"I was asked to be here?" Sanda asked when she stepped out of the elevator. She was dressed in Hero Association business dress now, and she was proving to be a valuable asset while under watch. She was gestured to the main boardroom, and she walked in calmly. Then she paused at the sight of the heroes, monsters and four board members waiting for her. Sanda paled on seeing Saitama having Mitsumi locked in a loving kiss to keep her calm.
"Let me handle this," Saitama muttered and kissed his wife again.
"Okay," Mitsumi nodded and found her arms full with Overgrown Rover and Blue Ripple to cuddle with a form of delight. Fumio and Black Sperm were sitting with King and Kianna to keep them safe.
"I'm just gonna put this out there," Saitama said and locked his blank stare on Sanda's trembling form. "Every time we think we're finally done with the mansion crap, even more comes out. Why didn't you tell us that Fumihiro was beating up people and whipping them? Doing bad things to them? Mainly to your coworkers that you liked to bully. You know? The girls?"
"Ah…!" her jaw dropped and her eyes went wide.
"We found out about it from her!" Saitama said and pointed a thumb at Tajima. Tajima grimaced, but Sweet Mask kept her close. Now Saitama's blank stare narrowed into a form of newly revealed fury. "Her back was still a mess! Infected! Bleeding! Scars! She didn't even tell us anything until the guy she's now working for got it out of her! And you threatened to use that shit against her instead of telling us?! The other girls at the mansion were questioned, and all of it points to YOU as to why no one said anything. Why?! Why the hell didn't you tell us?!"
"I…" Sanda blinked with complete shock. Inichi now pulled every vile memory to the surface that she had and shook his head.
"It all leads back to control. Again. To wield power that was not hers," Inichi said with a sad sigh.
"I just heard and saw those thoughts…" Blue Ripple said with a twitch of anger along his back fin spines.
"You're a GOD monster. Stop denying it," Saitama said.
"If I can make a set of fans gain life as Wind Crane can, then I suppose I will accept the title," the water monster snorted before looking directly at Sanda with his milk-white gaze. "I need one solid reason to keep myself from mentally lifting you up and hurling you outside a window. I am Mitsumi's pet now. I will do everything in my power to protect her. What you've done is completely unjust! Tell me why we should spare your life! Now!"
"I don't know how to answer that…" she swallowed.
"Then I'll answer for you," Inichi said and addressed the room. "She always wanted to be in a leading position. It was never given to her. So she used the mansion as her way of doing it. She was also confronted by Fumihiro, and, as we all thought, made a bargain with him to leave her be. She sent him texts on where girls would be alone to confront them. He let her be untouched in exchange for this. And it all happened after he did what he did to Miss Tajima."
"Did she find her in his room?" Sweet Mask asked.
"No. But she saw the others carrying her away from his room. She saw the state that Miss Tajima was in. She never reported it when she should have," Inichi sighed. "Fumihiro had confronted Sanda a year after Lady Mitsumi left. A couple days after Miss Tajima's torment. Apparently, he was stalking Sanda through some daily routines. He learned how she had access to the cameras. She made a deal with him. It was how the other girls were able to be approached alone. Usually the girls work in groups."
"So he was able to confront them alone and unprotected…" Kamikaze growled out and chewed a bit hard on the stick.
"And you didn't bother to bring this up to Daiki?!" Mitsumi asked.
"Hey. I'm talking," Saitama said and kissed her gently. Then his now smoldering glare cut to the blonde's stunned look to shake her. "As she said. I'm sure Fumihiro even threatened you if you talked. Right?"
"He did…" Sanda winced.
"And you likely started to enjoy it," Bane said with a hard frown. "Once you were given a form of power and authority, you took full advantage of it. Regardless of any form of repercussions. You had a bit of an ace. The cameras. But, once that was stripped from you, what more is there to say? Now you are heavily monitored here, but I have a strange feeling that you're up to something…"
"Who does she report to?" Genos asked.
"I can find out," the first board member said and pressed a button on a desk panel. It summoned a waiting secretary, and the order was given to summon Sanda's supervisor. When the burly security man walked in, he seemed to tense at the entire situation in front of him.
"Um…is something wrong?" the man asked. Inichi calmly brought up various recent events from the man's mind and looked at Mitsumi.
"There is now. It appears that our young hacker has been offering…sexual favors…in exchange for some knowledge. Luckily, this man here has refused such offers to save his own marriage," Inichi said. The man looked at him and gaped with shock. Even Sanda looked at him with horror at the discovery.
"You've gotta be kidding me…" Tanktop Master grimaced.
"So, no matter where she goes…she's trouble," Zenchu summed up.
"In a sense, yes," Inichi agreed.
"No!" Sanda seemed to beg. The board members were not pleased on hearing this. Even Sweet Mask was showing disgust.
"What are the options?" Garou asked and let Lily snuggle into him. "What can we do now that we know about this?"
"Lady Mitsumi, I do have something I can try. But…it's incredibly risky," Inichi said with a form of caution.
"Please speak your mind," Mitsumi nodded.
"Zenchu, do you remember the abandoned building we stayed in for a month? Around City F?" Inichi asked.
"I remember that place! It was tough to clean out that floor. So much mold!" Tacki cringed. Kamikaze looked at her with surprise.
"You found a place that was tough to clean?" Kamikaze asked.
"Well, yeah! Mold gets into crevices, the ceiling, the walls…it's nasty!" Tacki shuddered. "It took me a whole day to scrub that place out! And I was still a monster! It was a horror show! I refused to let Lady Mitsumi into it until I knew that place was cleared of it. Mold causes all kinds of stuff! It's gross!"
"So, cleaning monster guts off a wall is nothing?" Zenchu asked.
"That was fresh. It wasn't sitting and soaking into things for days," Tacki chided him to get the others coughing with disgust at the thought.
"Getting back to the matter at hand," Inichi said with a grim smile at that memory. "Lady Mitsumi, there was a hunter that was trying to stalk you. In fact, that one was stalking us. Zenchu wanted to slaughter him, but I decided to simply wipe his mind clean. Of everything. A form of permanent amnesia. This was before I realized that I acted on a whim and that what I did was wrong. I was only with our family for a month and still learning things, as you know."
"Ah! I remember how you told me you were thinking of making one forget about us in full. I had to slightly reprimand you that such a thing could cause issues with other parts of the mind with forgetfulness," Mitsumi blinked at the memory. "Are you saying you actually did it?"
"I did. This was before I mentioned this to you. I acted first. When you showed me how unjust it was…I tried to repair the damage. Some was restored. Most was lost. That one is now residing in a hospital for mental patients. He's recovering, but he won't be the same as he was. I have learned that I can make spots of forgetfulness. Holes in the mind, in a sense," Inichi said.
"So…you want to give her amnesia in ways that she won't hurt anyone?" King said on pointing at Sanda. Her jaw dropped with shocked outrage once again. "I mean…I dunno about that."
"I'd say to just kill her off and be done with it," Zenchu snorted and flicked his tail. Then he blinked at the mental berating that Wind Crane did to him. "And I just got chewed out by my girl…"
"What would you make her forget?" Saitama asked. His gaze never left Sanda's trembling form, and even her supervisor was still lost in speechless shock on everything. Mitsumi frowned at this, but Overgrown Rover nuzzled her to keep her focused on it to stay happy.
"I would focus on the parts on why she gained such a rebellious attitude. Some memories to build strength can stay. Other parts that made her vile can be removed. It would take me only a minute to do this," Inichi confirmed.
"That would be a bit scary," Fubuki admitted.
"A form of permanent amnesia, but just on the main focus points that cause harm. Hmm…" Sweet Mask frowned in thought. "It still seems…foolhardy."
"Maybe he can make you forget why you attacked me," Saitama said to him point-blank to get Sweet Mask's jaw to drop. Kamikaze died laughing at that.
"You won't ever let that go. Will you?" Mitsumi sighed.
"I won't. Not until I get to hit him back. And that won't happen," Saitama muttered and let her snuggle into him. "Only because I'd likely kill him from my state of mind right now."
"Ah…" Sweet Mask blinked and cleared his throat to calm down.
"So, the main question now is this. What does that girl have to lose?" Rendor asked from where he sat with Tatsumaki in his lap. "Money? Power? Family or friends? I don't think she has anything left."
"I do have family!" Sanda snapped.
"Then why aren't you with them?" Saitama asked to make her go silent.
"She didn't like how they even told her to shape up her ways," Inichi mused. "They disliked how she tried to manipulate others to her side. They kicked her out to avoid further destruction in the home."
"Inichi, I'd much rather see her parents decide what to do with her," Mitsumi said softly. Sanda looked at her with outrage. "It's clear she is an adult, but she can no longer think for herself."
"Now just wait a minute!" Sanda said.
"Not once did you apologize to anyone for what you did," Saitama said curtly to shut her up. "Not once did you feel any form of regret for everything that was done. By your hands. Even now, you feel trapped. Like a caged animal. You. Have. No. Conscience. At all. You feel privileged and act on your own whims. You have the mentality of a four-year-old. You don't care."
"I…" Sanda swallowed.
"You get pissed when things don't go your way. You manipulate others to your side to feel accomplishments. Let's face the facts. You're a bully. You're rude to everyone around you. Inichi, find out when that started. Kill that memory. Then bring up every nasty thing she ever did to others," Saitama ordered. Everyone in the room cringed, but Genos was nodding with complete agreement.
"To bring up the core memory on why it all started…that may work…" Blue Ripple said with intense interest. "Touch no other memories."
"I'd say for Lady Mitsumi to wake her up…" Zenchu started. Then he blinked and looked at Mitsumi with sudden realization. Mitsumi nodded and let two of her fans leave the fan belts on her sides. They quickly swirled around Sanda to let the calming scent of rainwater and roses wash over the girl before retreating back to the belts.
"NO!" Sanda screamed and slumped to her knees with complete shock.
"Ah. Now she feels regret. It appears that the scent of the flowers can easily force out the good from anyone. This is beneficial," Inichi chuckled.
"Oh?" Blue Ripple asked and was able to smell what the fans had. "I have never smelled this before! I may not have needed it. The scent is quite pleasant!"
"Can you…send me home…?" Sanda asked softly.
"We can give you leave for a week," the second board member nodded.
"Thank you…" she swallowed.
"I'll make the adjustments to your schedule," her supervisor said.
"Okay," Sanda shivered hard and stood up. "I need to…talk to some people…I mean…"
"That's fine," her supervisor said with complete understanding.
"I hope you're awake now," Mitsumi said softly. "I really hope you are."
Sanda just shivered and got escorted out. Inichi was still going to keep an eye on her thoughts. Right now, though, he knew she was planning to apologize to various members of her family and hope a new bond could be formed. He planned to help that along to encourage any positive needs to help her finally come to her senses from the state she let herself be in for so long. Her supervisor left shortly after to adjust schedule coverage for her absence.
"Good. I was getting ready to slap her. Anyways, now we get to see to the others that want to get cured?" Saitama asked and rose up with Mitsumi and Overgrown Rover in his arms.
"I had a small idea," the third board member said. "Let's bring them here one at a time to privately interview them. We'll make sure their thoughts are pure. Fan Dancer can also ensure this with her fans. What do you think?"
"Oh! That may work…" Inichi mused at the idea. Saitama sat back down to let Mitsumi settle back in his lap to show he was also agreeing.
"I would like to see what monster form they carry. If the forms are strong, we can ask if they would like to become Heroic Monsters for a time," Genos suggested. "It may prove beneficial. Of course, if they choose to be cured, we will not deny them that opportunity. It will be a choice for them."
"Ah! So they can be like Iwasaki! I like that!" Mitsumi beamed. The photo booth was now prepared, and a small changing section was set up for removal and replacement of skins and clothing. Saitama sighed with a touch of boredom at the extended wait, but Overgrown Rover whined and pawed at his chest for attention.
"What is it, doggy?" Saitama asked. The tiny monster dog rumbled and whined at him. "What? Tell me."
It whined and now started up a small, cute argument that a man would do with his dog. Mitsumi found herself giggling like mad at the whole thing. Even the others there couldn't stop the small snickers and giggles at it. Inichi knew it was only lightening up the mood while they waited. Sweet Mask just seemed to sigh at things with his own sense of boredom. He found himself suddenly drenched and sputtering when Blue Ripple sucked up some water and spat it out right at him from across the room. "What was that for?!"
"I was bored and wanted to ensure I could still hit my targets," Blue Ripple chuckled. Mitsumi was dying with laughter now from it. Tajima had to swallow her laughter down and was quick to help Sweet Mask with the water that now soaked his form. Tacki was laughing and had tossed over a small towel.
"Rather impressive! You did a perfect arch right over everyone and didn't even let a drop hit us," Bane grinned.
"None of you were my targets," Blue Ripple nodded.
"Hmm. You hit him with water…" Saitama mused lightly to only be heard by those in his immediate vicinity.
"I did," Blue Ripple snickered softly.
"Can you do it again? After he thinks he's dry?" Saitama asked.
"Oh, definitely…" Blue Ripple chuckled.
"You can even get both Garou and Zenchu if they start to rant at each other," Mitsumi said softly to get a loving snuggle from him now.
"I can do that," Blue Ripple mumbled and enjoyed the petting.
"Won't you run out of water, though?" Saitama asked.
"As you think I am a GOD monster…well…I can regenerate any water loss around me. I am an elemental monster. I can remove and add back in what I need," Blue Ripple explained. "As you know, I can also purify water. Mitsumi can drink the water I'm in right now and be perfectly fine."
"Don't you crap in the water, though?" Saitama had to ask and got a scowl from Mitsumi. Blue Ripple rumbled laughter at that.
"Monsters don't need to do such a thing. We can. But we don't have to. If I did do such a thing…well…" Blue Ripple mused. "I'd request to be levitated over a city to let out over three hundred years' worth of it…"
"Wait!" Zenchu now looked at him with shock from what Inichi now mentally shared. "You can store up your shit and let it go whenever you want?!"
"Of course. Even Wind Crane can," Blue Ripple seemed to shrug.
"That's actually very scary," Garou admitted. Lily made a face and pressed into his chest to get a rewarding squeeze. The boardroom doors opened to show Flashy Flash and Iwasaki walking in and finding seats with them. They were all for the new idea, and each Secret Skins was brought in one at a time.
Mitsumi let her fans encircle each one to ensure of their thoughts of being reformed. Of the twenty that were there, eleven of them wanted to be cured. The other nine agreed to stay as monsters once they saw what type of monster they were under their skins. A young girl that wanted to be cured approached Saitama and Mitsumi after the assessments were finally finished. "Hello…"
"Hello! You wanted to be cured?" Mitsumi smiled.
"Yes. Even though I'm a floating fish monster under my skin," she chuckled. "It's not very strong. Pretty, but not strong."
"You said you were tricked?" Saitama asked.
"I was. Like all of us here," she nodded.
"What was your name?" he asked. "I'm…very bad with names."
"Oh. It's Akiyama," she said softly. She ran a hand through her short, black hair and rubbed at her brown eyes. She was quite slender all around, but had enough to show she was a girl.
"There was something about your monster form that intrigued me," Blue Ripple said. "I can enhance your form to help heal others. Your fish form made bubbles. I am based on water, too, as you can see. Tell me. If I allowed your bubbles to make a healing water when they pop on another…would you stay as a monster to help?"
"I…I mean…if I could help…" Akiyama swallowed and started to tear up.
"You always did want to help somehow. Didn't you?" Inichi asked from where he hovered over Fubuki. The girl nodded at this truth, and Inichi gestured for her to go back to the changing booth to bring out her monster form. She was quick to do just that and came back out as a beautiful koi-like monster that floated on a soft blanket of bubbles. She had the ability to blink her golden eyes with black pupils, and her tail was a wondrous, luscious dual fan of shimmering purples and blues. Her fins had the same coloring, and her scales shimmered like ivory with flecks of gold in them.
"Very well. It is done. Ah. The one that was wounded from the mansion would be perfect to test your healing with. Let her come forward and expose her back?" Blue Ripple chuckled. Tajima blinked with surprise at this, and Sweet Mask moved her over to Akiyama's floating form. Kianna was the one to get up to help remove the shirt and bandages. Kamiko was at the home in City Z preparing for the others that wanted to be cured.
With the full exposure of Tajima's back done, the others that hadn't seen the extent of her damage just gasped with shock and horror. Akiyama swirled gracefully around Tajima to let the bubbles touch and pop. The water was warm, soothing and soaked over the wounds. Before their very eyes, the wounds appeared to lift away like plastic before simply shedding off like a bad skin. Tajima gasped and said, "The pain! It's gone! What…how…?!"
"The wound became a form of shed skin!" Inichi said with amazement. "I'm not sure about internal issues, but this is valuable!"
"If anyone needs healing, we will have to assess them first. We can't let this happen for small scratches, either. Only intense issues," Kianna said carefully. "I know Kamiko would say the same thing."
"I wonder if those bubbles can regenerate limbs. I'm thinking about Iaian," Kamikaze said with intense thought.
"I don't know. The wound would need to be fresh. But…hmm. Even the scars were lifted away. They were a few months old, too. We'd have to check and see if it is even wanted," Blue Ripple said. "If the healing is not wanted, then it will not work. The healing is strong, but I am unsure of how strong."
"That shed off stuff is turning into water now," Saitama said and pointed at it. "Nothing nasty in it, either."
"So, the water can purify itself to safely evaporate away," Sweet Mask said with surprise. "That's amazing! Would it be safe to bottle some of it?"
"I would say no," Blue Ripple said. "It only works on contact. That is the nature of the gift. It cannot be done in any other way. This will avoid exploitation of such a gift."
"Stop denying it. You're a GOD monster. Even if you make fans have life, you just gave a healing gift to another monster. Admit it," Saitama said to Blue Ripple. The water monster snorted and pressed into Mitsumi's arms with a small whimper. That had Mitsumi glare mildly at Saitama to get him stammering.
"He said he would agree to that title only if he got my new fans to work like Wind Crane's fans. Stop it!" Mitsumi growled protectively. "He's my pet scaled kitty! Stop making him upset! That just makes me mad!"
"Okay…!" Saitama said and put up his red gloved hands. "I'm just stating the obvious! Think about it!"
"You think I don't know?" Mitsumi asked and caressed Blue Ripple's neck to get him purring with complete affection. "I get it. He's a strong monster. He gives gifts. He said you can breathe underwater now, too. He likely is a GOD monster. But his powers are only based on water that we know of. He's my pet now, too. Just…relax, okay?"
"Fine…" Saitama sighed and gave a blank glance at Blue Ripple's small chuckle. "You're still a GOD monster."
"Saitama!" Mitsumi hissed at him to get a grin given back. "Stop it!"
"So, if the pets get sad, Mitsumi gets pissed. But…if she gets sad, you get pissed," King mused at Saitama. "But if I piss you off with a video game beat-down, you get pissed to make her laugh. Interesting."
"Shut. Up. Now," Saitama warned him to get the others snickering.
"Video games?" Tanktop Master blinked.
"Of course! He's as strong in life as he is in the virtual world. And completely undefeated in any game he plays," Kianna giggled and snuggled King.
"Really?" the first board member asked.
"We were thinking of doing a raffle to where fanfare can play with King in weekly sessions. Even other heroes on a specialty gaming server," Mitsumi chuckled. That had the other board members clamoring for it to happen.
"I do have a server set up. We used it for Saitama's, eh, at home events," King said. "It's still running, too. I check it once a day to ensure it. If we need a fighting server, though, we may have to talk to a few gaming companies."
"That won't be an issue. I can pay for it," Mitsumi chuckled.
"We'll help set that up," the first board member agreed.
"Oh! We still have that teddy bear to raffle," Mitsumi frowned.
"You know what? I want to keep the teddy bear," Saitama said.
"Oh?" she asked.
"It was the first gift I got for you. We should keep it," he smiled. "We can order another one just like it. In fact, Tacki can make one to make it be worth even more. That's easy for her."
"I can do that! I can make one at Neutral Grounds, too!" Tacki grinned.
"Okay," Mitsumi nodded with a smile.
"A teddy bear?" the third board member asked. Inichi sent over the visions to those that didn't see of the first date night in the marketplace. They were choking on laughter at what happened with Macho Pete's hand.
"We can get a few teddy bears to get raffled off with signatures," the first board member agreed. "Oh. And that one that you put in his place? He is close to losing his position as a hero. He has yet to do any good deeds at all."
"This is true. All he's been doing was hanging around clubs and saying he was a hero. No protecting and all self-promotion," Tanktop Master sighed. "I had Tanktop Black Hole watching him. Hmm. I wonder if I can put him up against Tanktop Tiger and see who can win a contest…"
"Hmm. The one that was rude to my family?" Mitsumi frowned. "You know what? I have an idea."
"Lady Mitsumi?" Zenchu asked.
"I want them to save a monster," she grinned softly.
"Oh…" Garou blinked at the idea. Lily found herself giggling.
"But…would they do it?" Tacki grinned back.
"That would be the test," Mitsumi chuckled. "Zip may be up for it."
"He can climb on almost anything! If he's not 'saved' he can get himself freed," Zenchu said. "Even Inichi can help him out."
"Easily," Inichi chuckled.
"I'd suggest Siren, but she may not want to put herself in that position," Mitsumi smiled softly. Inichi mused at this and relayed the information.
"She actually wants to. Metal Knight has been wanting to test certain strategies that unruly heroes will do. In fact, we can have Zip be a monster wanting to 'attack' her. Or…we see who can 'save' her first. A set of heroes? Or a monster?" Inichi now said with a touch of mirth.
"I like that idea," Mitsumi nodded. "Will Zip save Siren before heroes that can't work together can?"
"We can set up a small training arena in City Z. It would be good for disciples," Saitama nodded with agreement. "So, while they move through it, other monsters will appear to spook them."
"No. Only possible disciples. Not heroes being tested. I don't want our family to be attacked," Mitsumi frowned. Saitama blinked at this and agreed.
"Anyways, shall we get some photos taken for the new Heroic Monster roster? It would take only five to ten minutes," the first board member said. The monsters there nodded, and Rendor even became his monster self for it. Tatsumaki snuggled him and let him move off to get a photograph done. The Secret Skins that wanted to remain as they were also got this done with a quick removal and replacement of their skin. Genos got duplicate photos for Neutral Grounds while the opportunity was there. Once it was done and a new contract signed by the monsters there with Mitsumi and Saitama, there was a sense of peace at last.
"The photos look great!" Fubuki chuckled.
"Yeah! I'm glad the pets got them done, too," Fumio grinned and scratched Black Sperm's back. It sighed and crooned with relief at it.
"So…all this time we've been calling you…eh…your name. I never bothered to ask but…are you a guy?" Zenchu asked Black Sperm.
"Huh? Oh. Yes," he said now. Fumio looked at Zenchu oddly.
"What? I was just curious," Zenchu shrugged.
"Okay. Let's head home and cure those that want to be cured," Saitama said and lifted Mitsumi up in his arms. Overgrown Rover huffed and yawned while staying in Mitsumi's arms. Now that the group was leaving the Hero Association, Iwasaki was talking calmly to those that were excited on getting cured at last. Genos was sure Kamiko had the isolation chamber ready, and he already knew that Metal Knight was prepared if anything went wrong.