One Punch Man: Neutral Grounds

Chapter 37

"Morning," Saitama smiled and kissed Mitsumi's forehead.

"What time is it?" she winced and sat up to stretch.

"Not too early. It's just past dawn. The others already left to give us time to rest. We have plenty of leftover rice, vegetables and beef. You really did cook a lot!" he sighed and chuckled before sitting up with her. She kept a sheet over her chest in case any others came in, but he let her rest against him. She knew that Zenchu was out there even if some had left for Neutral Grounds.

"Yes. I froze what I needed to. Refrigerated other things from the shelving under my bed. I was...too ashamed to tell my new family what happened. Too scared that they would have been hunted down if discovered. I couldn't...really say anything..." she frowned. "Much less do anything."

"I know," he nodded and pulled her close to cradle her against him. "It's like I said. You went through hell. You didn't choose to do it. At the same time, it made you stronger. It severed you away from all of that. You learned how to survive and fight back in your own way."

"And now I have you," she smiled and got kissed deeply.

"You do," he nodded.

"Saitama?"

"Hmm?"

"Was there any monster out there that you couldn't kill?"

"Not really. Oh. There was one. But...eh...he flew away. I kept telling him he should've been a hero. He was helping people while trying to attack me. In the end, I punched him in the face after he punched me into a volcano."

"A volcano?!" she gaped.

"Yep! He damaged my cape, too, at one point. I got it fixed. And now it's even better!" he grinned. Then he saw her look of shock. "What?"

"Saitama! That monster hit you. Into a volcano. And you lived," she said.

"And...?" he frowned.

"You really can't get hurt anymore," she said with amazement.

"I told you so," he nodded. Then she poked his side. Then his chiseled stomach. "What are you doing? Mitsumi? Why are you trying to hurt me?"

"Can you feel a pinch?" she asked and tried to pinch him. She blinked that there wasn't even a red mark that was left.

"Nope."

"A small jabbing poke?"

"Nope."

"How about this?" she asked and gently traced a finger down his chest.

"Ah...yeah. I feel that..."

"Or this...?" she asked and ran her mouth over his arm to breathe out a hot breath of air. He growled and tensed up.

"Yes. I felt that."

"So...you can't feel outright attacks or pain. Even from me. But...intimate stuff..." she mused. Then she squeaked when he tackled her.

"It's like I said," he muttered and moved over her. "I can't feel pain. I can't feel any form of emotion. But...that's with everyone else. I can't feel anything if you try to physically hurt me. But I know you never intend to. I'm shocked that I can feel the gentleness you give me in your touch. I don't want that from anyone else. Only from you. It's why I said no one would ever touch me like you do after we finally got together completely.

"And when it comes to my emotions, I actually feel...a sense of need. To protect you. To love you. To punch anyone that tries to rip you away from me. I honestly feel that I would get the sensation of being torn in half if anything happens to you. Are you a weakness to me that way? I don't know. And I know it won't be, because nothing is going to pull you away from me. I won't give anyone or anything that chance. You've been through so much, Mitsumi! And I know there's probably even more! Stuff you probably can't remember now, but it's gonna come up!