One Punch Man: Neutral Grounds

Chapter 54

When they landed, the flower field was on a flat segment of land that was highlighted perfectly in the current moonlight. Inichi was surprised that the unique flower bed was exactly two-hundred square feet around and in a near-perfect circle. It appears to be a perfect circle from the air! How is this?!

"This place is...strange..." Saitama said on looking at the eerie flower field. "Like...a calming strange. Not a bad strange..."

"The field is a circle?" King asked with Kianna pressing into him. "I saw that from the air."

"I've never seen a circle for a field of flowers before," Child Emperor thought hard. "That's very odd!"

"Wait. It was said the monster arrived by a meteor, right? I...I think...is the field a result of that?" Mitsumi blinked in thought.

"Oh..." Inichi paused at the thought. "You may be right!"

"Let me see..." Mitsumi said and had Saitama put her down. She found herself instinctively walking to the center of the field of rare white flowers. They all came up to her knees in height, and she took in a deep breath of their intense sent of rainwater and roses.

She took out the latest crane set to flick them out. It signaled for the other six to appear as crescents first. Then they merged into three perfect circles to flick out all the fans and blades. On standing there in the moonlight in her silvery finery, she appeared to fully belong there. For several minutes, she simply stood there as though in a trance with the fans out.

"Mitsumi?" Saitama asked and finally walked up to her. The moment he stepped into the circular field of flowers, he sensed an intense and distinct change in the air. It feels as if I'm intruding on something. I was not expected. She turned to face him at the call of her name, but her attention seemed distant. Flashy Flash was just stunned at how she looked there. All the others were and didn't know what to think, but Genos was silently recording everything.

"Saitama..." she whispered and shivered. "I feel...strange. You need to step out of the field for a bit. Stay with the others for a moment. Okay?"

"No," Saitama said and continued to walk up to her. Then he paused when Zenchu was suddenly in his path. "Zenchu?!"

"She said to wait with the others," he growled. His claws were out and his tail snapped to show he was being serious. The other monsters there didn't have this odd effect on them. Zenchu had walked into the field to help Saitama. Instead, he was taken over and no longer in control.

"Zenchu! What are you doing?!" Inichi asked with intense surprise. "Wait...he's...no...!"

"What's going on?! I'm getting really creeped out right now!" Saitama said. Then he saw Mitsumi start to levitate and float upwards for the crane fan blades to flick out.  Now the blades began to shimmer and vibrate. "Inichi?!"

"That's not me! And I can't interfere with this! If I try to help, I may get pulled into the same snare as Zenchu! It's all you now," Inichi said. Fubuki's jaw dropped at this, but Inichi refused to let any others get into the field now to protect them. When Saitama started to get past Zenchu, the monster was in his way again.

"You can't do anything?!" Saitama now looked over his shoulder at Inichi.

"I want to...but I can't. Do what you must, but...remember who Zenchu is in the end. Please..." Inichi grimaced. The bald hero nodded and looked right at Zenchu to show he wasn't backing down.

"Don't make me slap you!" Saitama warned.

"I don't care," Zenchu hissed. That got the others to gasp with surprise at this. Now Inichi knew that Zenchu was under a form of mind control.