"And…there…!" Zenchu said when he placed a shell piece in a top corner of the cavern. The cave system he and Garou were in was a bit deeper down so the chamber chosen couldn't be seen right away. "I want them to have tons of room to grow out in various angles without being approached too quickly from the entrance. We want the crystals 'discovered' by us in a month or two."
"Even the shells from your kids, right?" Garou asked when he wedged a piece into a deep crevice.
"Yep. Same with Starlight's shell," Zenchu nodded. "Of course, that's if they make crystals, too. I'm kinda hoping that Fire Flight still has a shell piece lying around somewhere. Deep Sea Prince said he'd have his people search underwater for us later."
"Garou?" he heard Lily's voice in the distance.
"Lily?! What?!" Garou blinked and found her rushing over to hug him. He noticed she was in a short blouse and skirt when she came over, and he found himself smiling at first before going back into worry mode.
"I'm sorry. I had Cold Snap bring me here. I just…really wanted to be with you…" she winced. He frowned and hugged her close.
"It's okay. Are you okay?" he asked and studied her. He placed a hand on her belly to see her blush and she nodded.
"I am now. I mean…I know you told me to stay home, but…" she frowned.
"Looks like I need to book it early," Garou sighed.
"Fuck that! Let her piggyback on you. There's nothing wrong with that," Zenchu nodded. "Or, hell, change your shape so she can ride on your back. Or something. Right?"
"Not that simple," Garou rolled his yellow eyes. "I can shift my main shape. I can't shift my ass into a horse's ass. For all that, you could turn into that big, cute kitty and let her ride your back…"
"Shut up," Zenchu said and got Lily snickering with laughter. "I will only let Wind Crane ride me in various ways. And I will carry Lady Mitsumi away if all hell breaks loose."
"I was also asked by Stable Rock to have you both go through three chambers east of us. So, it's not only because I missed Garou, but he wanted us to check something for him to get some feedback on a chamber," Lily smiled. Garou blinked and looked at Zenchu. The shadow monster nodded, flicked his tail and started to lead the others there.
The three of them moved into the requested chamber and paused at the sparkling, silvery waterfall spilling into a pool of crystal clear water. The walls and ceiling sparkled with thousands of faceted crystals and gems of all types. There was even light moss growing around the pool with tiny, fragrant white flowers all over. On looking into the pool, there were tiny, multi-faceted gems that shimmered along the small floor of the pool. All of it was mystical, enchanting and clearly enhanced the value of the mine in full.
"This place had to have been made for Lady Mitsumi," Zenchu said with awe. At Lily's nod, he looked at Garou with a raised brow.
"We're gonna have to keep a clear path to this room," Garou mused. He looked at Lily again and asked, "Seriously, though. Are you good?"
"I just started to really miss you," she frowned. He nodded and hugged her close to show he was there.
"Okay, I'll get the rest of the shells in place. Just stay here for a bit," Zenchu chuckled and shadow phased off.
"We were almost done here. I just wanted to find a nice gem before heading back. Want to help me with that?" Garou smiled.
"I could. But…" Lily mused and pressed a kiss to his mouth. "I think…I found something better to do…"
"Ah…he could come back…" he blinked and found himself kissing her back. "And we have no privacy…"
"Has that ever stopped you before?" she whispered enticingly in his ear. Now he growled and propped her up against the sparkling wall. She wrapped her legs around his waist to pull him closer in an eager way. A heavy kiss was shared between them both now before he eyed her.
"I'll need to keep myself in check around you, eh?" he grinned.
"Not if I start it and finish it," she growled in his ear to get him clearing his throat. "You going to let Zenchu spoil our fun?"
"Will the two of you get a room?!" Zenchu scowled at them both when he reappeared. Now Garou turned to flip him off.
"My pregnant life mate wants my cock. I'm not gonna deny her what she wants!" Garou retorted to get Zenchu laughing hard at the whole thing. "And if she's addicted to it now, why would I want to stop that craving?"
"Even in front of me?" Zenchu asked with a raised brow.
"Stop cock blocking me and go find some large diamonds, will ya?!" Garou snapped out with irritation. Zenchu crossed his arms over his chest and flicked his tail with a bit of a smirk.
"Maybe we can give him some pointers for Wind Crane…" Lily mused.
"Ah…no…" Zenchu said and shadow phased off. Garou was nearly breathless from laughter and even more from the kiss she gave him.
"I really don't want to get looked in on, though," Garou sighed. Then he paused at how the floor rose up around them to make a temporary chamber. "Right. Stable Rock can hear us. But then he can hear us do things, too!"
"I don't care," Lily said and snapped his focus back on her with a heavy kiss. He found himself sitting on the ground with her in his lap ten minutes later. They were both gasping and leaning into each other with disheveled clothes. She nestled into him and whispered, "I love you, Garou."
"I love you, too, Lily," he sighed and rested his back against the temporary rock wall. "Figure five minutes to recover?"
"Yeah. Glad I wore a skirt this time?" she giggled.
"Very glad," he grinned and kissed her. "The purple blouse is cute, too! Maybe we can get Tacki to stitch some lily prints all over a skirt and blouse set?"
"That would be cute," she giggled again and blushed at his warm squeeze. As they made good on their word to finish resting and search for a few diamonds with Zenchu, back at the apartment home in City Z had another turn of events going. And Tacki was getting pissed.
"No! That cable doesn't go there!" she shouted at Metal Knight's robot.
"Nonsense! I saw it taken apart from here," the robot replied. They were busy setting the core back into the two halves of the massive metal shell. Two large robots were holding the halves steady while various cables and wiring were being set back into place delicately.
"She's right," Chulz said from where it watched in a high chair.
"What?" Metal Knight asked with confusion.
"But the cable clearly came out from here…" Dr. Kuseno frowned from where he stood on a ladder.
"I wasn't here for it, but this is a very complex system," Child Emperor said from where he was remotely. He was able to help with Metal Knight and the others, and he was absolutely fascinated with the technology. He was also monitoring the power grid on how the ship functioned. "I mean…how would all these cables fit together? They all look the same!"
"Opposite side! You're doing this on the wrong side! I've been trying to tell you to flip the two darned halves around!" Tacki grumbled with irritation. "Have you forgotten that I have a bit of a photographic memory? I watched how the cables came apart! I saw how the halves split!"
"You really wanna question my girl?" Kamikaze seemed to grin from where he was lounging. He was casually chewing on a piece of splintered wood while watching the event unfold. He was mainly keeping a close eye on Tacki, but he knew how she was, too. For the past five minutes she was trying to get their attention until she finally started screaming at them.
"This is also a bit of a challenge. Certain parts need to be put in all at the same time to ensure power worked in full. Once the cables lined up, the ship would do the rest of the work. Putting the cables in one at a time like this will ensure they line up, but the ship will not activate correctly," Chulz sighed.
"There's over a hundred cables here…" Dr. Kuseno frowned hard.
"Thousands," Chulz corrected him.
"I can't even count them all," Child Emperor sighed. "Should I head over there physically? I mean, the cameras show me everything with the data I'm sharing with you, but maybe I should show up. What do you think?"
"You're fine as you are. Besides, I could send over a lot more robots to do what's needed," Metal Knight said. Siren was softly laughing next to him in the base and shaking her head.
"Not until you flip those halves around. Or turn the core around. Then we'll get to work," Tacki said and cracked her knuckles.
"The core is easier to turn than the halves," Metal Knight admitted. The stand the core was on quickly shifted around in full, and now Tacki studied how the cables left it and attached to it. The core, itself, was a good four feet around in a perfect circle. The ship halves were at least twenty feet around. The robots holding it in place were like giant construction cranes.
"Okay. Here's what we can do. I can set all the cables in place. You get your robots to unhook and reseat the cables all at once. I'm sure you have hundreds of tiny robots that are made for small spaces. Can you do that?" Tacki asked Metal Knight's robot. "Then Dr. Kuseno can ensure the power levels are even as the cables are put in all at once. Child Emperor can even keep watch to ensure as another set of eyes that everything is in full synchronization."
"Oh! That may work…" the doctor grinned lightly at the idea.
"I can do that! I can calibrate my system with theirs to ensure that!" Child Emperor said and quickly got to work.
"Very well. We shall try this," Metal Knight agreed. Now he sat there in full blown shock as he watched Tacki work. He had never seen the speed that she used to get even the most simplest of tasks done. Even Kamikaze was blinking a few times trying to catch her movements. I watched her with those stairs, but she was sitting down! I also watched her clean walls and such, but this task is immense and must be done in a strict timely fashion. Just by her standing and moving like this…what the hell?!
"And this goes here…this goes here…that goes there…" she mumbled to herself as she worked on plugging in the various cables all over. She didn't even notice Kamikaze's jaw drop when he saw her form seem to duplicate from how fast she was working. Chulz was trying to pinpoint her form with its eye stalks and still couldn't catch her movements. She was still mumbling what went where the whole time she worked and already had over half of the cables set back into place.
"There's two of her?!" Child Emperor asked with shock at what he was witnessing. "I've never even see this before!"
"This is not possible…" Dr. Kuseno muttered to himself.
"I'm recording this," Metal Knight said to Siren with his microphone muted. "She clearly needs to become an S class hero. She has the ability to duplicate herself while she works! I'm sure no one really notices this, or she's never done such a thing before, but this explains why she can complete tasks so quickly."
"What would her hero name be?" Siren asked in her sultry tone.
"I was thinking…Duplication. But that doesn't really describe what she can do in full. Hmm. Maybe… Jack of Trades?" he frowned in thought.
"Let's see what she thinks," Siren chuckled.
"Wait! I have it! Fixer Upper," Metal Knight grinned at her. That got Siren laughing with delight as it completely described what Tacki did. "I'll mention it to her when she's done."
"I did want to ask you something, Bofoi," Siren said softly. He gave her his full attention now. "I've been…noticing a few things here and there. It is starting to worry me."
"Talk to me, my dear," he soothed.
"You're not getting any younger," she frowned and blinked her glowing green eyes. "You struggled a bit getting out of bed today."
"You noticed?" he frowned.
"I did. I would really like to see if Akiyama can give you some healing water. Just to make sure it's nothing afflicting you. If it's aging, then fine, but…"
"Hmm. And she can't make it into a bottle. I would have to be present for it. Wouldn't I?"
"You would. Or we bring her here."
"Maybe she can meet us at Neutral Grounds in the back room. Or in another of the discreet locations made. I know I'm getting older. I do my best to keep myself as healthy as I can. But I do understand your worry. I'll make an appointment with her," he promised. She nodded and still looked troubled. Now he asked, "What else is on your mind?"
"I don't want to lose you…" she shivered softly. "I just found you."
"I have a good amount of time left in me," he chuckled.
"I'm sure you do. But this is just…me worrying. I'm a monster. My life may be extended. I hate the thought that I'd surpass you in life," she whispered.
"My dear, I know how you feel on this. Such a thing is natural for a human. To pass on and leave a legacy," he said gently.
"I have heard that the GOD monsters with us could give gifts of longer life spans…" she said while trailing off in thought.
"Wouldn't that turn me into a monster?" he frowned.
"I don't know. Lady Mitsumi was already talking about going to a place to retire in secret. If it's needed. We…could do the same…?" Siren asked.
"I'll need to think very deeply on this. If we do agree to try this route…I would have to resign from the Hero Association. Or stage my own death," he sighed. "We have time, though."
"I know," she smiled.
"I was thinking of putting my vast intellect into a machine. To make my own form of AI to keep working in my stead," he mused.
"I see. But I wouldn't want a robot. I would want you," she said seriously.
"I know that. This was only a precaution if something happened to me early. I just feel that the knowledge I have should not be lost," he soothed her. She moved to sit in his lap now to feel his arms around her. "In fact, if we go with the route for extended life, I can make a robot to take my place. But I could still control it from afar. It could become AI if there are suspicions, but this way I can still be there yet not there. Such a novel concept! Either way, I plan to be around for as long as I can."
"I know you do. And it would definitely be something to think about to control a robot as yourself from afar. You do so, anyways, so it wouldn't be much different," she smiled and pressed into him gratefully.
:SIREN AND METAL KNIGHT. IT IS I, STABLE ROCK. I HAVE BEEN LISTENING TO YOUR THOUGHTS, AND THERE IS A LOOPHOLE FOR ETERNAL LIFE. AS FIRE FLIGHT WAS ABLE TO GIFT A HUMAN WITH LONGER LIFE, I CAN GIFT SIREN TO ALLOW METAL KNIGHT TO LIVE LONGER WITH HER. AS SHE IS A MONSTER, IT CAN BE DONE. :
:Oh! So, anyone that has a monster partner can have this done?!: Metal Knight asked with shock. Even Siren was amazed.
:YES. UNFORTUNATELY, MITSUMI IS AT A LOSS. IT IS WHY WE, GOD MONSTERS, MUST GATHER AND CAREFULLY ATTUNE HER AND SAITAMA IN A DIFFERENT WAY. BUT ANY MONSTER CAN BE GIFTED WITH THIS. IT WILL BE REVEALED LATER. KEEP SILENT FOR NOW. WHEN THE TIME COMES, SIREN WILL BE GIFTED TO ALLOW ONLY ONE OTHER TO LIVE AS LONG AS SHE DOES. :
"Bofoi…" Siren whispered with awe at him.
"I am absolutely speechless," he swallowed. "Of course, I shall still get my knowledge set into a machine. That should be done. And, as I suggested before, I should be able to control a robotic replacement of myself to control from afar. I have a feeling that we will need to hide away with the others if this is the case."
"True. I mean…I love you so much, Bofoi…" she shivered. He chuckled softly and cradled her close with a sigh.
"And I love you, too, Siren. You are the most amazing thing that has ever happened to me. And no robot will ever replace you," he said gently. He let her kiss him thoroughly now before returning his attention back to the sphere on the screen. And he was shocked. "Tacki…put it back together…?!"
"Fixer Upper did just that!" Siren winked.
"Tacki, Siren and I came up with a name for your hero alias. What do you think of Fixer Upper?" Metal Knight asked through the robot after unmuting the microphone. Tacki looked at the robot with intense thought.
"Huh! That makes sense! Okay. I'll take it," Tacki beamed at the hovering robot. Then she looked over at Wind Crane moving towards her with a purpose.
"Tacki, I have an important question for you," she said gently.
"What's that?" Tacki asked. Kamikaze looked over now.
"I would like to gift you with your monster form to change into at will. Much like Rendor. There is a hidden purpose for this, but it can also allow you to protect the family even more. What do you think? As you were a bird, I would be the best one to offer this," Wind Crane smiled softly.
"Ah…!" Tacki gaped.
"Can we think about it?" Kamikaze asked.
"Of course. We intend to do a meeting later on, but this is important. Please think on it and decide," Wind Crane nodded and moved back to her building. Now Tacki seemed perplexed, and Kamikaze moved to lift her into his arms.
"I'm sure the kids will be fine. Same with your mind if it's just like how Rendor can change," he muttered in her ear. "What else is going on?"
"Just…knowing that I won't need coffee or sleep ever again!" she grinned wickedly at him. That got his jaw to drop and the others died laughing that were there listening in. Then she looked at Metal Knight's hovering robot and said, "Okay. This ship is all set for the next step."
"I shall send over my robots now," Metal Knight agreed.
"I have the monitoring system ready," Dr. Kuseno said while heading over to his portal system console. Child Emperor also chimed in that his systems were ready to help monitor. Kamikaze was still irked on what she said about no sleep and was ready to step in to show it.
"You will sleep with me when I need you to sleep with me," Kamikaze growled at her. "Especially when your pregnancy really hits!"
"Oh, I know that. But until then? So much stuff I can get done! I'll gladly take up the offer! Just think about it! I start to feel tired after a point, and I can change into a monster to remove it! No more sleep! And I might even be able to harvest feathers from myself again! I can see if shifting back and forth can bring them all back!" she beamed widely at him. He ran a free hand over his face and shook his head. "What? Not keeping you on your toes enough?"
"Shut up," he grunted at her laughing form. "And we don't know if that will reset anything. For all we know, you may need to sleep when you become human again. Even regenerate feathers if you pluck them as a monster. So, if you do take this offer…ugh…can't believe I'm saying this…we'll test it and see what happens. No other choice in that…"
"No regrets!" Tacki grinned and laughed at his warm squeeze. "And, hey, if I do have to sleep or be a monster to regenerate and get things done, it's all to help Lady Mitsumi and the family. I'm sure everything will be fine."
"Yeah, yeah…we'll see," Kamikaze grunted at her.
"I only tend to sleep once every one of your months," Chulz chuckled. Then it looked over at how the robots each grabbed one of the hundreds of cables to unhook and set back in together with perfect synchronization. The ship quickly hummed to life, charged up with the rays of the sun and pulled itself together. Four pole-like legs came out from the bottom to set it upright, and the door opened in a seamless way to show it was ready for one to sit in the main cockpit. The robot cranes holding it up moved away to show the ship was fully functioning.
"Looks like your ship is back," Dr. Kuseno nodded from what the reports showed him.
"Yep! Everything is a go!" Child Emperor confirmed from his readings.
"Yes! Let me go in and ensure it works well. I won't leave. You have my vow and my intense thanks. I am learning much, and I must record all of the events I have witnessed so far. I will input that I am granting life to two life forms in gratitude and judged worthy of the effort. We must always inform when this is done to show it is all in good faith. I will need one of your hours," Chulz said. It got lifted up by the ship's EMP waves and pulled into the cockpit to do just that. It sealed the door back up, but, as it was promised, the ship stayed where it was.
"Okay. We need to find that silk man now. We never got a card, did we?" Tacki frowned. "Inichi will have to scout for us."
"I think he was at that dojo to check it out with Bang and Suiryu. And that other disciple. Let's go see what they found," Kamikaze nodded and carried her over. On looking at the older building, he mused that it was an older restaurant at one point. The roof tiling was changed to a shaded bluish black to match the Wind Crane Clan coloring with stark white walls. The double doors were now carved with cranes in play and heavy oak. Even the windows were replaced with tempered glass and elegant wood frames. It was only three stories tall for now, as the prior occupants lived above the restaurant, but they were all sure that it would likely change. "Looks like it was a teppan grill at one point…"
"I can fix any appliances!" Tacki nodded.
"I don't think that's necessary, but Anno was thinking of making a basic kitchen to teach techniques," Kamikaze mused aloud. Then he saw Masaki just inside the main double door entrance.
"Hey! I'm converting a room into a classroom. Inichi can also use it for writing courses, too. I'm just trying to figure out which room to use. This place has three stories, but I think we may need a couple more floors for various needs," Masaki sighed and twitched his scorpion tail.
"I was wondering what happened to ya," Kamikaze chuckled. He set Tacki down to let her start moving through the building to scope it out.
"Yeah, I kinda slipped away for a bit, huh?" Masaki chuckled back. "I was really trying to focus on what a proper schoolroom needed. On top of that, we need to start preparing a playroom for future kids. I don't think a dojo would work for that. Unless…"
"Hmm?" Kamikaze asked.
"We could make the kids room on a second floor. Post strong heroes and monsters on the top and bottom floors. But we don't want too much window exposure. If the wrong parties know we have children here, they may get the idea to try a kidnapping. I know it likely won't happen. But one never knows," Masaki said seriously. "We should also do sleeping quarters on the first floor next to the main training area. Maybe a sleeping quarters on each floor, now that I think about it."
"Why?" Tacki asked.
"Because anyone can wake up and already be on that floor to defend," Masaki smiled. "No need to run around swiftly. We're already there."
"Ahh…" Kamikaze grinned. "That's nice…"
"Of course, we can locate showering and eating facilities on the first floor, but this way all floors can be somewhat guarded," Masaki nodded. "I was thinking that studying and teaching could be on the second floor. All the main sleeping and training can be done on the first floor. The third floor can be supply rooms for now. What do you think?"
"I would want to have main supplies underground. Especially for the heavier things," Tacki said. "The third floor can hold an alarm system and guest chambers. Maybe one supply room of light things that can be easily moved around. If we add a fourth floor, the alarm system can be there with another training room for flight or jumping and climbing techniques. Think about it."
"That would be an awesome way to train, eh?" Kamikaze nodded.
"I won't sleep on a floor mat!" Jumpstart shouted from a room on the left side. "That's just…no!"
"Would you prefer just a sheet on the ground or sleeping outside?" Bang asked him. "Besides, a basic floor mat builds discipline and forces you to hone your senses to floor vibrations. It's easier to put away. It's also healthier for your back as you lay flat."
"I'd prefer a bed, myself," Suiryu admitted.
"I never need rest anymore," Genos seemed to shrug.
"What's the ruckus?" Kamikaze asked when he walked in.
"Jumpstart is a pampered pooch," Bang smirked.
"What?!" Jumpstart gaped.
"Hey," Saitama was heard clearly through a small diamond in wall panel. "Jumpstart. Shut up."
"But…" he started before pausing in his complaint.
"Bang knows what he's doing. I don't know crap about living in a dojo. You obey him to learn the basics. If you don't, I will make you run my track twice with my dog chasing you the whole time. Don't want that? Then shut up and listen to him!" Saitama growled. "And Suiryu! I saved your life once. I shouldn't have to do it again."
"I can have Do-S whip them both if they don't listen," Mitsumi chimed into the diamond gem.
"Ah…no…" Suiryu blushed hard.
"Suiryu may not be able to stay in the dojo on having a partner now. However, I would advise to simulate the sleeping arrangements," Genos said.
"Hmm. What would Do-S think?" Saitama asked.
"I'm here. I was on the second floor to check over what Masaki was talking about as a possible school room. She is willing to help with his training in any way possible," Inichi said when he walked in with Fubuki following him. "Are you able to see each floor clearly?"
"Yep. I like what I see. Keep it going. If we need supplies, get a good list going. And Jumpstart. Shut. Up. Listen to Bang. Once again, he knows more about this stuff than me. If you don't like it, then you can leave. And don't bug me on being my disciple if you do leave. I'm in no mood to care about your crap. And if I have to leave this bedroom to confront you, I will slap you through a building!" Saitama warned. "I'm catering to my wife and growing son. I don't have time for your crap right now."
"Ah…yes, Master…" Jumpstart sighed with defeat.
"I know. The sleeping arrangements suck. However, I also slept on a floor mat. I was fine. I muscled through it. Don't even think that you can't do it if I could do it," Saitama said with a small smirk. "And, so you know, I never touched the air conditioner in any weather situation. Likely why I can withstand so much heat, come to think of it…"
"That would be something to think about," Mitsumi chuckled. With the dojo being finished up now with floor arrangements, Saitama sighed and kept an eye on his gatherers in the gaming server. He kept watch on Stable Rock's gems and nodded that the mine was taken care of.
"So, I just had an interesting thought. Tacki, don't put in any air conditioning at all in the sleeping quarters," Saitama said with a small grin. He made sure he was heard through the diamond, and even Stable Rock snickered.
"What?!" Suiryu gaped.
"But…the summers are brutal!" Jumpstart cringed.
"I know. Muscle through it. You said you wanted to learn from me. To go through what I did. This is what I did. Air conditioning can be done outside, while you train and maybe in the main functioning rooms. Even then, it will be provided by our pets and family. Not by mechanical means. That means no cheating," Saitama added in.
"I can also ensure this is done," Genos agreed.
"Aww…" Jumpstart sulked.
"I would request for some airflow in the main dojo, then. It does help revitalize and increase stamina for intense training," Bang suggested.
"We'll work that out," Saitama agreed. "I'm gonna relax now. If I hear any complaining, the one that did it will run through my track with my dog at their heels. Got it?!"
"Yes, Master Saitama," both Suiryu and Jumpstart said together. With that situation resolved for now, Saitama gave an irritated sigh and let Mitsumi snuggle into him. She chuckled and ran a hand over his chest to calm him down.
"It's okay, love. Rest with me now," she murmured.
"Yeah…" he sighed and found himself drifting off to sleep with her. "At least…things are getting done…"
"Yeah," she said softly. "I love you."
"I love you, too…" he said back before drifting off to sleep with her. Bright Bolt nodded to Stable Rock to show he was going to watch for signs of bad dreams. Blue Ripple was already keeping track of what was going on. Overgrown Rover and Scritch were both watching the television gameplay. The monster dog had even learned how to use the controller to help keep Saitama's harvesters going, much to the surprise of the other pets there. Tangled Vine was curled up next to Mitsumi's neck and purring deeply with intense comfort.
"We shall…watch…them sleep…" Stable Rock snorted. "And…I shall…watch…the others…with my…stones…"
"Agreed," Blue Ripple nodded. With the plan in motion to guard the sleeping couple, the next hour passed by swiftly with other events to ensure things would keep moving smoothly.
