One Punch Man: Neutral Grounds

Chapter 9

Five hours had passed before the smells of breakfast woke up Saitama from where he was. He sat up and yawned. Then he glanced over and paused in shock at Mitsumi's elderly sleeping form not far from him. He looked over to see Zenchu eating a bowl of egg fried rice and waving at him.

"You let me sleep here?" Saitama blinked.

"Well...yeah. You were pretty zonked out," Zenchu chuckled. "Lady Mitsumi insisted to rest near you, too. We weren't going to stop that order."

"Here!" Tacki said and plopped a bowl of egg fried rice in Saitama's lap. A glass of orange juice was set alongside him on a lap table next.

"I need to wash my suit..." Saitama sighed, but he started eating heartily.

"We can do that," Fumio said.

"Actually, I have a nifty talent that I discovered. I can try it out? I mean...you'll have to undress and I can try it out. I can pull dirt out of almost anything," Richoo said. "And it comes out dry!"

"Hmm. Okay. Maybe I can bathe, too..." Saitama mused.

"There is a bathroom for that," Kianna nodded. "You can use it for as long as you need it."

"Thanks," Saitama nodded and was able to finish off his meal. When he was done, he was escorted by Rendor to the bathroom. Kianna and Tacki had already drawn up a hot bath, and they set aside soaps, towels and a robe for him when he was done. He was in shock at how he was being treated. After five minutes of just thinking over everything, he finally undressed and put on the robe to hand his suit, underclothes and boots to Rendor. "Here. Um...thanks."

"Of course," Rendor nodded and gave over the clothing to Richoo to clean. On studying the tub, he saw it was not a traditional one. It was a square tub with stylish black tiles lining it and definitely deep enough for full reclining in. It was even large enough for two people! He also realized the bathroom was extended out into the next apartment to accommodate for more space. He was quite impressed. Saitama spent thirty minutes simply soaking in the hot water with intense relief before scrubbing himself down. He put on the robe again after drying off and walked out to see the others.

"You look better," Kianna nodded.

"Yeah. It's nice to take a bath," Saitama agreed. "Usually I just scrub myself down with hot water."

"No more of that," Mitsumi said from where she was sitting up and eating a rice ball with strawberries in the center. "Did he eat?"

"I did eat," Saitama nodded and moved to sit down with her. "When my clothes are ready I'll dress."

"Very good," she nodded. "The bath was good?"

"It was...very good," he nodded.

"Good," she smiled and drank down some warmed milk. "We need to go to the restaurant and see how it is."

"Actually, we need to go to the lenders first," Zenchu said. "You need to pass down the restaurant to your niece."

"I do? Oh...hmm. True..." Mitsumi frowned. "My granddaughter."

"Yes. My mistake," Zenchu nodded. "Saitama, I don't know if you can come with us for this. You may have to stay at the restaurant. Or find something else to do while we do this."

"Nope. I'm going with you. As a member of the Hero Association, I should witness it," Saitama said with a shake of his head. "I could even grab King, too, come to think of it..."

"Call him!" Rendor nodded. Saitama nodded and found his phone nearby. He saw a few messages from Genos and was able to reply to him of the plans. When Genos called him, he sighed and answered it.