," Mitsumi said.
"Ask away, Miss Mitsumi," Anno nodded.
"There were times I did get meals of excellent quality. Those were from you?" she asked. At his nod, she smiled. "Thank you for that. Did you know that I sent a note of appreciation back with one of the plates?"
"You did?" Anno blinked.
"Ah…yeah. I…confiscated it and ripped it up," Daiki swallowed. Saitama set Mitsumi down and brought out a sheet of clean paper and a pen.
"Rewrite your note to him," Saitama said. Mitsumi nodded and wrote it out in her elegant scripture. Anno took it when it was done and read it.
"If I saw this back then…" he winced when tears formed. "I know…I would have tried to…get you out of here…!"
"What does it say?" Rendor asked. Inichi was able to take up the note now.
"It says, 'Your dish was excellent beyond compare. If only I could taste this more and not the other. I am trapped in this jeweled cage and only able to eat what is given unless I am able to fly free when I can. Thank you kindly for this gracious meal. It means more than words can say.' I can see why you ripped this up, Daiki. This is likely when you decided to beat him?" Inichi asked.
"It was after Mitsumi fled, actually. He asked what happened to her. That was when I beat him. He left the next day," Daiki sighed hard. Himiko was looking away now and pressing into Zombieman with a hard shiver.
"Please go and meet with Orotsu in the kitchen. I do own the Neutral Grounds restaurant, too. We do need a few good sous chefs to help there," Mitsumi nodded. "We really need it."
"Ah! I heard about the place! I figured I would try here first and then there if I didn't get rehired here. I saw the job posting, too. I will go and see Joben now," Anno said.
"Call him Orotsu, though. Joben is a name lost to him. Also, as you may work here and at Neutral Grounds, I will give you a salary. Not a paycheck. And it starts with…this amount…" Mitsumi mused and wrote out a sum for Inichi to acknowledge right on the signed contract to display. Anno gaped at the amount written down. "And take this for bonus pay for wanting to see the truth and wanting to do more to help me."
"Bonus pay? Ah!" Anno gaped at the gold coins given to him now from her small purse. "I…"
"You just broke your new chef," Bane grinned.
"He'll be fine," Saitama said. Anno collected himself and bowed respectfully to them before moving into the kitchen. Inichi already informed Orotsu of the event, and he was overjoyed at the news. He already started to set up various dishes to test and try with him.
"Saitama, I want to do something daring if that other that hurt me shows up," Mitsumi said. He looked at her to nod. "If that one is a Secret Skins, I want to transfer the monster flea to the one locked up below. I want to see how the change happens. Then we can kill that one off."
"Oooh…" Zenchu blinked.
"That's…hmm…risky…" Garou frowned.
"I will need to ensure I glean all information from that one," Inichi said. "Let's see if the other that tormented you is here…hold on…"
"Okay," Mitsumi nodded.
"Why do you want to do this?" Saitama asked.
"Because that jerkoff…the one that tormented me…he tore apart one of my fans! To see how it worked! I think it's only fair for us to finally see how a Secret Skins becomes a Secret Skins. For our own research and need to know," Mitsumi said. The fans swirled around her with complete agreement at this, and the fan set that was dissected before came down to lightly rest in her hands with a form of understanding. She hugged them close and found herself hugged by Saitama after that. He knew this was important now.
"I would like to record the event for intense study," Metal Knight said. "Is there a place for such a thing?"
"The laboratory," Himiko said now. "There is a room in there that's secluded for such things. I remember how Father would bring in people from various places before Mitsumi was born. He would…torture them there. Mother, before she became what she did, would ask the questions. Father wouldn't let her stain her hands that way."
"Much like how I do with Mitsumi," Saitama said. "Genos, Kamiko said she wanted to see the lab. When the last of these people are seen to, go there. If anyone needs a light snack now, say something. Because we aren't eating until we test this. It's too important."
"Agreed, Master Saitama," Genos nodded.
"There was something about the swimming pool that I always found a bit mystical," Mitsumi smiled. She knew the mood had to be lightened now. "Himiko, can it still sparkle?"
"I think so," Himiko blinked. "Like…with the fireflies? I think the holograms still work."
"Yes. And the moon is starting to show, too. So…" Mitsumi mused. Then she paused. "Ah! When is the next full moon?"
"Four days," Inichi said. "And I know why you asked."
"Eh? Oh! Huh…" Kamikaze blinked. "Yeah. Okay. We'll plan for that."
"You would think certain areas would start to open in new lights," Mitsumi smiled. Tacki nodded and showed off the new haori with the atom symbol on the back. Kamikaze got up to remove the original one to put on the new one.
"Nice! Fits the same and looks like the other. I'll keep the old one as a backup. Oh. You put in some pockets! I like this!" Kamikaze grinned.
"I'm making new pants for you. Yours look beat up," Tacki said on studying them.
"She made that within ten minutes?" Daiki blinked.
"Yep! I love doing this!" Tacki grinned. "I was a monster once. The bird one. You know, I think my cleaning got…better! Since I was the monster!"
"I noticed that, too. As the chameleon, my mind was opened more. I kept that," Kamiko nodded. "It's almost like we kept the best qualities from being a monster. It's really something!"
"Hmm. If anything, my senses are still pretty sharp from being a wolf," Kianna blinked. "I didn't even realize that!"
"Do you have night vision?" Rendor asked.
"I don't know. I never tested it. I had some, but not intense like Zenchu or you. We probably could when we're ready to go to the laboratory. I'm sure there's lots of dark areas to test with," Kianna chuckled. "Let's finish this up, though. I am getting hungry."
"We all are," King agreed. Inichi was already on it, though. Small plates were brought in with various appetizers and small delights of all types. Fubuki was amazed at the different cuisines now with the intense flavors.
"I never knew that grilled eel could taste like this. Absolutely fantastic!" Kamikaze grinned and enjoyed his dish with Tacki.
"Orotsu is utilizing the new staff with intense disciplinary cuisine designs. They are already building a menu to have here for when he is away. Anno plans to come by Neutral Grounds every other day to learn and help as a true sous chef. Ah! He even offered to take over on the days off we need! Amazing!" Inichi chuckled with a pleased smile.
"Good! I do wonder how things would have been if Anno did get my note of appreciation," Mitsumi sighed and shrugged.
"If you were being hunted, he likely would have been killed," Zenchu said and flicked his tail. "He's a chef. He's not a fighter."
"True," she nodded.
"Well, he's here now. We know he felt very bad. I'd say that Anno should beat up Daiki in return, but…eh…it is what it is. Maybe I'll slap Daiki for Anno if something stupid happens again," Saitama said. Daiki looked at him to get Himiko cringing with a form of soft laughter. "And, so you all know, it's in the contract that I get to slap anyone that tries to hurt Mitsumi again."
"Where?" Daiki asked. "Ah! It's in the middle of the contract! And it's written in such a way…wow…"
"I know how to write contracts," Rendor grinned.
"I doubt I'll get hurt again, though. My fans won't allow it. And I'm sure Inichi will stop it before it starts," Mitsumi nodded.
"Inichi, is that other idiot out there?" Saitama asked.
"He is. He's the last one," Inichi muttered.
"Genos, go and prepare the lab. Now. Get that guy in the room down there prepped and ready," Saitama ordered.
"Yes, Master Saitama!" Genos nodded and was quick to move off with Kamiko the moment she finished her light meal.
"I'll go, too!" Child Emperor said and followed them out.
"Siren?" Metal Knight asked.
"Okay!" she said to the ring and flew off.
"Let's finish off the rest of the possible rehires and get to the last one," Inichi said. They all agreed and let Inichi remove the dirty plates to go back to the kitchen. Now that everyone was refreshed and ready, they looked at the door to see who would come in next. Saitama was ready to judge each one. I'm going to slap the last one out of commission. It will be easier to take to the lab and see how a monster flea infects a willing human subject. It will be disgusting. An absolute cringe fest. But that one asshole took apart one of Mitsumi's fans. Wind Crane wants to know how it all happens with a Secret Skins. This will be the only chance we have to see how it all works. It's time for us to know.