"Zenchu! The egg of dreams is hatching!" Wind Crane gasped when she appeared at the nest with him. The spherical white egg was starting to shiver with movement, and it was quickly pulled away from the other four eggs.
"What?! What of the others?!" Zenchu asked with shock.
"They have another two days," she judged on feeling them. "But this one…well…are you ready to greet our offspring?"
"Yes," he nodded and watched her become the crane monster form. She warbled in a cooing motion to encourage the rocking, white egg. A heavy split started and crackled all over the shell. Two small arms with tiny clawed fingers pried their way out. Zenchu counted four fingers and a thumb from what he saw. Then two glowing, silvery white eyes peeked out at them from the hole. Zenchu found himself chuckling and kneeling down with intense fatherly affection. "Come on. Let's have a look at you, eh?"
"Gah…!" the small voice seemed to respond in the egg. He chuckled again and reached forward to gently pry away more of the egg. Wind Crane cooed again and planned to save the shells in case they did something like her egg did long ago. A small, pale white body much like Cold Snap in form appeared. It was clearly feminine in form, slightly glowing from the brightness of her skin, and small bump-like nubs were all over her body. She didn't appear to have any horns right now, and her back looked like something might end up growing there.
Dampened light blue hair from the shell looked like it was stuck to her, and Zenchu was able to shadow phase away to come back with a few towels. A bucket of warm water was next to bathe her, and he made sure to bar the door to the chamber off. Wind Crane looked at him curiously. He sighed and said, "Sorry, babe. I need to make sure no one will interfere if we have to bond."
She clacked her beak with understanding and cooed again to encourage the little one to try standing. Zenchu noticed she resembled a toddler. He gently rubbed her down with a wash cloth and towel dried her. Her hair stuck out sporadically to reveal lightly pointed ears much like Zenchu's own. The newly hatched girl started to cry a bit from it, but Zenchu tickled her lightly to calm her down. She now saw Wind Crane hunker down and reform into her human form to smile with intense motherly affection.
"Hello, my daughter. Come to mommy," Wind Crane soothed. The monster child seemed to squeal and leapt right into the waiting arms for a loving embrace. "That's it. I can sense already that you know much. I shall teach you what you need for now. I shall show you who can be trusted. You will meet your other brothers and sisters, too. Just rest now, my young love."
"What should we name her?" Zenchu asked. He moved to help Wind Crane to a nearby couch to settle on with him. An ultra-soft blanket of dark red coloring was found at the end of the couch and quickly used to wrap the girl in.
"She is pale and pure. Like the whitest of stars. Her name shall be Starlight. You see how she glows?" Wind Crane chuckled.
"Her back looks like she might have something there later," he said.
"That is fine. My wonderful Starlight will not rush her growth. I know all monsters grow swiftly. She may be an adult in a month. Possibly a year in a day. I am unsure. We shall see how she is and never falter in her care," Wind Crane nodded. Starlight just sighed and snuggled into her parents now to rest. Then Wind Crane mused and said, "You know you cannot swear around her."
"Only while she's a kid," he nodded. She gave him a look to find him grinning. "We'll see how she is while she grows."
"Impossible!" Wind Crane snorted and found herself laughing. "I fear we may need to be here for the rest of the time to tend to her. I refuse to take her to a place where she will be stared at."
"Lady Mitsumi would say the same thing. I can go for us if the need is great," Zenchu agreed. When Starlight closed her eyes, Wind Crane glanced at her with complete shock. Zenchu blinked and said, "She's…mentally talking to us?!"
"She is a GOD monster of dreams. As she sleeps, her hidden power grows. I shall make small suggestions on how to use her power to help and not hurt. Let none disturb us," Wind Crane said and closed her eyes to meditate. Zenchu nodded and glanced up at Metal Knight's camera. He knew this was likely being seen, and he further knew that Siren would definitely inform the others the moment things were done.
Back at the Hero Association, Saitama and Mitsumi were still in a deep sleep on the new treasure bed. There was no threat or need to wake. But a very intricate dream of vast importance was suddenly taking form…
Saitama woke up and found himself on a couch in a room like a vast library. He heard Mitsumi talking to someone not too far off, and he found himself getting up. He realized he was in normal clothes and not his hero clothes. On looking over, he paused at how Mitsumi was being cradled protectively by an older man. Wait! He looks familiar! Like from a video! He has her eyes! Even her hair! That manicured beard! Is this…? It can't be…
"Good. You're awake. Please come over here. We don't have much time," the man said. "Yes, I'm her father. Etsuji Takashi. Now that he's awake, I'll tell you everything, Mitsumi. As to why I'm finally here, well…you had a very specific monster appear from a white egg."
"The one of dreams! It hatched?!" Mitsumi gasped.
"The very one. And she will be part of the many crucial keys to help you in your fight. When she sleeps, her power is released. As her predecessor was used for evil, she will learn how to help for good," Etsuji nodded. "Your mentor is with her now to help guide her. She sensed me and wanted to help. Your mentor guided her on how to do just that."
"Okay. So, Wind Crane is with her. Good. That means we may not be seeing her or Zenchu later. That's fine. Before we talk, I had one major question for you," Saitama said and walked over to let Mitsumi lean into him.
"Ask away," Etsuji nodded.
"Would you have approved of me being with Mitsumi on first meeting her?" Saitama asked with a small grin. Etsuji grimaced and gave a hard sigh.
"I wouldn't have," he admitted. "Only because I approved of no one being with her. Regardless of looks, fame or anything. However, once you showed me your loyalty and strength, as well as proved that you saw past various things about her…I know I would have relented. And I doubt you would have left us alone until you got approval to be with her."
"Oh, yeah. Totally. I would have been an annoying pain in your ass," Saitama nodded with complete confidence in the fact.
"I figured as much," Etsuji rolled his eyes. Mitsumi started laughing at it all and shook her head. "In all seriousness, though, I was there for her rescue. I saw her discover her talent after you encouraged it. I was even there for the wedding just a day ago. However, as it stands, I said before that I didn't have much time. So, I need to give you a message."
"We're here," Saitama nodded.
"My daughter is going to give you four children down the line. And only four. I say this because her body will weaken with each birth," Etsuji said carefully. "You'll have three sons and a daughter. I don't know in which order. Of course, a son will be your firstborn as we know. All of them will be exceptionally powerful in their own rights."
"Only four?" Saitama frowned.
"Did you not hear what I just said?!" Etsuji scowled.
"Father, let me explain it," Mitsumi said. "Love, you told me you never want to see me hurt, right?"
"True," Saitama nodded.
"I think you watching me be in pain would get to you. This is childbirth labor pains we're talking about. The first one is always rough. The others will be easier, but it's also your power we're working with. It works with me differently. I may only be able to handle four before the strain really starts. Or my body will just…not get pregnant after that. We don't know," she said softly. "We also don't know if the four children seen will have your powers and others won't. So, I may get more children, but, then again, I might not. Right?"
"Yeah. I can get that," he frowned.
"So, we'll just not worry about it for now. We were forewarned of this. We'll tell the others later. Okay?" she smiled. "Just…relax for now."
"Okay," he nodded. Etsuji sighed with relief and checked the clock on the wall. He frowned in thought. Saitama looked at him and said, "What's up?"
"I'm just puzzled why Mitsumi didn't see my letter to her," Etsuji admitted. "I thought she would have read her books. And when she saw me that night of the argument…I knew I had to do something. Anything. I knew her mother was going to kill me. I had to act fast.
"I got with my lawyers and legal representatives. The contract was set. I ensured it was final. I told all of my contacts to vanish. To be discreet and send out others for them until the threat was gone. If only I knew about you sooner!"
"Eh…well…I didn't put myself out there," Saitama shrugged. "That wasn't my goal. I was a hero for fun. I still am a hero for fun. But for Mitsumi…I'm her Wild card. I will step in and crush anything that tries to hurt her."
"As for the letter, it was like I told Saitama. I honestly think it was for both of us to find together. I mean…I was so stressed! I couldn't think, much less sleep. And to focus on reading while fearing for my life? I simply couldn't do that then. I'm just glad I escaped when I did," Mitsumi frowned.
"After my body died, I found myself screaming in rage and torment for so long," Etsuji shivered. "I finally had to resolve myself to watch. I wasn't at peace. And after I saw what my family did to you…what Daiki didn't even stop after promising to me that he would protect you! I knew I had to wait for a chance to talk to you. To anyone. To show that I was doing all I could to see to your safety. Even now, I'm on borrowed time. The moment the GOD monster wakes…"
"But, if she sleeps again…?" Mitsumi asked.
"It might be possible…" Etsuji blinked. "I won't feel like I'm at rest until I know that all threats to you are gone. Of course, with you being a hero now, that won't happen. I'm sure I'll never rest until I know you are completely safe."
"I can get that. Anyways, I'll talk to the others when we wake up," Saitama said. "I am curious if we can do something where I first met her at one of those stupid social parties, though. Still a dream and would be kinda neat!"
"We could work that in!" Etsuji grinned lightly. "We can plan for that next time if it happens."
"That would be quite interesting. We could even sort of…pretend to not to know each other to make it even more realistic! It really would be something if it could happen," Mitsumi blinked at the idea. They looked around when the dream room started to shake.
"Time's running out. So, Saitama, I have two favors to ask of you until we meet again," Etsuji said. Saitama nodded to show he was listening. "Tell Junpei, ah, I mean Inichi that he has yet to write a script for himself to judge his own works. Do not tell him of this dream until he demands to know how you know only I would say this."
"I can do that," Saitama grinned.
"And the other?" Mitsumi asked.
"Don't let my daughter get caught at any given time," Etsuji said gravely.
"Name something else. Because there are absolutely no plans for that to ever happen," Saitama said with a slight wave of dismissal. Etsuji rose a brow, but he found himself sighing with laughter.
"Fine. Your firstborn son. Give him my name for a middle name," he said lightly. Mitsumi swallowed and nodded.
"That I can do," Saitama nodded with a soft smile.
"I know we'll see each other again," Etsuji said and hugged his daughter a final time for now. Then he shook Saitama's hand. "Plan on it."
"You'd better show up again!" Saitama said to get them laughing. Etsuji gave him an incredibly approving glance as the dream faded out…
"Saitama!" Mitsumi cried out when she bolted up.
"I'm here! I know! I remember it. It's okay," he whispered when she burst into tears. Blue Ripple looked over with alarm. Bright Bolt started to bristle, but Saitama rose up his hand. "The GOD monster of dreams hatched. Through her, Mitsumi's dad was able to come through to show himself to us."
"Really?!" Blue Ripple asked with genuine surprise.
"Wow!" Cold Snap blinked from where he sat on the bed.
"Can you show us?" Tangled Vine asked. Saitama nodded and let them see his thoughts. Then Overgrown Rover was shown the visions by Blue Ripple.
"We shall…know more…later…" Stable Rock grunted out.
"I know. So, his name will be the middle name of my son. That's fine. But now I kinda wanna see how Inichi will react to that saying," Saitama grinned. He looked at Mitsumi and kissed her forehead. "You okay?"
"Just…a minute…" she sniffled. He nodded and cradled her. He continued to run a hand up and down her back to show he was there.
"It's okay," he whispered and continued to hold her. "Maybe I can slap Garou if Zenchu's not here…"
"Stop!" Mitsumi said and coughed out laughter.
"Well, I'm gonna have to slap somebody," he mused. "Oh. Sugar Face needs to be slapped!"
"Saitama! Stop it!" she finally said to get him grinning ruefully.
"I'd say anyone that can't complete your track gets slapped," Bright Bolt said. Now Saitama looked at him before giving a wide grin.
"Yes! That!" he said to get the pets snickering with delight.
"Saitama," Mitsumi said softly to get him looking at her with concern. "What did you think of my father?"
"I wish I knew him while he was alive," Saitama nodded. "Not only would I have pissed him off by being an annoying pain in his ass, but I would have shown him that there are guys out there that don't care about money. I mean, I like money! Don't get me wrong. I like treasure. Gems. Treasure boxes overflowing with money and treasure…"
"Right…" Mitsumi giggled softly.
"But I would throw all of it away to have you at my side. Zenchu completely described you when your sister confronted us at Neutral Grounds. You're priceless. No amount of money could ever replace you. That woman called you worthless. But that's only because she saw you that way. You have no price on you. And if anyone ever tries to 'buy' you…"
"No chance…" Stable Rock grunted and nudged his muzzle into their laps for pets and scratches. "I make…all…your wealth…now…"
"You would just buy me back, huh?" Mitsumi laughed.
"Wait a minute! You were called worthless?!" Bright Bolt bristled.
"Mom!" Cold Snap said with a hard frown.
"It's okay," Saitama said to calm them down. "We took care of it. She might finally have woken up. If she still tries to kick Mitsumi around, I'll be kicking her around. Just let me deal with it."
"But…okay…" Cold Snap frowned at his dad's warning glare.
"Don't. I'll get in the way. Is there any lunch left?" Saitama asked.
"Plenty," Cold Snap nodded. He watched his parents rise up from the treasure bed to fix up clothes and he followed them out. He moved over to sit with Fumio and Black Sperm to chit chat.
"Is Inichi around?" Saitama asked.
"I'm here!" Inichi waved from where he sat on a couch with Fubuki. "We weren't sure of the plans."
"Just testing some other games out," King chuckled. Kianna smiled at them from where she sat next to King to show she was completely relaxed.
"Cool. Eh, so, Inichi. Have you ever tried to write a script and be your own judge?" Saitama asked with a blank stare.
"What?" Inichi blinked and looked at him with confusion. Then he paused with shock. "Who told you that?!"
"I dunno. Just an idea?" Saitama shrugged.
"There was only one that told me that," Inichi grimaced. "I need to know. Don't hide your thoughts! Is he…Lady Mitsumi?! Does he still live?!"
"Relax, Inichi," Mitsumi smiled and found herself hugging him when he rose up from the couch. "He's…still gone. But…"
"He didn't want us to say anything until you started to go nuts," Saitama nodded. "We dreamt of him."
"What's this?!" Inichi gaped with shock. Mitsumi chuckled and had him look at her thoughts now. He was completely stunned and speechless. Just as he was about to ask something, Mitsumi blinked and found herself trembling.
"Mitsumi?!" Saitama hissed and was quick to pull her back into his arms.
"Not you…!" she whimpered and burst into tears.
"Hmm…ah…I see…" Inichi grimaced. "Your growing son caused her to refuse my touch. Even family is not allowed to hold her for a time."
"I'm sorry…Inichi…" Mitsumi whispered. Fubuki was completely concerned, but Inichi rose up his hand to keep things calm.
"It is not your fault," he said with complete understanding.
"This isn't good," Saitama frowned hard. He placed his hand on her belly to watch her gasp out hard with relief. Then he bent down and said, "Hey! Family and pets are good! If you're this smart, then you know this! Family should be able to hold her in my presence. You know when I'm around, and ten minutes is reasonable. You should also be able to let them hold her to help her with no issues for as long as needed if there is an emergency and I'm trying to get to her! This includes pets that become human to help us! Cut this out! Now!"
"Hmm…I am actually getting the sensation of…understanding. He does know there may be emergency times where there might be a chance you will be struggling to reach her. He does understand that such a thing will be necessary to keep his mother as calm as possible. We'll try this again later after Lady Mitsumi recovers," Inichi nodded.
"Tomorrow," Saitama corrected and squeezed Mitsumi close. "When we're home and not here in a place where things can go wrong."
"Agreed," Inichi nodded. Fubuki gave her own nod with the others there.
"We can easily do a ten minute leeway to show I still need to reach her within that time. Unless we know something is severely wrong and I'm doing all I can to reach her. My son knows when I'm not there. I will always be there within ten minutes. So, I propose this," Saitama said and looked down at Mitsumi's belly. "Instead of causing her severe pain, make her fall asleep. This way only I can wake her up. Then the pain can hit, but hopefully no pain at all. Since I'll be there. Will this work?"
"I find this incredible! I'm able to get sensations of complete agreement!" Inichi blinked. "In my monster form, I can't really get much of any sensation. But…in my human form…"
"Oh! This may be a new thing that your monster form can't process?" Fubuki asked with a smile.
"I think that's it. I'll need to be human a bit more when Lady Mitsumi appears to be in distress. I'll ensure to have some spare clothes nearby if I need to change back and forth. It would be easier to have my clothes appear and reappear with me, though," Inichi sighed. Then he blinked at Wind Crane's direct thought to him. "Ah! Wind Crane is going to gift me the ability to have my clothes dissolve and reform with my changes. This will be highly beneficial."
"That's very good," Fubuki chuckled. "I'll still carry an extra set, though. Just in case."
"Agreed," Inichi chuckled and hugged her when she rose up to stand with him. "How are you doing, though?"
"I'm doing well, actually. I, ah, may need some medication in a couple days, though," Fubuki admitted. Inichi sighed at that, but he understood.
"We'll ensure to have bathrooms stocked," Mitsumi managed to whisper out. Saitama moved to sit down on the couch with her in his lap. Food was now served to them to help calm things down even more.
"Everything will be fine," Saitama mumbled in her ear. She nodded and let him feed her a bit before she yawned. "Sleep if you need it."
"Okay," she sighed and found herself doing just that. King lowered the sound on the television, and Kianna ensured there were enough snacks within reach for them all. Inichi and Fubuki resettled on another couch to recline.
"Where are the others?" Saitama asked.
"Tacki is going over the lights in the warehouse back at home. Of course, Kamikaze is with her. Garou, Lily and Bane went to their areas, too, in City Z. Genos and Kamiko are at Neutral Grounds. Suiryu also escorted Do-S there to show her around and see if she wanted to help. She may be a bouncer with Tsuruga and Tanktop Girl," Inichi chuckled.
"Good. We're here for tonight, so you all can head back when ready," Saitama nodded. "Game night, though?"
"Yep! Just making sure things are working," King nodded at him. Saitama nodded back and got comfortable on the couch. Mitsumi was in a deep sleep against him. He made no plans to wake her. He was a bit amused at the idea of meeting with Mitsumi and her father again, though. Even Etsuji knows I'll be a major pain in his ass if I couldn't be with Mitsumi! I'll definitely prove that if another dream happens on meeting her. And I'll slap away any guy that tries to get with her before I do. Etsuji will definitely enjoy watching that!