"It's good to be back," Blue Ripple sighed and moved right into the water to shift to his immense size. He submerged himself fully and rose back up with relief. "We need to go below the water. Come."
"It's under the water?!" Saitama gaped.
"Best way to protect it," Blue Ripple grinned. "Also, there are two rewards from the advanced training. There is the chest, of course. After the chest is found, a path to lead out to dry land is revealed. So, the first trial is to reach the training room. The second is the basic training room. The third is advanced in order to leave. Of course, for basic training, I would have to guide others out. But for advanced? They are skilled enough to leave on their own."
"How would new ones reach the training room if you're not there?" Tacki asked. "That would be rather tough, huh?"
"They must prove to be members of the Wind Crane Clan. I am the one that allows them entry. I am the first part of the training room trial," Blue Ripple chuckled. "It's why I did not mind helping the clan. It gave me a new sense of purpose. It felt very nice to do so. There was also no entry unless I was present. With me being trapped here before, well…I was always here. They asked if I could help. I said I would be honored."
"Interesting! Would it just be me and Saitama to go, then?" Mitsumi asked.
"You have us with you. We'll be fine," Tangled Vine chuckled. "We can go as a group with no issues. But, we may have to wait until the artifact is revealed to fully join you."
"That would make sense," Bright Bolt agreed.
"When do we go?" Garou asked.
"Come," Blue Ripple nodded and extended his fin as a small bridge. Mitsumi's fans came out to levitate her and Saitama over. The others were able to walk up carefully and settle along his back. "There are no currents. Just remain as you are."
"Fasten seat belts! Food trays up! What?" Bright Bolt blinked at the snickers and small bits of laughter given.
"Sounds like something Garou should have said," Lily grinned. Garou looked at her and found himself laughing with agreement.
"Nice…" Stable Rock grunted and ensured he was seated securely with Saitama. Mitsumi's spine necklace glowed to protect those with her against any issues with water. Overgrown Rover snuggled into Mitsumi's body before snagging Saitama's hand to put against her belly. It pressed hard against her belly now to show that his touch was needed. Saitama nodded and shifted a bit to let her recline against him for this.
"Good doggy," Saitama smiled and grimaced at the lick given to his face. "Thanks…but…no…"
"Cute!" Mitsumi giggled and squeaked at the snuggles her pets gave her now. Blue Ripple carefully submersed himself and ensured his passengers were secure. Then he dove down into the deepest part of his lake and recalled where the entrance to the training room was. Fire Flight was a touch nervous from all the water, but the spine necklace around Mitsumi's neck fully protected her. Blue Ripple got to where a wall of rock that held his lake in was and gently pushed it aside to show it was a hidden door. He was sure that Inichi would set it back and even improve it later on. He swam up into a chamber that clearly led into a hidden room from a specialized path.
"This is pretty cool," Kamikaze mused when they rose up from the water.
"We're still in the lake?" Saitama asked.
"Yes. This is part of a mountain base. When Stable Rock visited long ago, he helped make this chamber…" Blue Ripple said lightly.
"Stable Rock?! You knew of the clan?!" Mitsumi asked with shock.
"No…just…to help…make this…place…" the earth monster admitted.
"Is that electric lighting?!" Fubuki gaped at a sphere that sparked up with light. "Bright Bolt, didn't you say that you met Stable Rock before?"
"Oh! Yeah. I did. I set up the lights here to never go out and to respond to a Wind Crane Clan member. That's how they lit up with Mitsumi here now. I knew Wind Crane, and I said that I'd think about helping her out if I had time. If you remember when we first met, she reminded me that she was back around. She never saw these rooms, but I kept my vow to help her clan here and there. So…yeah…I helped with the lights here," Bright Bolt chuckled. He craned his neck out at Mitsumi's loving scratches over his body. When her scratching went around his rump, his glowing electric blue eyes popped wide open. "That…feels…so good…!"
"So, you like butt scratches?" Saitama asked with a small grin.
"I can't scratch my own butt like you unless I shift human!" the electric monster retorted to get them all laughing. When Mitsumi moved her hand away, he leaned over to nudge his nose into her arm. "More butt scratches, please!"
"Really?!" she blinked and got the others dying with laughter.
"You can scratch my butt all day and I'll be totally cool with it!" he whinnied with delight.
"Just don't fart on them," Garou grinned to get Lily pouting at him.
"Nah. The dog will do that for me," Bright Bolt snickered. That got Garou to pale and get Saitama laughing at it. Overgrown Rover huffed and looked at Garou with a tilt of its head.
"Don't even!" Kamikaze said quickly. "We are in a cave! That shit won't escape! It will stay here with us!"
"I can…help…" Stable Rock snorted with a bit of laughter.
"Don't encourage it!" Kamikaze grimaced to get the earth monster snickering with a form of delight. Overgrown Rover yapped and got Cold Snap bursting with laughter. Saitama looked at his son with a look to translate.
"It knows…where you sleep!" Cold Snap said between maddened giggles.
"Shit…!" Kamikaze scowled to get Mitsumi and Tacki laughing hard at it.
"That's what you'll smell like if it gets its way!" Garou said to get more laughter coming from them all.
"Training room…please…?" Mitsumi managed to gasp out.
"Yeah," Saitama chuckled and let her fans carry them to the smooth, stone walkway. It was clearly made of polished marble, and Stable Rock studied it with the cavern entrance. He recalled what the other Wind Crane Clan entrances looked like, and now he focused to let slabs of rock appear from the rock walls. They crumbled down to reveal perfectly carved statues of Wind Crane to grace the cave.
"Ah…!" Mitsumi gaped with shock.
"Make one of them solid gold. Oh! Solid gold training doors! Please?!" Saitama said with excitement. "It would also be awesome to have a solid gold house! That would be so epic!"
"Saitama!" Mitsumi scowled at him.
"Hmm…" Stable Rock thought and nudged Saitama's chin. He was still in the bald hero's arms, and he looked over at the training doors of carved stone. "I am…unsure…of…a home…but…maybe…this…"
"Ah!" Saitama's jaw dropped when the stone doors of Wind Crane figures to the training room morphed into a set of solid gold figures.
"Why?!" Mitsumi asked. The others with them were in shock.
"Doors…like this…are hard…to reach. Now…harder…to open…unless given…permission…right…?" Stable Rock grinned and winked.
"I like this. This is awesome. It's amazing. We should make all of our doors like this. All gold. With gems. And…what?" Saitama asked when Mitsumi sighed hard at him. "This spoils me. Admit it."
"I know it does, love," Mitsumi frowned. "But it hurts me."
"How does it hurt you?" he asked and set down Stable Rock. He moved right to Mitsumi's side to hug her close. "Tell me, please."
"I know you've never been around it. But…I feel trapped with it all around me," she admitted. "I mean…I get why you want it. But…can we…well…"
"Talk to me," he said gently and kissed her forehead.
"Small things first. Okay? I have to get used to seeing it again. Father made me numb to it all. To hate it. It's hard for me to appreciate it. Things like this have always changed people. I don't want it to change you," she whispered.
"Wife," Saitama said carefully to show he was serious. "I've said this once. Twice. Hell, I'll say it a thousand times. If I have to choose between you and money, I would always choose you. Money is nice to have. Gold and gems are nice to have. That can all be replaced. Even more now with our pets. You are original. One of a kind. I can't replace you. I will never replace you. Okay?"
"What he said goes to you," Garou said to Lily to make her blush and laugh softly at him. Tacki and Kamikaze glanced at each other with knowing grins. Siren glanced down at her ring with a small smile of her own. She knew Metal Knight was definitely listening in.
"Same could be said for all of us," Inichi chuckled and let Fubuki squeeze him close. Shenjou chuckled and Fire Flight's cuddle into him.
"I get it. I know. You hate the money. I love the money. We had this conversation before at the spa room. So, yes, we'll do baby steps. But I still want a gold house," Saitama said and grinned at Mitsumi's small sigh of defeat.
"You don't have to have just a gold house. I can make one of ice and have you immune to the effects of cold. You already are from me, anyways," Cold Snap grinned and laughed and Saitama's tickling pokes.
"One of fire, perhaps?" Fire Flight winked.
"Elemental houses? That's…that would be something…" Mitsumi mused at the idea. "We can try that."
"I still get my gold house, then?" Saitama grinned.
"We'll see…" she sighed and got a kiss pressed to her mouth. "I love you, husband. Just…take it easy around me?"
"I'll do my best. I love you, too," Saitama smiled warmly, squeezed her and looked over at the golden doors. "Okay. Training room. Ready?"
"Let me stretch. I've been doing this a lot and I need to prepare. I might hurt myself if I don't stretch from all the training I'm doing again," Mitsumi frowned. Saitama nodded and showed he was going to stretch himself out with her. He had her watch how he did it from his intense training days, and she found it extremely effective on each muscle that was focused on. When it came to the leg stretches on the ground, the bantering was quick to start up.
"I didn't know you could stretch yourself like that, Saitama," Kamikaze grinned. "Looks pretty tough."
"I should try that before working on extensive projects," Tacki beamed.
"I just need to stretch out one limb. What?" Garou asked when Lily poked at his chest to shut him up. Saitama gave him an odd look.
"You have to stretch what out?" he asked.
"Ah…I have to explain myself?" Garou gave a puzzled expression. Mitsumi whispered to Saitama softly to help him.
"Oh. You have to stretch that out? Huh. I thought you could shift your size," Saitama said with a small smirk. Garou's look was priceless when Lily burst into intense laughter with the others. "You saying you can't?"
"I never tried. I know it was suggested before, but…hmm. I'll have to try that. Later," Garou said to get Lily to stare at him in a speechless way.
"Maybe shift the shape?" Shenjou grinned a bit wickedly.
"Huh! I can…experiment," Garou mused. Now Lily was beet red and hiding her face in her hands.
"Genos still has you in the bag if you can't make it vibrate," Tacki said to shut them all up. Kamikaze groaned and hid his face in his hand.
"I still need to fix that…" Saitama said mildly. Mitsumi gave him a small glare to shut him up now. "What?!"
"You are just fine. Nothing else is needed for you," Mitsumi chided him and rose up to finish stretching herself out. "Okay, I think I'm good now."
"There might be a bolt that comes out at us. Basic training is pretty much we just walk around the traps with the doors open, right? Don't get hit by anything?" Saitama asked. She nodded and let Stable Rock open the massive, golden doors. She walked in first to step on the trigger tile to start the training dance up. Both her and Saitama moved as one through the room fluidly with a practiced ease. Traps, bolts and tiles were dodged and stepped on with their intricate dancing. They got to the back room lever easily and pulled it together.
"I wonder why the doors have to be open for basic training," Siren thought aloud. "But for advanced they shut?"
"Basic training must be evaluated. Advanced shows they know what to do," Blue Ripple chuckled. He had shrunk smaller to walk with them and sat down.
"Kamikaze, I did want to ask you something," Mitsumi said.
"Shoot!" he nodded.
"You said you wanted Tacki here to stay out of the lighting warehouse. I heard she was already fixing things there, though? I mean…shouldn't she be working on my fans, instead?" she frowned.
"She's getting too wound up. Distracted. Too much to do now. She started to piece together your main fan sets from each tooth part. Then she started to look over the dog tooth for my sword. After that, she rushed over to the warehouse to start looking at the lights and got a few of them fixed! Before we said she could access the place! When she started to see what she could do with the building that resembled a dojo, I realized I had to pull her away from all of it," Kamikaze admitted. "She needs to focus on one task at a time. Or nothing fully gets done."
"I like to multi-task, though," Tacki frowned.
"Oh, Tacki," Saitama grinned. "We want to build a hotel resort. With Neutral Grounds as a restaurant lobby. The hotel would sit behind the restaurant."
"WHAT?! THAT WOULD BE SOOO COOL!" Tacki shrieked at the top of her lungs. "I could totally design each bedroom to look like its own personal spa room! With marble tile! And incredibly fluffy robes! And each main floor could be themed differently!"
"Slow down!" Kamikaze grimaced and pulled her into his arms. Then he glared at Saitama. "I am totally blaming you for this!"
"Actually, blame the pets. They gave me the idea after what we went through before the training room venture," Saitama shrugged. "Oh. And the top floor would belong to me and Mitsumi. Full penthouse."
"Awesome!" Tacki beamed.
"Okay, so after this training room, we just have one more artifact?" Saitama asked. "That right?"
"No. You have two," Tacki said.
"Huh? I thought it was the scepter, the crown, a ring and an orb," Mitsumi frowned on recounting what she knew.
"You forgot a pendant," Tacki said. "I remember Wind Crane mentioning that. But she only said it once."
"Hmm…" Mitsumi frowned and focused. :Wind Crane Clan Mother, you know we found the crown and the scepter. Was there only the ring and orb left?:
:MY DAUGHTER, THERE WAS ALSO A PENDANT. HOWEVER, THE PENDANT IS THE HARDEST TO GET. YOU NEED ALL FOUR ARTIFACTS FIRST. THE PENDANT IS UNLOCKED BY THE OTHERS AS A SAFETY MEASURE. IT WAS WHY IT WAS ONLY MENTIONED ONCE. THE PENDANT IS THE MOST POWERFUL OF ALL THE ARTIFACTS. YOU WOULD THINK THE SCEPTER, BUT IT IS ONLY A FOCUS.:
:Ah! Okay. Do you know where the pendant is?:
:MY DAUGHTER…MY TEMPLE WHERE YOU FOUND ME WAS NOT ONLY A PRISON. I WAS ALSO A BIT OF A GUARD. IT WAS ANOTHER SECRET REASON AS TO WHY I COULD NOT LEAVE WHEN I WANTED TO. I COULD NOT RISK IT AT ALL. I WILL TELL YOU ALL WHEN YOU FIND THE OTHER TWO ARTIFACTS.:
"We will need to go to the flower field with all four artifacts. The pendant is the final piece locked away there," Mitsumi said with a bit of a frown. "It wasn't mentioned so often due to it being the most powerful and secretive part."
"I really hope we're not late for King's game," Saitama sighed and moved Mitsumi into the training chamber.
"I think we can wait to collect the last artifact. That area is fully protected now. It's this one and the other that we need quickly. We'll be fine," Mitsumi smiled. He blinked and nodded at that thought. "We can do it tomorrow after we check out our house by the spa resort in City A. We'll need to get Fumio from the flower field home, too, so he can be with us to get the pendant."
"Got it. After that, we'll head back to City Z and see what else we need to do there," Saitama nodded at the plan. He watched the rest of the group move to where the lever was to set it for basic training. "At least the controls in each room appear to be the same."
"Yeah," Mitsumi smiled with a nod. "Wait. We just walked through this room with traps! Now we have to reset it? For basic training?"
"This room was set to ensure only a proper Wind Crane Clan assassin can reach the lever successfully. It was my idea," Blue Ripple admitted. "Granted, the others are already set for basic training. But this one was made to work your way to the back room first. Then the room is reset to start the true trainings. Think of it as a test before the true test. It's also set to be slightly different from the training room, too. I really wanted to ensure that protection was the primary need."
"Ahh! I see. How interesting! So, it's like a fail-safe of sorts?" she blinked.
"Exactly," Blue Ripple nodded. Mitsumi cuddled him before standing to move next to Saitama. They went back into place to show the training was ready to start. She focused to bring out her assassin training and started to walk with him after the tile shifted down. Once again, they dodged bolts, stepped around traps and activated any pressure tiles. When they got to the lever, he was quick to move to the revealed wooden chest to pull out the scroll. At a glance to the group, they nodded and moved out of the room for the advanced training.
"Ready?" Saitama asked and rested a hand on the lever. He watched her move back to the front of the room to stand on the tile again.
"I am," Mitsumi smiled and felt the pressure tile go down after the room reset. The moment she stepped off the tile, he was right there with her to move through the room. A bolt almost snagged at his cape, but she moved her arm to brush it out of the bolt's path. The two of them were in perfect sync together just by using their senses. He found it slightly amusing that she was guiding him with just her body movements alone.
"You are amazing. I'll never stop saying it," he said with a warm smile when they got to the last tile.
"You actually learn very quickly. Unless you're covering up for your mistakes," she grinned slightly to get him laughing.
"Not really. I just never used my senses like this before. It's…kinda cool!" he grinned and kissed her. "I love you."
"I love you," she whispered and let him give her a branding kiss before turning her to the chest that appeared. He opened the doors to let the others in, and they pulled the Wind Crane Clan orb from the chest.
"Hmm…" Tacki examined the eight inch wide orb with a flying crane on the top of it. It was covered with small crystals from Wind Crane's egg, and all of it was held together with gold casing. "I don't see any damage. It can go home. We can study it more later when we know more on what it does."
"I'll handle it. Wind Crane is putting them all in a special place," Cold Snap said and sent it away with an ice blue spark.
"The ring is left now?" Fubuki smiled.
"Yep. Let's see where we have to go," Saitama started and glanced at the wall to find the entrance opening up. "Ah. The way out?"
"Yes," Blue Ripple chuckled. He purred when Mitsumi scooped him up to cuddle. They turned to look at the unrolled parchment now, and it showed a lush valley with tall mountains around it.
"I don't recall this area…" Mitsumi frowned.
"I do. It's the desert temple. This was drawn out before the fans were tested. This is what the area looked like before the fans destroyed the region," Inichi sighed. "Do you recognize those sheer cliffs in the distance?"
"Ah…wow…this place…it was beautiful once…" she blinked.
"We can fix it now," Tangled Vine purred and leapt up to her shoulders.
"You can! Oh! I need to buy this land, too!" she beamed.
"No need…" Stable Rock snorted. "I shall…hide…this area…with rock…"
"Okay. I will definitely want to see this!" Garou grinned. Lily was just as excited to see the location.
"Wait…" Stable Rock chuckled and looked at the empty chest. Saitama was quick to help place the newly made, massive, fiery pink diamond with blue highlights into it. After it was filled with other loose gems and gold nuggets, the chest was closed to sink back down to keep it hidden again.
"Should we go out by the exit?" Mitsumi asked.
"Just enough for the exit to seal. It will sense when we leave. It was part of the mechanisms here. There is a pressure plate at the end of the path," Blue Ripple nodded. The group left and ensured the path sealed up safely. They were deposited on the far side of the lake on the opposite side from where they arrived. Stable Rock grunted and focused to take them all to the desert temple.
"What's this?" Mitsumi frowned at the excavation crew there. "What is going on?!"
"Ah…" a man quickly turned from where he was trying to chisel at a slab of rock. "Who…are you…?"
"I am Fan Dancer. The last known Wind Crane Clan assassin! You are all trespassing on clan property!" she said with a seething hiss.
"Hmm…" Stable Rock grunted.
"Can I zap?" Bright Bolt asked. There was a group of five people, and it was clear that they were looking for the temple entrance. All of them were dressed the same in large hats and travel gear, but one of them clearly stood out. He was also easily recognized.
"I see you all are looking for the temple. And you are the cause. The one we let go before," Inichi said and brought the original researcher to them in a blue bubble. "Did you already forget who you were dealing with?"
"Well…I mean…" the man grimaced. They looked over to see Wind Crane land heavily and form into her human self. She was there to personally protect the ancient place. She was absolutely livid.
"I am Wind Crane. You are not allowed here. None of you are," she said and stood up tall. "You seek to usurp my clan secrets. You seek to infiltrate a temple dedicated to my clan and myself. You want to expose ancient secrets and knowledge to the general public to be gawked at for tourism. I will not allow any of that! I will never let those outside of the clan to gain access!"
"We're excluded, right?" Garou asked lightly. Wind Crane looked at him and gave a small smile to show that family was fine.
"It shall…be fixed…now…" Stable Rock growled and rose up the mountains around them. The research crew could only stare in shock at how the entire valley was now encased in sheer, dangerous cliffs of rock. "Only I…will allow…entrance…from now…on…"
"But…you can't hide this!" the researcher panicked. "The world show know the truth about the clan! There's so much we can learn and do! You just can't keep us from telling the world!"
"Oh, but we can," Wind Crane smirked. "You are dealing with GOD monsters now. You are but a flea to us."
"As she said," Fire Flight said and blinked her glowing red eyes. "Be thankful that I do not set you aflame."
"Where do I send them?" Cold Snap asked.
"Anywhere but here. Because I'm extremely close to slapping them all right over the walls that were just made," Saitama growled and let Mitsumi press into him. She was clearly upset and he was getting pissed over it. Overgrown Rover growled and went quiet at his glare.
"There's no way you can do that!" another researcher scoffed. Saitama rose a brow, bent down to pick up a stone and threw it up into the air to let it vanish over a cliff. The man's jaw dropped.
"I'm rank 3 in class S. What else do you want me to throw? You?" Saitama asked him point blank. "I'm pissed right now. You upset my wife. Son, get them out of here. Quickly."
"Send them to the Hero Association. There is a room ready to investigate them," Inichi smirked. Cold Snap had everyone in front of them blink out into an ice blue spark and sent off. He even included their equipment. "I'm sure we'll see them when we go back later."
"Wind Crane Clan Mother, are you well?" Mitsumi asked and let herself get embraced. "My little sister is fine?"
"Zenchu is caring for Starlight," Wind Crane smiled warmly. "I thought this place was protected, though?"
"They were digging in the wrong spot. We are on the opposite side," Inichi chuckled. "It's why I wasn't notified by their presence. I purposely had the entrance look like the rest of the landscape."
"I am taking care of the land purchase now," Metal Knight said from Siren's ring. "I'll use the funds from Neutral Grounds for this."
"That's fine. I can put in what was taken out," Mitsumi sighed with relief.
"I am setting a harsh wind to start up around the top of the mountain circle," Wind Crane said and focused lightly. "This will deter any trying to climb over."
"And I'll set up a few plants to induce sleeping," Tangled Vine chuckled to do just that. Bright Bolt snorted and set up an electronic barrier to scramble signals into a dead zone. Blue Ripple let an eerie fog hang just below the mountain top to be safely concealed from Wind Crane's wind barrier. Stable Rock did reinforce the base of the mountains to ensure that digging through or even under the mountains would be impossible.
"Allow me to reveal the entrance," Inichi said and let the rock slab disintegrate. They all moved into the temple, and lighting was quickly set by Cold Snap and Bright Bolt. Fire Flight lit up the ancient braziers, and Stable Rock focused to revitalize the statues, floor, walls, ceiling and ancient carvings. Then he took it a step further by engraving everything with gilded gold.
"Let me show you some memories of this place," Wind Crane offered. She gave over the visions of how the temple looked before, and the inside was now drastically changed. The floor was smoothed out even further with sturdy stone slabs of rock. The walls were covered with vibrant colors of natural stone. Mitsumi could only stare with speechless wonder at how beautiful and elegant the entire place was. When she burst into tears, Saitama held her close with concern.
"S-sorry! This place is just…so amazing…!" she gasped and got cradled. "I…I feel like…I returned home…! Saitama…would you object…if our bedrooms had…a small place…in them like this? Even…somewhere in the home? I mean…I don't know…but…I think it's needed…"
"If you need it like a meditation room…hmm. Yes. We should do that," Saitama nodded. "I am quite sure that can be done easily."
"And you are home, my daughter," Wind Crane soothed with complete motherly affection. "You were trained in the ancient ways. You will always be welcome in any temple for the clan. I also believe that we can set up a small part of this place to be in every home you have, too."
"We can easily set up a small section to be a meditation chamber with incense for calm reflection," Blue Ripple chuckled. "It would be required in the dojo, too. I doubt you would need to pay tribute to Wind Crane, but there is nothing wrong with having aromatic incense to cleanse the air and rejuvenate your senses. I recall many of the clan doing just that before training."
"It is a vital thing to do. Now that you are going to become a true leader of the clan, it would be a requirement," Wind Crane nodded. "Not truly necessary, but it does relieve stress and helps with focus."
"We'll plan for it the moment we can. Not in the Hero Association, though. Our other homes, though, yeah. We'll have a small spot you can go to. Maybe outside a bit to really get that 'temple' feel for you. I may even need to join you, too," Saitama chuckled and kissed her forehead. He pressed a hand to her belly and looked around. "Where's the training room?"
"Below us," Wind Crane said and lifted a torch from the wall. "Due to this place being a form of gathering, the training room had to be hidden even further. See? Look at the floor now as the torch is lifted."
"A hidden room? Nice! King would be commenting on it, though," Kamikaze chuckled. Tacki was thoroughly studying how the temple truly looked and already had Inichi sending the images to Genos to sketch out. As much as Genos wanted to be there to record, he knew that this was a secret place and could not be exposed to the public. He was currently at the home in City Z to keep Kamiko calm and comforted from her monthly troubles.
"So…the entrance was here all along…" a male voice said behind them. Then there was a scream when Bright Bolt let out a massive zap of lighting from his horns to stun whoever it was.
"Who is that?!" Wind Crane turned to glare at a man dressed in a rather wealthy suit and tie knocked out cold on the ground.
"Dunno. He got zapped. Can I zap again?" Bright Bolt asked and whinnied at the butt scratches that Saitama gave him. "Yessss! Butt scratches! More!"
"Just don't put your finger in his butt," Garou said and grinned at Lily's scoffing sigh at him.
"You gonna sniff it if he does?" Kamikaze asked. Tacki cringed and busted up laughing at it.
"You're both gross," Saitama said.
"That they both are," Inichi grimaced. Fubuki was hiding herself in her coat from laughing at it all.
"Rude!" Bright Bolt snorted and looked at the man. "Is it a monster?"
"I don't think so. But I don't like how he just got here. It makes me think he is. I'm going to have my fans remove his coat and shirt," Mitsumi said. All of her fans came out and flicked out the blades and spikes.
"Even if this is a Secret Skins, we need to keep the skin on. Just remove the clothes, please," Saitama instructed lightly. Blue Ripple lifted the man up in a silvery glow for the fans to swirl around him. When they dispersed, Saitama snapped his fingers and let all of the upper clothing fall away. They all saw the little bump in the man's arm, and that confirmed what they thought he was.
"I need to know how this one got here," Wind Crane said with a seething glare of hatred. "Out of the temple with him!"
"We can cage that one outside," Inichi nodded and had Blue Ripple move the false man outside the main entrance. Several elemental spheres now encased the intruder to ensure that escape was just not possible.
"Okay. Let's do the training room and complete it. Then we'll see to this guy," Saitama said to return the task that needed to be done.
"Yeah, he's not going anywhere," Cold Snap beamed and laughed when Saitama lifted him up to get carried. Wind Crane led them all down the hidden stairway passage, and Fire Flight kept a light source moving in front of them to guide it. Stable Rock fixed up everything they saw to ensure none of it would crumble away. Siren was just giggling with excitement that it was a new place to explore. Metal Knight did want to see the place, but Inichi was giving him images of what was there. He was even providing images to the rest of the family, too.
"We are here," Wind Crane said before a rather plain set of double doors. "However, only Mitsumi and Saitama are to go in. For both basic training and advanced. We must remain on guard. If one found us already…"
"Yeah. We get it," Kamikaze nodded.
"Can we go in?" Tangled Vine asked.
"You should be fine. But the rest should be here to guard," Wind Crane nodded. "My daughter, retrieve the artifact and please bring it to me."
"I will!" Mitsumi nodded with confident determination. Saitama nodded with her and led her into the double doors.
"Dad?" Cold Snap frowned.
"On my shoulders. Just stoop down if the ceiling is low, okay?" Saitama said to let his son hop up and secure himself.
"I should go with them as my monster self," Fire Flight frowned.
"Go. I'll protect with others," Shenjou smiled. She kissed him passionately and shifted into her monster form to follow them. The doors closed and sealed up behind them now to only open when the training was fully completed.
"This is very different," Mitsumi frowned at the long tunnel they came to. Fire Flight was going to make a light source, but she rose up her hand. "No. I must rely on my senses. Normally only one goes through here. We are a small group, in a way. Blue Ripple, can you hold many afloat for those that can't fly?"
"I can," Blue Ripple said.
"Okay. Saitama, hold our puppy. I'll hold Blue Ripple and let Tangled Vine climb on my shoulders. If you can let Fire Flight on your shoulders, it will help. Actually, Cold Snap, you can hold Fire Flight. Keep her safe, okay? Bright Bolt and Stable Rock will need to be carried by Blue Ripple," she instructed gently. This was quickly done, and Saitama was quick to walk in step with her equally. Fire Flight wasn't comfortable being held by Cold Snap, but she knew he would behave himself to keep his parents happy. Even though it was pitch black darkness, the light glow from the eyes of the pets lightly lit the path. Mitsumi knew this was fine as it was not actually carrying light.
"How do you know what to do?" Saitama asked while they walked.
"I…sort of don't," she admitted. "It just…well…I'm going off of senses. This training room is incredibly different on being in the temple. I just…I know this is what we have to do. Don't question it. Just follow my lead."
"As long as you have me do this later in the bedroom," he growled to get her laughing softly. They walked further along and both jumped back in perfect synchronization at a wall segment that slammed shut in front of them. Then it pulled back like nothing happened. "I heard it before it started!"
"Same! Okay. Now…RUN!" she hissed for them to both run at break-neck speed. Blue Ripple was easily keeping Bright Bolt and Stable Rock with them on either side in their floating way. All through the long hallway, the walls tried and failed to crush them down. They ran right into another set of open double doors before they slammed shut behind them to trap them in. "We need light now. It's okay for us to see. Normally we have torches here. I think."
"Done," Fire Flight said and let several fiery orbs appear with the others. Cold Snap enhanced them with an icy barrier around each one with crystallized focused facets. This training room was a bit more compact, but the lever was in the same spot. They walked over to it to show no traps were set to go off like Blue Ripple's protected training was. This one was much like the other two they found.
"Pets wait here. Son, you can work the lever. Get on Bright Bolt's back for height?" Saitama asked to let this get done.
"I'm getting hungry. I'll need to eat after we are done here. I'll have a snack after we get the artifact," she winked at Cold Snap when he was ready to bring something. He grinned and nodded with understanding.
"Let's get this done," Saitama muttered and moved his wife to the starting tile. Cold Snap pulled the lever down, and watched his parents complete the basic training with complete ease. After the parchment was collected from the wooden chest, they moved back into place for the lever to be moved for advanced training.
"I have no idea what to expect," Mitsumi swallowed with a bit of nervous excitement. Saitama grinned lightly with his own eager anticipation. Now they both moved with an unmatched fluid grace through the room. She kept his cape from getting snagged, he pulled her around to twirl her to where she had to land through the room, and they both made record time stepping on the final tile.
"I love you so much," he muttered and pulled her close to kiss her ravenously. "Let's get the artifact, fill up the chest with gems and get out of here."
"Yeah. I love you, too," she murmured and got kissed again. This was quickly done, and the ring was carefully inspected to ensure it wasn't damaged. The ring was incredibly large, wasn't made to be worn at all, and made of solid gold. A flat, circular piece of Wind Crane's crystal shell was fastened on the top, and cranes in various poses were holding it in place with their beaks. Their wings were delicately designed as the main base, and their claws joined together on a hoop-like ring that made the rest of the ring.
Right after this chest was filled up with another massive diamond of pristine white with fiery red tones and gems, they were ready to leave. Mitsumi was still holding the ring, and she was speechless at how beautiful it was. All of them were impressed with it.
"The craftsmanship is simply amazing!" Blue Ripple rumbled.
"I'm simply speechless at this," Mitsumi whispered.
"Yeah. Okay, how do we leave?" Saitama asked.
"I can try the lever," Cold Snap said. This was now pulled, and the doors opened up. Stable Rock looked at long hallway in an untrusting way.
"We…are…cheating…" he growled.
"No. There might be pressure plates that need to be pressed. We have to walk out to show we were successful," Mitsumi said and scratched him lovingly between the ears. He swooned at this and sighed with understanding. "If you want to take the others there, then that's fine."
"No. I stay…" he snuggled into her protectively. She smiled and watched the lights around them move to start lining up the hallway.
"They'll appear in front of us. If the walls do that thing again, they won't get hurt," Cold Snap smiled and accepted and small hug from her. Saitama ensured his son was back on his shoulders and the pets were ready for travel. Overgrown Rover huffed and licked Saitama's cheek to show it was good.
"Let's move," Saitama said and got her walking in step with him. Once again, they trekked down the long hallway. The walls stayed still, though. The tests were done, and there was no further need to continue. At how the walls started to shake, though, Stable Rock took instant alert.
"Intruder!" he snarled and focused. The shaking quickly stopped and he growled. "Idiot…tried…to get in…this way…with earth…"
"What?!" Saitama asked with shock. "Do I need to punch the wall open?!"
"No…" Stable Rock grunted. "It is…trapped…now…and…waiting outside…for us…"
"The temple was known by the Secret Skins," Mitsumi frowned hard. "It was stolen from before. I now believe that the one that was tricked gave over the location long ago. How else would they know of it?"
"That…changes…now…" Stable Rock smirked. He focused to completely solidify the outer walls of the tunnel, the training room and all around the temple to encase it in solid rock. He further increased the density so that nothing could even attempt to tunnel through it without his knowledge. "There. It is…done…"
"What did you do?" Saitama asked on walking again.
"Made it…so…things…cannot dig…anymore…" he snickered.
"Good," he nodded. They finally made it out of the tunnel to find the place empty of others. "Okay…weird…"
"Outside…" Stable Rock grunted and got set down by Blue Ripple. The pets were able to walk with them now, but Cold Snap stayed on Saitama's shoulders. He leaned over to tap on Mitsumi's head to present her with a lightly iced over sandwich appetizer. This was gratefully eaten, and they found a very odd machine encased in Stable Rock's grip of earth.
"What…in the world…?!" Mitsumi gaped.
"There's someone in there, but I want to keep the machine," Tacki grinned. "It's made for intense excavation. We all felt the shaking and ran out here to see it. I guess it tried to tunnel to you?"
"It did. My pet stopped it. Stable Rock, drop it," Saitama said with a narrowed glare. The powerful earth monster did just that, and a man fell out from the driver's seat. "Who are you?!"
"Not…your concern…" the man gasped out.
"You work for a contractor who is also a Secret Skins," Inichi mused. "The same one we have trapped here in a bubble. So, he got here by being driven here by you. You came in under the mountain region right before it got reinforced. You are an innocent bystander, but this is going too far. Consider yourself going to jail for trespassing. You might want to update your resume as you may just be unemployed now. Your employer is a monster."
"What?!" the excavator gaped.
"See the bump on his arm? That's a little flea that turns his skin into a suit. A monster lives under the skin now. But…we need the skin whole for some experimental needs," Garou nodded. Lily was kept safely away from everything in the temple, and she was looking out of the entrance behind Wind Crane. Siren was also with Lily to watch with concern. She knew that Metal Knight didn't want her in any danger at all. Even Shenjou was there to protect the temple from further attack, but he knew they were all safe enough.
"None…can reach here…anymore. Not…by earth…or sky…" Stable Rock growled and fixed his glowing amber eyes on the man. Then he looked at Saitama. "Can I…eat…him…?"
"Eh…might give you indigestion," Saitama said and scratched him between the ears. "I say no."
"We have what we came for, but I will not reveal it while intruders are here," Mitsumi said and let all of her fans come out in full threat display.
"Sweet Mask has notified the association of another guest. We will send this one away, send the machine here home for Tacki, and, ah, what do we do with this one?" Inichi gestured to the trapped Secret Skins. Various elemental bubbles of plant vines, rock, volcanic heat, electrical static and icy chill was all around him.
"Let him down. I want his skin whole," Saitama said.
"Yeah, we need that!" Siren agreed.
"I have a lab room ready in City Z for it," Metal Knight confirmed from her ring. "It will be kept secure until we are ready to use it for testing."
"Hmm…shall we…touch…?" Stable Rock looked at the others.
"You really wanna make a GOD monster egg now?" Kamikaze asked.
"We can easily destroy the monster created," Wind Crane mused and shifted into her monster form. She was ready to attack.
"Who…will touch…?" Stable Rock asked.
"Blue Ripple! You and me! This will be our truce," Cold Snap nodded.
"Hmm. Deal!" Blue Ripple grinned and they both focused on the flea in the false man's arm. Now the excavator watched his former boss scream from a new change happening under the skin. The elemental seals were lifted, and the false human was quick to discard the skin to see what happened.
The monster that revealed itself now was nearly see-through, almost jelly-like and clearly resembled something of a half fish-lizard hybrid. It towered over them all and roared with defiance. Kamikaze put his hand on his sword, but Tacki stood in front of him to stop him. "Let them handle it. Unless we need to help, I need you to let them do it for now."
"Fine. The temple. Go," Kamikaze grunted and chewed on his stick. They both retreated, and the GOD monster pets were quick to neatly take out the newly formed monster. Wind Crane used her bladed feather attack. Cold Snap focused on the watery parts to freeze the monster down. Fire Flight focused to scald the air to boil the monster alive. Tangled Vine had massive, thorny vines come forth to hold the monster down neatly. Stable Rock ensured it couldn't see with a moving dust storm in front of its pale blue eyes. Then Bright Bolt landed a massive lightning bolt strike to incapacitate it.
"SHREDDING BLADES!" Mitsumi shouted to let all of her fans attack at once. Right after the nearly dead monster was revealed, Saitama was there to punch it and disintegrate it. Various particles seemed to fall into the ground and vanish away to show it was done.
"Hmm…" Stable Rock mused and watched Wind Crane gather up the discarded skin. Then he moved to dig down a little bit to uncover a spherical egg of various blue and white shading. "An innocent…is born…"
"Good. I shall have this precious one placed in my nest," Wind Crane smiled warmly and watched it get sent off to Zenchu by Cold Snap's blue spark. He was waiting for it to secure it the moment it was received to place it in the nest. She looked around them and sighed. "Can we replace the greenery? So much was destroyed out here!"
"We said we would," Tangled Vine nodded. Stable Rock snorted and fixed the soil to be fertile again. Blue Ripple hydrated all of it, and Tangled Vine let all of the lost greenery quickly spring forth. Bushes, trees, flowering plants and small creeks quickly appeared. Wind Crane had a refreshing breeze always move through here now, and Inichi sealed up the cave.
"I'll send that one away," Cold Snap said to the stunned excavator in their midst. Right after he was sent off in an ice blue spark, the tunneling machine was sent back to City Z in the same manner. Now Mitsumi brought out the ring to be examined and awed over.
"Yes. This ring is just as powerful as the pendant. Now, what does the parchment show?" Wind Crane asked. The parchment was revealed to show the landscape of the spa resort. "And the circle is done. We have all the parchments? If we do, we must flip them over and join them for the hidden picture on the back."
"Oh!" Mitsumi gasped with shock. All of the scrolls were brought out, unrolled and set on the grass. The puzzle picture was fixed to show the flower field as the final location. "Amazing, Wind Crane Clan Mother!"
"We shall go there tomorrow morning," Wind Crane nodded and hugged her daughter. "I am relieved that we have all the artifacts. Let us rest now."
"Very cool!" Garou chuckled.
"It's so ingenious with how this was done," Lily smiled. "But, yes! Rest and game night again!"
"Let's go home," Saitama nodded. Wind Crane, Garou, Lily, Kamikaze and Tacki were quick to head off to City Z. Inichi and Fubuki took up the discarded skin to head back there next to put in the laboratory. Siren flew off to Neutral Grounds to head back to Metal Knight from the bullet train tunnel.
"Hero Association?" Cold Snap beamed and giggled at Saitama's glance up at him from his shoulders.
"Yes," Saitama said. Fire Flight moved over to where Shenjou was waiting for her. He was still at the temple entrance to protect it.
"We shall return home," Fire Flight said and let Shenjou climb into her claws. She flew off with him, and Cold Snap gathered up his parents and the other pets to take back to the Hero Association bedroom to gain some much needed rest.