Back at the resort when it got closer to midnight, King was nearing the end of the game play. Kianna was nestled calmly against him and giving suggestions on where to go next. So far, he wasn't stuck on any part at all. It was as though he simply knew how to play the game when he never did before. The microphone was currently muted to show he was focused on game play.
"You doing okay?" he asked her.
"Yeah. This is actually pretty nice," she admitted. They were both wearing fluffy robes and sipping hot tea with complete relaxation in the luxurious bed.
"Good," he chuckled. "You know, I was thinking about something."
"What's that?" she asked and nestled into him a bit more.
"I know we signed the wedding document as witnesses, but…I feel like something more should be done," he mused. She looked at him with a raised brow. "So, I'd like to ask you something."
"And that is?" she asked and gazed at him.
"Well, with how we're now expecting parents, and, eh…I know we claimed each other as life partners…" he started to get her looking at him curiously. "I was just thinking we should…make it a bit more official…"
"With our own wedding document?" she asked softly.
"Yeah. And ceremony. Of sorts. So…" he found himself blushing a little.
"Are you saying you…want to get married…?" she asked with her own blush. "I mean…we could…"
"We could. Maybe in a couple months…" he seemed to shrug while playing. "Then again…I never really asked you to marry me…"
"Did you want me to ask you?" she grinned a bit now to get him looking at her with a raised brow. "I could, you know?"
"I know. But it may not be the right thing to do," he sighed.
"Well…" she sighed with him. "In that case, I do want to ask."
"Ask what?" he smiled. "Although, I think I have an idea."
"Will you marry me?" they both said together. Now they looked at each other with flustered surprise before they both said a resounding, "Yes!"
"I think that's honestly one of the only things we both completely agreed on!" she blinked and laughed when he paused for a brief moment. He pulled her close and pressed a long, loving kiss on her mouth before unmuting the microphone near him.
"Kianna and I are gonna get married," King said and cleared his throat. "We both asked each other and said yes. At the same time."
"That is awesome!" Tacki squealed in the live chat.
"Mega wedding. We should do that," Saitama suggested in the live chat.
"That would be easy to do," Mitsumi giggled softly.
"When would we plan it?" Kamiko asked.
"I was thinking a couple months out," King chuckled. "Oh, Genos, did you ask Kamiko to marry you yet?"
"Kamiko? Did you want to get married?" Genos now asked her.
"Well…I mean…" Kamiko found herself blushing intensely hard.
"I'm sure that Dr. Kuseno would gladly appear to show his approval," Genos chuckled. "So…will you marry me in full…?"
"I do. Yes," Kamiko said lightly and her microphone line was muted.
"Awesome!" Fumio shouted in the live chat.
"I can assist with plans," Metal Knight chuckled.
"Should we also marry?" Siren asked with a soft whisper in his ear.
"I…hmm. One moment while I discuss something with Siren," Metal Knight paused at the thought. Then he muted his microphone to talk to her. "I never gave it much thought…in all honesty…"
"I know we are life partners. It would be something special," she chuckled in her secretive, dulcet tone and got squeezed in his embrace from where she was in his lap in his base.
"I think signing off on a personal wedding document would be best. We did have Rendor send us the legitimate one from Miss Mitsumi and Saitama to sign. Then I sent it back after getting digital copies," Metal Knight mused.
"I always wanted to get married to someone I loved," Siren said softly and smiled. Now she got looked at to continue. "I suppose it's just every young girl's dream here and there if not all of them. To find 'Mr. Right'. Get married. Have a family. Mind a household. I honestly wouldn't have cared about looks in a man, either. I just wanted someone to love me and appreciate me for who I was. Sure, I hung out around graves and became this figure. I also know that, if I remembered my childhood dream right after my change…I would have felt desolate that it would have never happened."
"Well, you have me now," he said gently.
"I know, Bofoi. I'm glad that things didn't work out with Suiryu. That I saw what happened with his flaunting. I wouldn't have been able to get to know you," she swallowed and blinked her glowing green eyes.
"Don't think of that rabble. He has much growing up to do. Nowhere near the amount of intellect that I have, anyways," he muttered to get her laughing softly. "The only one that would rival me is Inichi. That one actually has some good word battles with me! I actually fear the mere thought of attempting to play him at chess."
"That would be funny to watch," she grinned and laughed at his squeeze.
"Do you really want to get married, Siren?" he asked her. "You know it's not necessary, but…it would make you happy?"
"I think…it would be nice to make it official," she admitted. "I know I'd be very happy if we did this. To fulfill a lifelong dream of mine."
"I'll procure a wedding document tomorrow with official wedding rings. We'll sign the document and send it off to get it properly notarized. My nature is too secretive to have a public wedding done. This would be the only way I can do this with you. If this is…acceptable to you?" he asked her.
"I always wanted to wear the dress, though," she admitted and got him laughing. "And have at least one photograph."
"Let's have Tacki make us wedding clothes tomorrow. We'll don them, snap a photo and send it to Saitama to hang in the main family home. We'll even have a close up photo of our wedding rings," he suggested. She beamed at this and kissed him heavily before he moved to unmute the microphone. "So, Siren and I also plan to get married."
"Wonderful!" Mitsumi praised them both.
"But we have to do it differently from his private nature. Tacki, we'll need wedding clothes. I'll send you our measurements. Don't worry about wedding rings. We can get that done to give you a small break from it. We'll get a document tomorrow, sign it, dress up and send you a wedding photo to frame for the home," Siren chuckled in her gravelly tone.
"Sweet! Yes! Do it!" Tacki demanded. "I need to track down that silk guy. I need his silk! I used some of it for Lady Mitsumi's dress. I need more."
"Oh! I was wondering why the dress felt so luxurious to wear! It was his silks that did it?" Mitsumi asked with wonder.
"Yes. It's why I need more. The quality he makes is nearly unmatched," Tacki said. "I'm sure I can do it, too, if I know his style. It's why I also want to see how his shop is."
"I could check it out for you," Siren offered.
"No. I need him to trust us. I don't want to spy on him," Tacki said quickly. "I want him to invite us into his shop of his own accord."
"I get you," Siren agreed.
"Metal Knight, can you supply the Hero Association with your wedding photo? So we can place it on record that you are no longer single?" Sweet Mask asked in the live chat.
"I fear not. Think on this. How would the public feel if heroes were engaging in relationships with monsters? I do know of the Heroic Monster Association in place now, but we may be looked on poorly. Now, if Siren chose to become a human form, then that may be possible. But she is not. And I will not press her to become such a form, either," Metal Knight said carefully.
"He's right. Not many know of him, anyways. I'd just keep it under lock and key," Siren said. "You can make a note that he was secretly married, though."
"The same can be said about me and Tsuruga," Tanktop Girl said. "Tsuruga doesn't plan to be cured."
"I see your sides. Of course," Sweet Mask said.
"Now, if monsters are with monsters, then that is different," Deep Sea Prince chuckled in the live chat. Akiyama giggled next to him and squeaked at his gentle squeeze of affection.
"As he said," Zenchu agreed.
"I might be different, as I do have my human form, but I'll talk about it with Lily. She just ran to the bathroom," Garou said. At a small pause, he suddenly said, "What? What are you talking about? Sick?! How?! Ah…wait, what?!"
"The fans will check her out tomorrow," Saitama said calmly in the live stream. "You're marrying her if she's pregnant."
"Fuck…" Garou grunted and cleared his throat.
"Are you saying you don't wanna be a dad?" Fumio asked.
"It's not that! Just…a bit unexpected. And I know I agreed to be with her regardless. Just…kinda hoping not so soon, really…" Garou admitted.
"Kinda interesting that everyone is having kids all together," Fubuki chuckled with Inichi. "I have no idea if it would even work with me and Inichi."
"Let's just…leave it at that," Inichi said next to her to get them all laughing.
"I can help check on Lily when we meet up again," Kamiko said when she got back to the live stream with Genos. As the group was getting back to the game playthrough and small chit chat, Puri-Puri Prisoner was trying to calm Pete down in their room in the resort.
"It wasn't that bad! Was it?" Puri-Puri Prisoner frowned. "I mean…I did help you after I was done, so…"
"I wasn't expecting what happened…" Pete grimaced. "Just…give me a moment to let what happened sink in…"
"I used plenty of lubrication on you…" the large man sighed.
"I said give me a moment," Pete said again. He managed to sit up on the bed to get his bearings and move into the bathroom. After five minutes of tense silence, he came back in to sit by the bed wearing his black spandex pants. "Okay. I don't think this is for me. I do value you as a friend, but I honestly don't feel right on this."
"Oh. I see," Puri-Puri Prisoner frowned. "I mean…can I change your mind? I just…"
"Why is that?" Pete asked.
"I actually…feel…different with you. Not just a conquest, either. I feel something…true. Genuine, even! Can you give me one more chance to make things better for you? We don't have to do anything more tonight. I'll give you the space you need. But can we try again tomorrow?" he asked.
"I…well…" Pete sighed and scratched at the back of his head.
"I promise! I'll make it worth your while. You tell me a bit more of your likes and what you want out of life. We can talk?" Puri-Puri Prisoner asked hopefully. "I'll even give you information about my life growing up."
"Hmm. Okay. I know I said I'd do what I could in a one-on-one relationship. Tonight was a bargaining night. I had to…fulfill a deal with you. That's done now. We don't need to do anything more right now. Alright. Yes. Let's talk and get to know each other on a better level," Pete nodded. "But if things still don't work out…"
"I know. I said I wouldn't be hurt over it, but…I honestly think I might with you. So I'll do all I can to make things better between us," Puri-Puri Prisoner smiled. "And I'll have no one to blame save myself if I…find myself in a compromising way. I'll do my very best to ensure it won't happen."
"Good. Now move over and pass the snack tray," Pete chuckled for the large man to quickly oblige. In the kitchen of the resort, Anno and Takeda were able to sit down and enjoy a bit of their own downtime.
"Are you feeling okay?" Anno asked and pulled her into his arms.
"I'm okay. That ginger cookie did help earlier," she frowned.
"Wait. What cookie?" Anno blinked.
"Oh. Um…I needed one…" she blushed softly.
"Shit! I'll have a whole tray of them made tomorrow! I'm going to need to consult with Master Orotsu on various ways to prepare such things in bulk," he sighed and ran a hand over his forehead. "Maybe I can even make milkshakes, ice creams and various sauces with it, too…"
"I'm sure we'll have all of that done. Don't worry, okay?" Takeda smiled and kissed him gently. "But I was curious on something."
"And what's that?"
"You heard the talk of them doing weddings in the live chat?"
"I did. Oh! You think we could…?"
"Why not?"
"Hmm. It would make sense. We'd need a very large area for guests. And kitchen staffing…" he frowned in thought.
"I don't think we'd be allowed to work," she giggled softly. "We'd have to get ready for the wedding. It would be nice to be catered to."
"Quite true," he chuckled and went to the live stream microphone to unmute it. "Anno here! Ah, Takeda had to eat a ginger cookie. Master Orotsu, I'll need to get some good ideas to make these cookies in bulk. Maybe we can incorporate some intricate flavors to match various cravings, too, you think?"
"We can definitely work on that. I'll get some testing trays done now," Orotsu agreed from his place in the new home kitchen.
"Oh! Can we get a few sent up to my room for Lily?" Garou asked quickly.
"You'll get them now!" Anno said and moved to prepare a plate for him.
"I need the takoyaki salty tuna, too, please," Tacki said. "May as well get it since we're on the subject. Anyone else need stuff?"
"Iwasaki and I are good," Flashy Flash voiced out.
"I could go for something a little spicy," Mitsumi said with a small blink.
"What?!" Saitama found himself gaping at her.
"Is she craving?!" Kamikaze asked.
"I don't know if I am," Mitsumi admitted.
"You never asked for anything spicy before," Saitama pointed out.
"He's right. You tended to avoid really spicy stuff," Zenchu said on recollection. "How bad do you want it?"
"Umm…ah…huh…" Mitsumi frowned.
"Mitsumi?" Saitama asked carefully.
"Lady Mitsumi, does it feel like you kinda don't want it, but the more you think about it you do?" Tacki asked curiously.
"I think you're right!" Mitsumi said with realization.
"Yeah. You're craving. What else do you want other than the spicy?" Tacki asked. "I need sweet and salty at times."
"I think…spicy with a hint of sweetness. Or tangy somewhere. I don't know. It's so weird!" Mitsumi admitted.
"I will try a sweet and sour pork with a mild, spicy aftertaste. Let's see if this does the trick. If it does, I can make that craving sensation into the form of a glaze to go on various foods," Orotsu offered.
"Do it," Saitama said. "King, how much more of the game is left?"
"I think about an hour. I'm definitely nearing the end of it," King said.
"Okay. I'm muting now to tend to Mitsumi. I'll see all of you at the association tomorrow. And this includes anyone we have to question, too, so we'll need to set up an interviewing room of sorts when we get there," Saitama said and muted the microphone. Then he looked at Mitsumi. She was still locked to him out of safety, and he regarded her gently. "When did the craving hit you? Can you tell me?"
"I can't really say. It's like…Tacki was talking about what she wanted with the others, and I had this weird sensation in the back of my mind. Then it shoved itself up to the front to be the only thing I could think about! I think our kid is going to drive me up the wall," she sighed and rested against him.
"Yeah, I get that feeling for me, too. For us," he agreed.
"Mom? Are you okay?" Cold Snap asked from where he sat on the bed.
"I'll be fine, dear. Your growing brother is making me want to eat some very interesting foods!" Mitsumi chuckled.
"Oh? Hmm. I'll try what you're gonna eat. I wonder if I can make bits of ice to imitate flavors for emergency needs," Cold Snap mused. "I want to see if I can do it. So, you tell me what works. Then I'll taste it and see what I can do."
"That would be epic!" Saitama grinned.
"Let me try it, too. I can possibly make a fruit tree to have those tastes," Tangled Vine chuckled. He accepted the fond scratching given to him by Mitsumi with complete appreciation. He even hung down from his tail to get more scratches and licked her hand affectionately.
"Can you purr?" Blue Ripple asked. Tangled Vine blinked at the idea and slowly started up a small purr.
"Another kitty!" Mitsumi gasped with delight.
"What?!" Saitama blinked to get them laughing.
"I can actually help with that idea," Tangled Vine snickered. He slowly shifted his form to be far more cat-like now with ultra-long, soft fur to go over the quills. Even his sloth-like limbs shrunk in a bit to resemble pliable animal paws. His muzzle shrunk in to be intensely cat-like with puffy cheeks and whiskers. His ears became sharply pointed, and his glowing emerald eyes got more almond in shape. His tail still looked like a prehensile chameleon tail, but it had far more fur all over it. He still kept the colors of bright orange and deep green, but it had an interesting striped look all over him like a striped tabby cat.
"Ah…! Kitty!" Mitsumi squealed and had to scoop up Tangled Vine to snuggle with complete, childish delight. It was when Tangled Vine nuzzled his head under her chin with intense affection that Mitsumi burst into tears of sheer happiness. Saitama calmly watched everything with a serious, neutral gaze of study. He glanced at Overgrown Rover's huff of concern.
"It's okay, doggy. She just…really needed a pet cat. I guess?" he seemed to shrug and scratch at his monster dog's side.
"It's not just that," Mitsumi admitted and sniffled a bit to get under control. "I told you before. I begged my father for a pet. He always said that now wasn't the time. Sure, I had monsters as friends. But I never really had a true pet. And I know that these are GOD monsters…but they want to be my pets now. I never had that unconditional returned care from an animal. That intense show of returned affection. I wanted that so badly..."
"Protective care now," Tangled Vine said and rested his head against her neck. Blue Ripple craned his neck to snuggle up into her now with a heavy purr.
"Hmm…" Cold Snap seemed to frown. He jumped down from the bed and moved to a larger space by the balcony area. Saitama watched his form shimmer out and reappear as a massive, regal stag made of ice. His antlers were immense and spread out a good ten feet with a twelve-pointed spread. He knew he had to be careful or else he'd knock things down. He even stood tall at a full ten feet in height and grunted with a small tilt of his head at them. He flicked his pointed ears and wagged his little flag-like tail with curious expectation.
"Ah! You're so pretty!" Mitsumi gasped. He seemed to dance a bit before trotting over and licking her cheek with delight. His antlers shimmered with icy iridescence, and his hooves shared the same shimmery gleam. Even his bluish-white coat was soft to the touch unlike other coarse hides from wild animals. He blinked his glowing ice blue eyes at Saitama and snorted an icy breath of mist.
"Okay. I know I saw you from somewhere. Or read about you," Saitama frowned with intense thought. Cold Snap seemed to chuckle with knowing and nuzzled into Mitsumi's palm when she scratched at the tuft of beard-like hair under his chin. She laughed when Tangled Vine playfully swiped at the tuft in true cat style. Saitama moved to the microphone to unmute it. "Hey. Cold Snap just showed us an animal form. A massive deer of ice. Isn't there something about this? I can't really remember…"
"Master Saitama! There is!" Genos said quickly in the live chat. "It is a folk tale of a legendary ice stag that is said to guide innocent people out of winter storms to safety!"
"I heard about that legend!" Mitsumi said with complete surprise. "Cold Snap! That's you?!"
The massive stag danced around with a form of intense joy. Saitama now looked at him and said, "The legend also mentioned a darker side for those that were lost and of evil nature. That's also you?"
Cold Snap grunted and shimmered out to become a massive wolf made of icicles. Sharp, rock-hard claws of ice tapped lightly on the ground, and he let out a savage, hissing snarl of protection. Mitsumi sat up lightly in the bed and stretched out her hand to him. He padded over to sniff her palm and lick her hand gently.
"Cold Snap is your kid now. And he's those monster beasts of legends, eh?" Kamikaze mused in the live chat. "Pretty sweet! Of course, he can read minds, right? If he can, that would explain how he knew who to help and who to hurt."
"I don't think he can talk in the animal forms. Much like Wind Crane Clan Mother in her crane form. And he's right that only his wolf form can give over the teeth. I do wonder if some of the antler horns could be used for fan decorations, though. Even the fur from his deer form," Mitsumi chuckled. Cold Snap tilted his head at her with intense thought. "We'll test that tomorrow."
Cold Snap huffed with agreement and found himself looking at Overgrown Rover when it jumped up to sniff at him. Cold Snap snorted out a mist of cold air. That had Overgrown Rover whine at how its mouth was now iced over in full. Now it was whimpering a bit in distress and unable to open its mouth. Saitama was quick to say, "Cold Snap! Stop it! Remove that now!"
A whine was given by the ice wolf to show it was an accident. The ice was quickly removed when Overgrown Rover grew in size to shatter the ice off. It snarled, but Mitsumi reached up to gently scratch at its muzzle to calm it. She reached out for Cold Snap to approach her and get a loving scratch along his ear. Then she said softly, "See? Everything is fine now. I'm sure it was an accident. Cold Snap didn't mean it, okay? Some things just happen in certain forms. We'll learn how to cope with it all."
Overgrown Rover whined and yapped out its displeasure at it, but Saitama calmed it with a good scratching to its side. Cold Snap sat down and sighed to show that Mitsumi was right. Only after Overgrown Rover shrunk small again to settle with Saitama did Cold Snap become his child form again.
"I'm sorry!" Cold Snap said with a hard frown.
"Son, come here," Saitama said and gestured for him to climb into the bed. When Cold Snap settled between them all, Saitama calmly said, "Did you know your wolf form could do that?"
"Yeah. But…not like that. I didn't know it would affect the dog. I thought it would be immune. I really am sorry," Cold Snap said and got a huffing yap in reply. "I know! But I'm sure we could make a neat tag team! Think about it! We can chase bad ones into each other!"
Now the monster dog jumped onto Cold Snap to lick at his face with agreement. The monster child laughed hard at this and got both Saitama and Mitsumi laughing with him.
"Master? Is something wrong?" Genos asked.
"Nope. My doggy and Cold Snap's wolf form are gonna be pretty awesome in an allied fight together," Saitama chuckled. "Game's almost done?"
"Yep! I'm at the area with the last boss now," King said.
"Good. Okay. Oh. Inichi. Who do we need to question tomorrow? May as well figure that out while we're all listening in," Saitama said and kissed Mitsumi's forehead. He let her snuggle into him with complete comfort now.
"Allow me to recall," Inichi said. Fubuki was nestled against him in their room in the resort. "Ah. We have the reporters. Lady Mitsumi's grandparents. Atsuko did wish to, how you say…plea bargain for freedom…"
"How do you know?" Sweet Mask asked.
"I heard her thoughts during the wedding live stream. They were quite educational. So you may want to approach her to ensure of it," Inichi advised.
"What?! My sister wants to beg me for forgiveness? Ugh…" Mitsumi grimaced. "I don't know why I should listen to her when she never listened to me! She still doesn't listen to me! Just…ugh!"
"Double ugh!" Himiko cringed. Zombieman gave a heavy sigh at this.
"She should talk to her brother first," Saitama said.
"We can arrange that if she's brought to the association," Sweet Mask mused. "He can make the call if Fan Dancer should meet her."
"Why not have her on her knees and lifting her face up for a treat like a pet would?" Zenchu snickered wickedly. "Ow! Don't pinch me, babe!"
"Would you rather I peck you?" Wind Crane asked curiously.
"I can hold him in place later," Tatsumaki chimed in to get Garou dying with laughter at Zenchu's outburst of disbelief.
"You just say that for the reaction," Rendor said with a soft laugh.
"It also makes you laugh," Tatsumaki giggled at him. There was silence as King finished off the main boss in the game. After the ending was revealed and the credits rolled up, Saitama gave a heavy yawn.
"Okay. Good game! We'll have to do this again. Think tomorrow night?" Saitama asked with a small grin.
"We can do that. You'll be at the association, too, right? I'll find a good game to play for us all again. This was actually pretty fun!" King chuckled.
"We plan to stay the night there in the new room," Mitsumi confirmed.
"I can set up the same thing at the main City Z home," Metal Knight said. "It was definitely entertaining!"
"And very relaxing. I am quite surprised," Sweet Mask agreed. "We shall meet you all at the Hero Association. That is, of course, those that wish to be there. I'm sure information on what happened will be shared."
"I think I shall appear there," Fire Flight mused. "To see this place with my own eyes. I haven't explored new places in over a thousand years."
"You're over a thousand years old?!" Sweet Mask asked with shock.
"But of course! Stable Rock is over five thousand," Fire Flight chuckled softly. Shenjou was laughing next to her and highly amused at the surprise.
"I shall wish to see my daughter's newest place of residence," Wind Crane agreed. "It shall be a refreshing venture."
"As long as no one attacks us," Garou sighed. "I don't know if I should go there. I made a lot of, eh…friends there. Yeah. Friends."
"You'll be with me and Lily. You'll be fine," Mitsumi said softly. "You need to see where I'll be staying for emergency needs, too."
"The scepter is charging?" Wind Crane asked.
"Um…oh! I see it. It's by the balcony. I think it's still charging. Did you want us to bring it?" Saitama asked. "It's on a small table right now."
"Yes. Please bring it for inspection," Wind Crane said lightly.
"We'll do that. See some of you tomorrow," Saitama said and muted the microphone. "Cold Snap, you'll need to go to Fumio's room. Unless you become an animal form to ignore what I need to do with your mom."
"I can become the stag. I really don't want to leave you both," Cold Snap said and hugged his parents again. He jumped down and shifted into the massive stag form again. Then he trotted over to the balcony to stand as a watchful guard. Saitama looked at the pets to get them moving from the bed. He knew they'd join them again when it was safe to do it.
"He's an amazing child," Mitsumi smiled.
"Not as amazing as you," Saitama muttered. He pulled her close to kiss her passionately to finally start an end to the wedding night.
