Chương 79: Chapter 72: The Unexpected Reunions

The acrid smell of evaporating Grimm ash and burning wood hung heavily over the city of Upper Mistral, but for the first time in hours, the night air was completely still. The apocalyptic siege was over. The mysterious, colossal mechanical titan that had painted the sky with blinding artillery had vanished as quickly as it appeared, leaving the Huntsmen, the Faunus, and the citizens in a state of breathless awe. Outside the shattered perimeter of Haven Academy, a massive triage and regrouping effort was underway.

The cavalry Huntsmen and Huntresses worked tirelessly alongside the Mistral Police Force and the Menagerie Faunus, moving through the streets to check on the terrified civilians. Miraculously, word quickly spread through the ranks: despite the sheer, impossible scale of the invasion, there were no civilian casualties. A few broken bones and severe shock, but everyone was alive. Gathered in a vast, relatively clear courtyard just outside the academy gates, the core defenders took a collective, exhausted breath.

Qrow Branwen, Oscar Pine, Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Team JNPR, Team SSSN, and Team ABRN leaned against broken pillars and chunks of rubble, their weapons finally lowered. Ghira, Kali, and Ilia stood with them, covered in soot but looking profoundly relieved.

"Is everyone accounted for?" Qrow asked, taking a swig from his flask to soothe his raw throat.

"We're all here," Jaune confirmed, offering a tired but victorious smile to his team. Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren nodded in agreement, the heavy weight of Kuroyuri finally lifted from Ren's shoulders.

"What about the White Fang?" Blake asked, turning to her father.

"Scattered," Ghira answered, his deep voice rumbling with exhaustion.

"When the Grimm attacked, the perimeter broke. Many of Adam's loyalists used the chaos to flee into the lower city. However, a fair number of them stayed. Whether they were trapped by the horde or suddenly felt a pang of remorse, they fought alongside us. The police are detaining them now."

"That's a problem for tomorrow," Sun sighed, leaning heavily on his staff. He looked up at the empty, star-filled sky.

"Right now, I want to know what the heck that was."

"Yeah! Did Atlas seriously build a giant robot that big?" Neptune asked while his gaze still locked on the sky alongside Sage, Scarlet and Team ABRN. Weiss crossed her arms, her brow furrowed in deep thought.

"It had Atlesian colors, but I have never seen or heard of a project on that scale. A machine that massive... the Dust consumption alone would bankrupt the SDC in a week. And where did it go? It just flew into the clouds and disappeared."

"Ozpin?" Qrow looked at the young farm boy.

"Any ideas?" Oscar blinked, listening to the voice in his head for a moment. He shook his head.

"He says he has absolutely no idea. If General Ironwood built that, he kept it a secret from everyone, including Ozpin." Ruby rubbed the back of her neck, looking toward the ruined front doors of the academy.

"Well, whoever sent it, it saved us. We should just be glad that it's--" Ruby froze. Her silver eyes widened in sudden, absolute horror.

"Yang!" Ruby gasped. The realization hit the group like a physical blow. Weiss gasped, her hands flying to her mouth. Blake's ears pinned completely flat against her head.

"She went down into the vault after Raven and Cinder!" Weiss yelled, her exhaustion vanishing instantly.

"And the entire mountain was shaking from the invasion!" Jaune realized, his eyes darting toward the school.

"The subterranean caverns... the vault might have caved in! She could be trapped!" Qrow cursed loudly, slamming his flask into his pocket.

"And Leonardo is still hiding in there somewhere! We need to move, now, before that coward slips away!" The Huntsmen and Huntresses immediately grabbed their weapons, adrenaline overriding their profound fatigue. They turned as one, sprinting toward the ruined archways of Haven Academy. Suddenly, the cobblestones directly in their path violently exploded. SKREEE! A massive, armor-plated Centinel Grimm erupted from the subterranean earth, its razor-sharp pincers snapping wildly.

It had been tunneling beneath them, a lone straggler left behind by the horde.

"Look out!" Ilia yelled, whipping her Lightning Lash backward. Ruby, Qrow, Oscar, Weiss, Blake, Team JNPR, Team SSSN, and Team ABRN all skidded to a halt. They raised their scythes, swords, and firearms, gritting their teeth for one last, exhausting fight. Before a single Huntsman could take a swing, a figure casually stepped out from the shadows directly behind the towering Grimm. The figure raised a red-gloved fist and lazily tapped the back of the Centinel's armored head. SPLAT.

The massive, terrifying underground monster instantly detonated into a fine mist of black ash, completely washing over the stunned Huntsmen. Through the dissipating ash, the savior stood completely still, his expression entirely flat and utterly bored. It was Saitama. He was wearing his garish yellow jumpsuit. On his head sat a cheap, brown wig that had been perfectly sliced down the middle, held together by multiple, highly visible strips of clear packing tape that were peeling at the edges.

On his back, sleeping peacefully with her arms wrapped around his neck, was Neopolitan. In his right hand, Saitama was casually dragging the unconscious body of Adam Taurus by the ankle. Adam was still curled in a tight fetal position, both of his hands firmly clutching his groin, a faint, high-pitched wheeze escaping his lips. For five entire seconds, the courtyard was dead silent.

"Saitama?!" Ruby shrieked, her voice cracking up an octave in sheer confusion.

"How--what--how are you here?!" Jaune stammered, his sword dropping slightly as he stared at the invincible hero.

"Oh, hey guys. Didn't expect to see you here," Saitama greeted casually, raising his free hand in a lazy wave. He blinked, looking at the large group"Wait, how did you recognize me? I'm wearing a disguise." He tapped the heavily taped, sliced wig on his head. Weiss stared at the packing tape.

"Saitama, literally no one on the planet wears an outfit that ridiculous. And your wig is taped together!"

"It's been a rough night for the hair," Saitama sighed.

"Never mind the hair!" Pyrrha interjected, stepping forward.

"How did you get from Vale to Mistral?" Saitama scratched his cheek.

"Uh... honestly, it's a really long story. I kind of forgot the details. I got lost, fell out of a ship, punched a bird, fought a train... ended up here." This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it"Does Headmistress know you're here?" Ren became wondering the situation in Beacon without Saitama's presence.

"Well... I didn't think so, at first. Though, I think she is covering my disappearance from what I've seen in the news," Saitama rubbed his chin, remembering some news regarding 'The Hero of Vale Returned from Paid-Leave' that he watched on television.

"Whoa! So you're running away?!" Nora asked excitedly.

"Hey, it was an accident!" Saitama answered defensively.

"I thought it was a warehouse." Sun Wukong pushed his way to the front of the group, his eyes wide.

"Wait! Wow, Saitama! It's been a while!" Saitama's flat expression suddenly lit up with profound, comical excitement.

"Hey! The monkey kid and his team!" Saitama pointed an accusatory finger at Team SSSN and Team ABRN. Both the Mistral Teams (beside Sun) smiled and waved their hands to Saitama, greeting him in awkward.

"You made it to Mistral!" Sun, on the other hand, is excited with him being here.

"Yeah, I've been looking for you!" Saitama said to him.

"Where is the fruit market you told me about? I still have that paper with the banana drawn on it! Can I still get the discount on cabbages?!" Everyone in the courtyard, from Ghira to Qrow, stared at the two of them in absolute, baffling silence.

"Uh, yeah, man! The market is down in the lower city!" Sun laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I'll totally show you tomorrow!"

"Sweet," Saitama smiled, looking incredibly satisfied. Saitama then noticed Qrow.

"Oh, hey dusty cloak guy. It's been a while." Qrow Branwen dragged a hand down his face, letting out a long, heavy groan.

"Ozpin told me you were supposed to be our secret weapon in Vale. So much for keeping a low profile." It was then that Blake's eyes drifted down to the red-haired Faunus currently being dragged by his ankle. Blake gasped, taking a step back.

"A-Adam?!"

"What?" Saitama looked down at his right hand.

"Oh, right." He unceremoniously dropped Adam's leg. Thud. Adam groaned in his sleep, his hands tightening around his sore crotch.

"I found this guy in the street," Saitama explained, pointing his thumb at the extremist.

"He tried to cut my hair. Someone told me there's a bounty on cow-guys who do terrorism. Where do I turn him in?" Ghira, Kali, Ilia, and Sun stared at Saitama with their jaws completely unhinged.

"You... you captured Adam Taurus," Ghira rumbled, utterly stunned. The most dangerous, elusive radical in the entire Faunus kingdom, reduced to a groaning mess on the cobblestones by a man asking about cabbage discounts.

"How did you do it?" Ilia asked Saitama. The bald hero glanced at Adam, remembering how his fist accidentally connected to the bull Faunus' crotch.

"Uhh... I rather not talk about it." Blake slowly walked forward, looking down at the man who had tormented her for years, completely neutralized. She looked up at Saitama, a profound sense of gratitude washing over her.

"Saitama... thank you," Blake said softly. She gestured to the massive Faunus standing behind her.

"These are my parents, Ghira and Kali Belladonna."

"It's so nice to meet you, Mr. Saitama! Blake told me much about your heroic deeds," Kali smiled and bowed slightly.

"Thank you very much for looking out for our daughter." Saitama also gave a slight, polite bow.

"Nice to meet you too. Do you know where the bounty office is?" Before Ghira could respond to the sheer absurdity of the question, Saitama felt a movement on his back. It seemed that Neo is waking up.

"Oh, sorry. I almost forgot about her. She is the one who helped me to get here," Saitama's hand reached behind him, gently shaking the shoulder of the girl sleeping on his back.

"Hey, wake up, kid. We're here." Neopolitan groaned softly, rubbing her eyes. She slipped off Saitama's back, landing lightly on her boots, and stretched her arms over her head, the bowler hat resting perfectly on her pink-and-brown hair. She opened her eyes, taking in her surroundings. And then, she froze. Standing barely twenty feet away were Ozpin's Huntsmen. And right in the center of the group, holding a massive red scythe, was Ruby Rose. Her second target. The girl responsible for Roman Torchwick's death.

Neo's heterochromic eyes widened, instantly flooding with pure, unadulterated murderous rage. In a literal blink of an eye, Neo dashed forward. She drew the concealed blade from Hush, lunging directly at Ruby's throat with blinding speed.

"Ruby!" Weiss screamed. Ruby reacted on pure instinct, triggering her Semblance to burst backward into rose petals. Neo's blade slashed through the empty air, her momentum carrying her forward as she violently smashed her parasol into the cobblestones, shattering the stone beneath it. Instantly, the entire courtyard erupted. Jaune, Nora, Ren, Pyrrha, Blake, Qrow, Team SSSN and Team ABRN all raised their weapons, surrounding the small girl. Neo didn't care.

She spun her parasol, preparing to launch herself at Ruby again. BONK. Saitama casually stepped forward and delivered a solid, hollow-sounding karate chop directly to the top of Neo's head. Neo yelped, dropping her combat stance immediately to clutch the top of her head with both hands. She spun around, glaring up at Saitama with absolute fury.

"What do you think you're doing?" Saitama scolded, looking at her with a flat, disapproving expression.

"Don't just attack people." Neo furiously pulled out her scroll, typing at lightning speed before shoving it into his chest. [My friend died because of her!] Saitama blinked. He looked at the text, then looked over at Ruby.

"... What?"

"Saitama, get away from her!" Weiss yelled, pointing Myrtenaster at the girl.

"She's an enemy! She was part of the faction that helped to destroy Beacon Academy before you got here!" Saitama blinked again. He looked at Weiss, then back at Neo.

"... What?" Neo bared her teeth, stepping around Saitama to ready her blade for another strike at the Schnee. Saitama reached out and tightly pinched Neo's right cheek.

"Eek!" Neo's muffled squeak was completely silent, but her face contorted in pain as she tried to pull away.

"Listen here," Saitama lectured firmly, stretching her cheek like rubber.

"Stop causing trouble right now, or I am not buying you any ice cream. And I'm canceling the snacks." Neo froze. She stared at Saitama, genuine panic flashing in her eyes at the threat of losing her promised sweets. Saitama released his pinch. Neo stumbled back, furiously rubbing her red cheek, a deep, comical pout on her face. She looked around at the dozen heavily armed Huntsmen and Huntresses surrounding her.

She was exhausted from the illusion, completely outnumbered, and the strongest man in the universe was currently holding her snack privileges hostage. Neo let out a frustrated, defeated sigh. She sheathed her blade, folded her parasol, and crossed her arms, officially standing down. The students slowly lowered their weapons, staring at the scene in complete, utter bewilderment.

"Are you..." Jaune started, rubbing his eyes to make sure he wasn't hallucinating.

"Are you babysitting a super-criminal?" Saitama aggressively scratched his taped-up wig.

"Look, I am way more confused than you guys right now. There's been a lot of weird stuff happening today." Before anyone could demand an explanation, the heavy, mechanical roar of turbine engines echoed from above. A sleek, pristine Atlesian Manta ship descended from the clouds, its searchlights cutting through the smoke. The Manta touched down gently on the far side of the courtyard, kicking up a massive cloud of dust. The hydraulic doors hissed open.

Stepping out in perfect unison were Clover Ebi, Marrow Amin, Harriet Bree, and three heavily armed Atlesian intelligence agents.

"Stand down, everyone," Clover commanded smoothly, holding up a badge.

"General Ironwood received reports of a massive anomaly in Mistral and ordered us to investigate immediately." Clover's eyes scanned the crowd. He saw Qrow, the students, the captured Faunus. And then, his eyes locked onto the man in the yellow suit with the terribly taped wig. Clover's professional demeanor cracked into a wide, victorious smile. They had been secretly hunting this man across the continent for weeks. To stumble across him right here was a stroke of absolute luck.

Clover walked forward, completely ignoring everyone else as he approached the bald hero.

"It is so incredibly good to finally meet you in person," Clover greeted warmly, extending a hand.

"The Hero of Vale! Or, considering your recent travels, should I say... The Sheriff of Shion? The Unknown Huntsman of Mistral Below?" Behind Clover, Marrow and Harriet smirked. The agents had compiled a massive dossier on Saitama's accidental exploits across Anima. Saitama, however, did not hear praise. He heard the names of the towns where he had eaten food.

The memory of the cozy tavern near Shion village, the delicious bowl of noodles, the realization that he had absolutely zero Lien in his pocket, and his shameful, supersonic sprint into the forest, slammed into his mind. Oh crap... Saitama panicked internally, his face suddenly breaking out in a massive, comical sweat. The noodle-cops! They tracked me all the way across the continent over one bowl of ramen! Saitama immediately threw his hands up, laughing loudly and incredibly awkwardly.

"Ha! Ha! Ha! Sheriff? Hero? I have no idea what you're talking about! You definitely have the wrong guy! I'm just a normal dude with a full, beautiful head of natural hair!" Clover blinked, lowering his hand.

"Excuse me?"

"Yeah! See?!" Saitama pointed frantically at his head. At that exact moment, the cheap packing tape holding the two halves of the wig together completely gave out. Snap. The left half of the wig slid off and fell to the cobblestone. Plop. The right half of the wig slid off and fell on top of it. Plop. Saitama's perfectly smooth, shiny, bald head gleamed brilliantly in the light of the Atlesian Manta. The silence that followed was agonizing.

Marrow Amin slapped a hand over his mouth, his shoulders shaking violently as he desperately tried to suppress a laugh. Harriet bit her lip so hard it nearly bled. Even Qrow had to look away, covering his mouth with a cough. Saitama's comical panic escalated to absolute critical mass. He immediately dropped to his hands and knees, bowing his shiny head directly to Clover's boots.

"I'M SORRY! I'M SO SORRY! I DIDN'T MEAN TO DINE-AND-DASH!" Saitama yelled, completely baffling the elite Atlesian operatives.

"I'll pay the bill! I swear I'll pay for the noodles! Just please don't throw me in jail or make me pay double compensation!" Clover stared down at the groveling, invincible god of Remnant, his brain completely failing to process the situation.

"Sorry... what noodles?" Ruby Rose slowly lowered Crescent Rose, stepping forward with a look of profound, deeply concerned confusion.

"Uhh... Saitama?" Ruby asked slowly.

"You dine-and-dashed?"