One Punch Man: Neutral Grounds

Chapter 186

"Okay! What flea are we going to test on the seaweed?" Child Emperor asked in the warehouse lab.

"I have it in a jar. Give me a moment. Also, I need to know. When Mitsumi's father was found, it was said he was poisoned. However, we just discovered that the poison was given after he was brutally strangled. He may not regenerate with the poison in his body! He died before the poison was introduced! I'll need to confirm this with Inichi later. Back to the matter at hand, I do have one of the fleas that was tricked and removed from one of the cured Secret Skins. Here it is," Metal Knight said and let a robotic arm deliver the jar.

"I'd still have an antidote just in case. They said it was arsenic. I can get an antidote set up to be given if it's proven he has it in his system. We might be able to get some of his bloodwork," Child Emperor agreed. "Should we work on getting the fleas removed that need to be removed?"

"It may be safer to work on each Secret Skins one at a time. But we should work on the willing ones first. Then the ones that were turned with agreement," Metal Knight suggested. Dr. Kuseno was down in his lab, but he was helping operate a set of remote arms.

"Which one are we working with first?" the doctor asked.

"Let's get a flea that was tricked and see what happens with the seaweed," Child Emperor suggested. "And even though it was tricked, I'd rather not let myself get exposed. Or anyone else in case there's an instinct to attack."

"Precisely," Metal Knight agreed. "Siren? Can you assist with seaweed preparation for us?"

"I already have a strand on a table," she chuckled. He nodded to her gratefully and decided to have the discarded skin set up on another table nearby. Inichi was soon walking in to a viewing chamber with Fubuki on his arm.

"I am going to stay here to see if I can delicately 'nudge' fleas into doing something. Recall how they instinctively declined things," Inichi said calmly.

"Quite right! Yes. Remain in the safety of the viewing chamber," Metal Knight agreed. Inichi sat down with Fubuki next to him, and she set her head against his shoulder.

"Are you well?" he frowned.

"Just...a little icky from things," she sighed. "The medicine is helping, but...it's a bad one."

"I see," he frowned.

"Hmm..." Dr. Kuseno mused in the speaker system. "Inichi, give her a pregnancy test."

"What?!" he asked with surprise.

"Some pregnancies can happen even during a menstrual cycle. If the medication is not helping her, then I'm thinking something else is taking place," the doctor mused aloud. Inichi was speechless at this.

"Let's wait until after this," Fubuki smiled. "And Mitsumi can always check me with her fans."

"She will check you over when we are done," Inichi sighed and shook his head. Then he gave her a small smile at her nudge. "If it's true...well...I was not expecting such news so soon."

"With how we've been after you became human?" she smiled with a raised brow. He scowled lightly and laughed at her poke to his side.

"But we didn't really do anything physically when I was a monster! You'd think such a thing would have passed. I believe it's a false alarm," he nodded.

"We'll find out for sure after this," she soothed and pat his arm. He sighed and nodded at her again. They kissed softly and returned their attention to the mechanical arms moving in the glass containment room.

"Eh..." the flea voiced out when it was carefully dumped onto a steel table. Inichi focused to urge it to try the seaweed. It crawled over to it and took a small bite. "Ick! Huh..."