Many times in a person's life they think they have bad luck, sometimes it's only for a short while but then there are those who think their entire life is a series of unlucky happenings. Yet there always is one person among all of them who claim to attract misfortune and actually do, these poor souls are constantly finding themselves in the most precarious of situations and dealing with the most insane of problems, all the while they wonder why are they the ones who have to suffer like this? Yet in the entirety of the world's history there has never been a person as unlucky or unfortunate, than the one who would one day be called King. For while he would someday be seen and admired as being one of the world's strongest heroes, long before he would even be considered a hero let alone seen as one of great power, he was what most would call a hermit.

Rarely ever leaving his apartment which at the time was quite small and cheap, King's life was mostly consumed by his love of video games. Whether it was competing in tournaments or just staying at home and playing by himself, overall he was a quiet person who kept to himself and tried with all his might to just avoid anything that was related to trouble. Yet for some reason unknown to him, nearly every time he went outside whether it was to do some shopping or to buy a new game, there'd be a sudden attack from some horrifying monster and always he'd be right at the center of it. At first he thought it was just a remarkable coincidence of wrong place wrong time, but after it happened nearly five times in the span of two months, he was beginning to think some greater cosmic power had it in for him.

Thankfully though his desire to avoid trouble at all costs made him quite good at running away, which most would not consider a skill to brag about mind you but seeing as how he was still in one piece and not lying dead in a ditch somewhere, he took a strange pride in his ability to flee. But sadly as it is the law of probability there would no doubt come a time where he wouldn't be able to easily escape whatever horror had suddenly appeared before him, which was the case in this moment where as he was going back to his apartment a new game in hand, a massive octopus like creature suddenly appeared and was attacking everything in sight, including him.

"LOOK OUT! RUN AWAY!" The people shouted in terror as they did their best to avoid the monster.

Running as he always did whenever something like this happened, just as it seemed he would get away he accidentally tripped over himself. Falling to the ground he managed to land on his forearms to lessen the impact, even so as he tried to quickly get back to his feet a shadow was cast over him, causing him to look behind him and see the looming figure of the creature. Paralyzed head to toe from fear he couldn't so much as even open his mouth to scream, even when the monster drew one of it's hands back and it was clear it sought to harm him, he still could do nothing.

"GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" He shouted in pain as it slashed the left side of his face with it's claw, leaving three perfect marks "GAAAAAH MY EYES! OOOOOW! SOMEBODY...SOMEBODY!" He cried out for help, hoping anyone could save him.

Covering his face from both the pain and from fear of what was to come next, he heard what sounded like an explosion going off before everything suddenly went quiet.

"Hey, calm down." A man's voice told him after a few moments of silence "The Monster has been taken care of, are your eyes alright?" He asked as he stepped closer "The wound doesn't look too deep, try to open them slowly." He directed.

Scared of the thought his left eye might be blind or even worse not there anymore, he slowly opened both of them and was relieved find that amazingly his left eye hadn't been touched in the attack. But as he continued to open his eyes he soon was able to seen who had saved him, and when he did they immediately shot open.

"I-It's you..." He muttered as he couldn't believe who was standing before him.

"Oh good you can see." The other man said as a smile came to his face "It'd really suck if I let that monster hurt you." He admitted.

"Y-You're terribly hurt!" He exclaimed as he looked the other man over, finding him to be covered in a good deal of wounds and blood.

"These scratches are nothing." The other assured him as his smile became a smirk "Haha...Today's a big sale day." He told him as he turned around "Take care of yourself!" He said as he then ran away.

Watching as the other took his leave of the scene, the man was no longer concerned with the still bleeding claw marks on his face as any fear and panic had been replaced by amazement and awe.

"Wow...I just got saved by One Punch Man..." He muttered before his eyes went wide "I-I JUST GOT SAVED BY ONE PUNCH MAN, AND I DIDN'T SAY THANK YOU!" He realized as he smacked himself in the head, making sure to avoid his injury.

Though he wasn't the biggest hero fan in the world, or even someone who knew a decent bit about them, the man would have to be living in a cave to not know about One Punch Man. The hero who inspired the Hero's Association, the man they say ends all fights in a single blow, the man who isn't a hero for a living but simply because he wants to, and in the one chance encounter he just had with him, he didn't show his appreciation for him saving his life.

"Oh man, he probably thinks I'm a real jerk!" He exclaimed worriedly as he got to his feet "Maybe I can send him a letter or something?" He suggested, just as a better idea came to mind "Oh wait I know! I'll just go thank him in person!" He decided before he ran back to his apartment.

Spending the next several hours dressing his wound and finding out where One Punch Man lived, it turned out that his address wasn't just on the association website but also on a lot of blogs and news websites that talked about heroes. And while at first that didn't seem too weird as he assumed people knew it for the sake of fan mail, the next day when he made his way to City Z in order to thank him, he discovered the REAL reason as to why everyone knew the address. Right outside the apartment building where the address was located were about three news vans and a crowd of at least one hundred people. However like any normal person would he simply believed that something was happening to warrant them being there, like One Punch Man was doing an interview or maybe he was signing autographs.

But as he made his way through the crowd and into the stairwell he noticed how there seemed to be no sign of One Punch Man anywhere, and that they were all just standing around without him being present.

"...Huh..." He sounded as he took one final look, finding the whole thing to be a little strange.

Climbing up the stairs until he reached the right floor, the moment he walked out and approached the right door, someone from below shouted out at him.

"HEY! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" They questioned causing him to look over his shoulder "YOU CAN'T JUST WALK UP TO HIS APARTMENT LIKE THAT!"

Unsure as to what the big deal was, before he could respond the sound of footsteps hurrying towards the door could be heard, soon followed by the door being opened.

"Hey! I told you guys that you couldn't just come up here any-" One Punch Man began to say, only to stop once he saw who was standing there "Wait, you're the guy." He realized.

"Uh...yeah..." He responded awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his head "Listen uh, One Punch Man, I know this is probably weird and all, especially since you just woke up." He said taking note of the other's light blue pajamas "But I just wanted to tell you in person that I'm sorry I didn't thank you yesterday for saving me, and that I'm here now to say thank you...so uh...thank you." He explained looking off to the side as to avoid eye contact.

To say the silence that came between them once his show of gratitude had finished was awkward would be a severe understatement, for on one hand the man was expecting One Punch Man to just say something like "No Problem" or "It's my job" and that'd be the end of it. But then on the other hand there was One Punch Man, and while as a hero he was used to getting fan mail and having people thank him, it was usually something that was WAY over the top and honestly got a bit too obsessive or creepy. But as he looked at the man who currently stood outside his door, he didn't see some hyperactive fan or crazed reporter looking for the next story about him, instead he saw someone who while acknowledging him as a hero was doing so in a way that was both humble and fairly casual. And for him that was a refreshing change of pace.

"Hey." He spoke regaining the other's attention "Wanna come inside?" He invited.

"Wait...really?" He asked receiving a nod in response "Uh, yeah sure, thanks." He said as he entered the apartment.

Closing the door behind him once he was inside, One Punch Man then walked past him and into his living room.

"Sorry that there's not a lot of room, but there should still be enough for both of us." He said.

"Oh it's no big deal, thanks for inviting me in." The man replied as he sat down at the small table at the room's center.

Sitting across from him on the other side of the table another brief silence came between the two as both seemed to have something in mind.

"So uh...not trying to sound rude or anything...but...why did you invite me in?" The man asked.

"Hm? oh I dunno, just seemed rude to leave you standing there is all." One Punch Man admitted with a shrug.

"Do you always let people in? like your fans I mean." The man asked, making sure to be specific.

"I used to, but then one time I caught them trying to take something of mine for some reason and then I stopped." One Punch Man answered as a sigh escaped him "What's really weird is they weren't stealing it to like sell it or anything, they just wanted it cause it was mine." He explained.

"That's...really creepy." The Man admitted causing him to chuckle.

"Yeah, but I guess it happens when you're a hero like me." One Punch Man said with a shrug, though not in a egotistical way "So, what's your name?" He asked.

"Huh?" The man sounded, seeming to have been caught off guard by the question.

"If we're gonna keep talking I'd like to know what your name is, otherwise I'd be rude." One Punch Man explained.

"Oh." The man simply replied as he looked down at his lap "Crap what should I tell him? my name's not really that interesting..." He thought to himself as he tried to come up with something "Wait, maybe I could tell him what the people at the tournaments call me, yeah that could work." He reasoned before he looked back to the other "People call me King." He told him trying to be as cool as he possibly could.

"King huh?" One Punch Man repeated as his eyes widened a bit "How come they call you that?" He asked, causing him to freeze.

"Uh..." King sounded as he wasn't prepared for that "It's...because I've placed first in a lot of tournaments..." He answered, hoping that it would be enough.

"Like fighting tournaments?" One Punch Man questioned.

"Yeah...something like that..." King replied.

Although he was technically telling the truth as he had placed first in several fighting GAME tournaments, he still felt a little guilty as he felt like he was lying. But as a few seconds passed by of One Punch Man looking at him with a gaze he couldn't quite figure out the nature of, the other then went on to shrug before letting a small smile come to his face.

"Alright, King it is then." He said as he rested his head in the palm of his hand "So tell me King, what kinda stuff are you into besides fighting?" He asked.

"Oh, well I like to read manga sometimes, and I like to play video games." King answered breathing a sigh of relief that his half truth had worked.

"Really? wanna play some games then?" One Punch Man asked, which brought a smile to King's face.

"Yeah sure." He replied as the other then got up from his seat.

Watching him walk over to his television and set up a console, once that was done and the game was ready to be played King got up from his seat and joined him in front of the TV. And while at first it seemed like they would play for maybe a couple of minutes or so before they went back to talking or he was asked to leave, they actually ended up playing for the next several hours, not even realizing it until their stomach's growled.O

"Huh, guess we've been playing for a pretty long time." One Punch Man admitted as he got up "Want to stay for some lunch King?" He offered.

"Really? you sure that would be okay?" King asked causing the other to give him a confused look.

"Uh yeah, it's my apartment so as long as I'm okay with it I'm pretty sure it's okay." He replied.

"Oh right." King said, mentally slapping himself for not thinking that one out.

"You don't mind if we just have some udon do you? I bought a bunch of it at the sale yesterday." One Punch Man asked.

"No that'd be fine, thanks." King replied, doing his best not to come off as rude in any way.

Needing only ten minutes or so to cook enough for the both of them, soon they both had a piping hot bow of udon noodles that smelled wonderful.

"Alright, let's dig in." One Punch Man said as he started eating.

Simply nodding in reply before he did the same, the two went on to eat their food in relative silence for the next few minutes.

"So King." One Punch Man spoke as to gain his attention "When you said earlier that you placed first in fighting tournaments, you meant fighting games didn't you?" He questioned, causing the other to go pale.

"Uh..." King sounded though a bit muffled, as One Punch Man had caught him right as he had a mouthful of udon.

"Just making a guess, but from how amazing you are at video games and the fact that you don't look all that strong, I'm guessing you were just trying to impress me right?" He asked.

Even though he was shocked to be confront about his story like this King had to admit that even he wouldn't have found his explanation earlier to be all too convincing either, and seeing as how had just spent the last few hours unintentionally showing the other his skills at games, there was nothing left to do but confess.

"Y-You're right..." King said as he swallowed his food "But I swear I wasn't trying to lie to you, it's just I didn't think you'd find who I really was interesting." He admitted.

"How come?" One Punch Man asked.

"Because...I'm a coward." King answered as he looked down at himself "But not just because I was running from the monster yesterday, I spend most of my time in my apartment avoiding everybody because I don't want to be a part of anything dangerous." He explained as a sigh escaped him "But to be honest, it seems like lately every time I leave my apartment I'm always in the perfect place for a monster to attack, this was like the third one his month." He admitted.

Taking a moment to consider his answer, most people might've seen King as this pathetic nobody who was basically a shut in, but to him he was just someone who was afraid of how scary the world could be. And while he didn't really understand because he'd never been TOO scared of anything, he figured that if what King said was true, then he had every right to be apprehensive about the world as it seemed like it was almost out to get him.

"...Do you want some help?" One Punch Man asked.

"What?" King replied not sure as to what he meant.

"If you want I could teach you some stuff to help you deal with monsters." One Punch Man offered.

"Wait really?" King asked being genuinely surprised "You'd do that for me?"

"Sure, we're friends aren't we?" One Punch Man asked as he pointed to the television "Or have I been playing video games all day with a complete stranger?"

Being taken aback by how fast things seemed to be moving, not only was One Punch Man of all people offering to teach him how to deal with monsters, but he was also saying that they were friends.

"W-Wait a minute." King spoke as he held a hand up "W-We just met and we're already friends?" He asked.

"We don't have to be if you don't want to." One Punch Man replied as he leaned back "I just figured we get along and all so it might be cool to hang out some more." He explained with a shrug.

Still a bit shocked at what was happening, all King had intended to do was just say his thanks and then be on his way. But even he had to admit that these past few hours he'd spent with the other were some of the best he'd had in a long time, as due to his nature he was always awkward around people and found interacting with them hard because he felt like they were judging him. But he didn't feel that way around One Punch Man, for the first time in a long time he felt like he wasn't being judged for being the way he was and that he could finally be comfortable spending time with another human being, instead of one that existed only on a screen.

"Yeah, that sounds like fun." King agreed causing the other to smile.

"Cool." One Punch Man replied "Oh, but if we're gonna be hanging out then you should probably know my real name, Saitama." He revealed.

And so from that moment on King and Saitama continued to hang out with each other, whether it was to play games or just to kill a few hours, over the next several months the two became great friends. All the while Saitama would occasionally show King a thing or two about fighting, nothing too extravagant or technical just some basic punches and kicks and even a training regime he could start doing to make himself stronger. However, as the two continued to hang out Saitama continued to grow in both popularity as well as power, so much so that he started to actually dispel any monster he fought with but one single blow, bringing the name of One Punch Man to life completely. Though this wasn't without it's drawbacks, first there was an obvious one which was his hair falling out leaving him bald, then there was the increase in size of the crowd that gathered outside his apartment building, and finally as he continued to dispatch all enemies in a single attack they all just started surrendering the moment he showed up, wanting to live rather than to commit suicide by trying to fight him.

This caused his life to become insanely boring as his dream of being a superhero was beginning to look less enjoyable, but thankfully King was right by his side to not only give him some encouraging words of support when he needed it, but also helped him relax and unwind from all of the stress the public gave him with a good old fashioned game session. Though it's because of their friendship and King always coming around to hang out with Saitama that people began to assume that he was his sidekick, and before either he or King knew about it he was suddenly made an S class hero and was being called the world's second strongest hero. Which you can imagine didn't set well with him.

"OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD!" He exclaimed as he paced nervously back and forth.

"Calm down dude, you're gonna make a rut in the floor." Saitama told him as he casually read a manga.

"HOW CAN YOU BE SO CALM ABOUT THIS SAITAMA?!" King asked as he stopped to look at him "I-I'M AN S CLASS HERO! BUT I DIDN'T EVEN DO ANY KIND OF HERO WORK! DOESN'T THAT BOTHER YOU?!" He questioned.

"Not really." Saitama replied with a shrug as he turned a page "To be honest I'm surprised it took them this long to do it, figured it'd happen after we started hanging out." He admitted.

"YEAH WELL THIS STILL ISN'T GOOD! THEY'RE GONNA EXPECT ME TO DO HERO STUFF AND FIGHT MONSTERS! I CAN'T DO THAT!" King shouted as he gripped the sides of his head "TH-THEY'RE GONNA EXPECT ME TO SAVE THEM! A-AND WHEN I CAN'T THEN PEOPLE ARE GONNA GET HURT OR KILLED BECAUSE OF IT!" He went on, going into a full panic.

Suddenly, before he could say or do anything else Saitama was in front of him with his hands gripping his arms.

"Dude chill out." Saitama told him as he lowered the other's arms from his head "It's not that bad, they only call on S class heroes when something big happens, when it does I can take care of it." He assured him.

"B-But what if you can't Saitama?" King asked as he looked to the floor "O-Or what if they need me to do something else while you're handling the problem, what am I supposed to do?" He asked.

"Look King." Saitama said as he put his hands on his shoulders "If you really feel this bad about it, then we can go to the association HQ and get this all sorted out, sound good?" He suggested.

"Y-You'd do that for me?" King asked.

"Of course, what're friends for?" Saitama replied as he gave him a light pat on the shoulder "Just let me get into my costume and we can go get it sorted out right now." He said as he headed towards the bathroom.

Time seemed to slow down as King watched his friend walk away, for while he should be overjoyed that this whole thing would get resolved, for some reason he wasn't.

"Why am I not happy?..." He wondered as he looked down at himself "Saitama's gonna get this whole thing sorted out, so...why don't I feel relieved?...is it because...I feel bad?" He questioned as he looked back to Saitama "But why would I feel bad? it's not like I'm asking him to bail me out like I got myself into this...and yet...I feel guilty?..."

Doing his best to try and make sense of what he was feeling, as he thought more and more on what could be the cause of it, he soon had his answer.

"It's because of all he's done for me." He realized as his eyes widened "First he saved me, then he became my friend, and even after that he tried to teach me how to fight so I could protect myself." He recalled as his hands slowly balled into fists "And yet here I am, asking him to tell everyone that I'm too much of a coward to be a hero, regardless if it's in S class or not." He thought angrily before he shouted "WAIT!"

Stopping just as he was about to reach the bathroom door Saitama turned around and looked at his friend with a confused gaze.

"Is something wrong King?" He asked, unsure as to what the outburst was about.

"I...I want...to become stronger." King answered as he looked to the floor "My whole life I've run away from everything, because everything scared me, but now I have the chance to be better than that and like always I'm running away from it." He explained as he looked back to Saitama "So please Saitama, help me to become stronger!" He requested.

"Um...what?" Saitama questioned still not sure as to what was happening.

"I want to be stronger so I can stop being so afraid of everything, and you always said you'd help me to fight." King explained.

"Well yeah but that was when I thought you just wanted to know some basic self defense stuff, why do you suddenly want to be a hero? you were like, terrified a few seconds ago." Saitama pointed out.

Upon hearing that all of the gusto King suddenly seemed to have dispersed, and while he hadn't reverted back to how he was just a few moments ago, he did seem to be more aware of what he was saying.

"I...I don't know..." He admitted with a sigh as he opened his fists "I just...I'm tired of always needing someone to help me whenever something happens, whether it's a monster attack or this, I'm just tired of being a coward." He explained.

Looking at his friend who now seemed like he was defeated, Saitama walked back over to him and put his hands back on the other's shoulders.

"Alright, then we're going to have to do my training regime." He said causing King's eyes to widen.

"W-Wait really?!" He questioned.

"Yes." Saitama confirmed with a nod "But if you want to become stronger then you'll have to be put through the same intensity that I put myself through, think you can handle it?" He asked.

Feeling that former gusto slowly return, while he was afraid of what would be in store should he say yes, King still wanted to go through with it.

"Bring it on." He challenged with a confident glare, causing the other to smirk.

"Very well then, follow me and we'll get all that you need to prepare!" Saitama exclaimed as he headed for the door.

Following his friend out of the apartment the two would go on to visit a local clothing store in order to buy King a week's worth of training suits. And even though he was admittedly relieved and a bit baffled that the "intense training regime" Saitama had in store for him was actually just basic strength training, he still planned to give it his all in order to become stronger. Slowly but surely as he stuck to the regime every day the once lanky form of King began to fill out with muscles, so much so that his shirts were now gripping his toned physique. And while at first there were those who did doubt the notion he was the second strongest hero in the world, as people hero or citizen witnessed him training every day and on occasion accompanying Saitama when the task at hand wasn't too serious, the claim that he was exactly that was all the more believable.

But even as the people and his fellow S class began to believe his appointed title wasn't just for show, even as he began to help people and stop crime in his city, even as his popularity and fame grew, none of it is what kept him going. Instead what kept him waking up early each morning and doing all that he could to improve himself as both a hero and a person, was an unspoken promise he kept in his mind.

"I won't let you down Saitama." He swore as he jogged in the early hours of the day "I'll do whatever it takes to become the second strongest hero."