King sat there, absolutely stunned, after taking in the tale Saitama just told.

"So you're telling me that all these monsters here...aren't going to attack us or other humans?" King asked.

"Yeah. We're all too scared of Saitama to try." Ki answered.

"Even those of us who don't live here are scared of him." Super Mouse added before flinching when King's gaze shifted towards her.

"But...how?" King asked. "I've seen monsters become scared of me from my presence, but then I hear that they swear vengeance when the Hero Association locks them away. I've never heard of monsters becoming good."

"Well, you've never seen how terrifying Saitama can be." Kogane said as she tried to hide behind Saitama to avoid King's gaze.

"Yeah. I mean, even Tornado couldn't hurt Saitama, and she was actually trying!" the Deep Sea Queen boasted.

"She did? Wait, does she know about all of you?!" King asked, making DSQ cover her mouth in realization.

"Nice one, blabbermouth." Vaccine Woman deadpanned before turning to him. "But yeah. Tornado couldn't scratch him."

"Maybe King can." Abysstalon spoke up before looking at Ki. "Also, WILL YOU PUT ME DOWN ALREADY?!"

"Fine, crybaby." Ki huffed as she set the goat girl down.

"Mmm. Who's yelling?" Nori asked as she stirred awake and rose from the futon. She blinked and looked over at the others before yawning. "Hi guys. I had the most horrible dream. I was face to face with the strongest Class-S hero, King. And he was sitting in this room and why are you all pointing next to me?" she suddenly asked. She turned and looked at King, who gave a small wave, then back at the others with wide eyes, her body trembling in terror. "...help..."

"Nori...cald down." Ki told her in a calm tone as she approached her terrified sister.

"Calm...down?! King...is sitting next to me!" Nori whispered as if the man wasn't there.

"Yes, and we're all still alive despite that fact." Kogane told as Ki sat next to Nori and wrapped her in a hug.

"...how?" Nori eeked out.

"Saitama." was Ki's simple answer.

"Yeah. King knows now." Saitama told her.

"And...he won't kill us?" Nori asked.

"...Will you?" Ki asked the man in question. King just stared at them before sighing.

"No. I will not." King answered, making them all sag in relief.

"Wait a moment." the Subterranean Queen spoke up with a small glare. "He may not try to kill us, but what guarantee do we have that he won't expose us or Saitama to the Hero Association?"

"I take it that you don't trust me?" King asked.

"You're the strongest man in the world with, according the media, a penchant for bloodlust and battle. Plus, you're a hero and have an obligation to inform the Hero Association of monster sightings and extermination." the Subterranean Queen answered. "And also, we don't know you. We can't trust you just yet."

"Then how about trusting me?" Saitama asked. "King's a friend, and I trust him." The other monsters all looked at each other before looking back at Saitama.

"Even if that's true, we're still quite...concerned." Deep Sea Queen stated. "It's only been an absolute miracle that nobody's gone to the Hero Association about us. And King is...well, even before I came to the surface, I've heard the rumors about you."

The other monsters began to agree as King remained stone faced, his dull eyes boring into them all before he averted his gaze. He chewed his lip before sighing and looking at them all.

"Listen." he said, making them all cease talking. "You all told me your secret, granted it's because I stumbled on it by accident, so..." he trailed off, looking like what he wanted to say was going to cause him pain. "I'll...let you all in on something."

The Great Food Tub was snoring as she lay on the road near Saitama's apartment, a smile on her face and drool on her lips.

"More pizza, please." she slurred.

"WWWHHHAAAAAAAATTTTTTT?!"

The gluttonous monster jumped at the sound of screaming, her eyes wide and blinking before drooping.

"I didn't do it!" she said before her exhaustion hit her again, making her collapse back onto the ground.

Manako and Splitter felt their ears ringing after being subjected to the loud shrieks from the other monsters. They managed to quell it just in time to hear the other monsters speak.

"You...You..." Kogane sputtered before they all shouted.

"YOU'RE A FAKE?!"

King hung his head in shame before slowly nodding.

"Yeah. All my victories, my achievements, my strength? It's nothing but a big pile of lies." spoke the 'hero.'

"B-B-B-But that doesn't make any sense!" Abysstalon yelped while frantically pointing at the man. "If that's true, then what about all the monsters everyone says you've defeated?! There's always someone saying how they saw you clobber a monster without even trying!"

"Nobody saw me do anything. Those are just rumors people made after they saw me there when the battle was over." King admitted. "The truth is that I hide in terror until the noise stops. When it was safe, I'd come out to see what happened and people would catch me there before assuming I defeated the monsters."

"So that's what happened?" Manako whispered before Splitter covered her mouth.

"Even if that's the case, the Hero Association would've discovered that you didn't do anything heroic after making you take that physical test all the hero applicants take!" Super Mouse countered. "How could you fake your way through that?!"

"Easy. I was never made to take the test. The Hero Association simply believed I did it, sent me a Class-S certificate and labeled me as the strongest hero on Earth." King answered, making their jaws drop again.

"You mean they didn't investigate or even ask you if you wanted to be a hero?! They just went 'We think you're strong, so we're forcing you to be a hero and work for us?'" Kogane yelled.

"That pretty much sums it all up." King answered.

Splitter could almost feel all of herself running around inside her body as they lost their shit from hearing how King became a hero.

'You have got to be fucking kidding me!' she thought as her jaw dropped.

"But...But then...who did it?! Unless all those monsters everyone says you beat spontaneously exploded, somebody had to have beaten them! So who did it?!" the Deep Sea Queen asked. King simply raised his finger, then pointed it at Saitama.

"He did." King answered. The monsters all shifted their gazes between Saitama and King a few times, a mixture of understanding and confusion on their faces.

"What?" Ki asked.

"I'd beat the monsters, but I didn't stay. King was around and people thought he did it." Saitama summed up. "It's kind of like a 'being in the wrong place at the wrong time' situation."

"So...King's not only a fraud, but a credit stealer?" Abysstalon asked.

The others looked down at her, then at King. The fake hero started to sweat when he noticed the dangerous glint that started to appear in their eyes, they mouths twitching into small frowns or scowls.

"W-Whoa, whoa! Wait a second!" King yelped while waving his hands in front of his face. "I mean, yes, I did get the credit, but I didn't do it on purpose!"

"But you also didn't tell anyone the truth!" Ki stated with a glare. "You could've told the Hero Association that you weren't the one who defeated the monsters! You could've handed back the Class-S certificate! You could've done anything to set things right!"

The more she spoke, the more angry the monsters living in the apartments got. A fact that Manako and Little Splitter noticed from where they were hiding.

"But what did you do?! NOTHING! No, worse than nothing! You hid like a coward while Saitama put his life on the line to defeat all those monsters! You've been getting all the fame, the glory, the money and the praise while Saitama's been branded as a fraud and a cheat!" Ki continued, her hair starting to ripple.

The others weren't fairing any better.

The Subterranean Queen grabbed her swords, Vaccine Woman's looked like it was about grow and Kogane and Nori's hair was starting to rise.

And all King could do was sweat and look for a way to escape their impending wrath.

"Do you have any idea how unfair that is?! Why should a pathetic piece of garbage like you be praised as a hero when all you can do is lie and run away?!" Ki yelled.

"YOU THINK I WANTED THIS?!" King exploded, silencing Ki as he breathed. "I never wanted any of this! I never wanted to be a hero! I know that I'm nothing but a coward! I've wanted to let others know for a long time, but I can't get the courage to tell others the truth! I'm too scared at the thought of everyone coming after me for lying to them all!"

King was now hunched over, his head on the floor and tears coming from his eyes as he turned into a sniveling mess.

"I know...that I'm not a hero. I know that what I did was wrong. I know it everyday of my life! I know it when everyone around me chants my name, or when little kids keep asking me for autographs and say I'm there idol! I can't stomach it, but I'm too scared to tell them the truth! I'm sorry!" he whimpered as he cried on the floor.

"You really think saying sorry is going to fix what you did?!" the Subterranean Queen growled as she whipped her swords out. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't run you through!"

"That's enough." Saitama said as she stood between the monsters and King.

"Why are you defending him?! You're the victim of his lies, Saitama!" Vaccine Woman stated.

"What's all been said is true. However, you're all acting like King did it on purpose." Saitama told them. "Besides, it's not entirely King's fault. The citizens and Hero Association are at fault for jumping to conclusions, the monsters are at fault for falling for that King Engine thing and surrendering without a fight. Heck, I'm at fault for not sticking around after killing the monsters! So in a way, it's everybody's fault that King is where he's at."

Manako and Splitter just stared at Saitama before glancing at each other.

"That...makes more sense than anything else I've seen or heard today." Splitter quietly commented.

"Even so, it's still not right." Kogane said as she kept glaring at King.

"I know. Still, as rotten as it is, the world needs King." Saitama told them.

"What are you talking about?!" Vaccine Woman yelled.

"People need someone to look up to. Plus, that whole King Engine of his is a big deterrent for monsters. After all, you all looked ready to wet yourselves when you heard it." Saitama answered.

"Only because he...huh. Now that I think about it, what is the King Engine if not a signal that you're about to fight?" Abysstalon asked.

"That's just my heart pounding so loud from terror that everyone can hear it." King answered.

"...That's pathetic." Manako whispered as the other monsters groaned at the answer.

"Listen, I know none of you like this, but can you all keep this to yourselves?" Saitama asked, earning incredulous looks from the others. They wanted to protest before Ki sighed.

"Even if we wanted to tell anyone, who'd believe a pack of monsters if they said King was nothing but a weak, crybaby faker?" Ki asked while rubbing her forehead before looking at King. "Looks like you lucked out, King." she said while spitting his name out like it was a curse before she turned to leave, the others glaring at King as they all headed for the door.

"One second." Saitama spoke up, stopping them all before he pointed at Kogane, Super Mouse, Ki, Abysstalon and Vaccine Woman. "I need to talk to you five. Deep Sea Queen, Subterranean Queen, Nori and King? Mind giving us some space?"

"Uh...will I be safe if I leave?" King asked.

"As much as we want to throttle you, doing so would bring us all trouble." Deep Sea Queen grumped.

"You want to be safe? Go away!" Nori snapped, making King flinch.

"Yeah...I'm gonna head home. Bye." King said as he and the others left, leaving Saitama alone with Vaccine Woman, Kogane, Ki, Super Mouse and Abysstalon.

"So, who are you two and why did you three bring them here?" Saitama asked as he gestured to the new monsters, then to the three that lived there. All of them looked at each other before Vaccine Woman spoke.

"I'll try to keep it short."

The Beast Queen and Captain Mizuki were slowly making their way back to the apartments, both of them feeling rather down.

"You think it was a good idea to leave Kogane alone?" Mizuki asked.

"Sometimes the best thing a person, or monster, needs is some alone time." Beast Queen answered as she changed into her human form and started putting her shirt on. "Even I needed it back in the House of Evolution."

"I just hope she doesn't become too hard on herself for what she did." Mizuki sighed.

"Saitama's a forgiving guy. He'll...understand." Beast Queen grunted as she finally got the shirt over her breasts. "I really need some bigger clothes." she said as she ran her hands over her body before sighing at how big she'd grown.

"Too bad yours don't stretch, like mine." Mizuki said as she pulled on her spandex top before letting it snap back into place. "It still utterly baffles me that their hair can do...this!" she finished while gesturing to her bouncing breasts.

"And this." Beast Queen huffed as she grabbed her own big ass. "If not for two small pros to this, I'd have ripped Ki and Midori to shreds."

"What pros?" Mizuki asked.

"One is that there hair is the perfect bribe for Tornado, seeing as she wants to grow herself. Can't blame her since everyone keeps thinking she's a child." Beast Queen chuckled.

"That's true. And the other pro?" Mizuki asked. Beast Queen smiled as she gently groped her own breast.

"The more I have, the more Saitama will see later on~" she answered, her cheeks turning pink. Mizuki's face turned red at that before she whipped her gaze forward, doing her best to try not to think of the implications...or the fact that she was wanting to a one-on-one personal training session with Saitama.

Both of them suddenly stopped and their blushes disappeared as they reached the apartments, their gazes going to the sleeping form of the Great Food Tub sleeping on the ground, her bare body on display to the entire world.

"Who...is that?" Beast Queen asked.

"I'm not sure. She's definitely a monster. Maybe one looking for shelter?" Mizuki wondered. "I wonder if Saitama knows she's out here."

"Probably not. She's naked, and he likes it when we wear clothing." Beast Queen answered.

grooowl

Both Beast Queen and Mizuki tensed as the sound of a beast growling filled the area.

"Another monster?!" Captain Mizuki asked as she readied her baton while the Beast Queen morphed into her lion form. They both kept looking before the Great Food Tub stirred and sat up.

"I'm hungry!" she whined in a dazed state, the growling returning and originating from her stomach. The monster and hero looked at her as she gazed around before looking at them. "Who are you? Where am I? And...why is everything from the waist down so sore?!" she moaned.

'Out in front of Saitama's home...naked...'

'Sore from the waist down...naked...'

Mizuki and Beast Queen had to fight off the mental images that just assaulted their minds as the naked monster woman rubbed her aching legs.

"Um...I can't answer why you're in pain, but I'm Captain Mizuki. And this is my friend, the B-...uh..."

"Katakana!" Beast Queen quickly introduced. "My...father had a thing for lions! Yeah!" she said with a smile.

"...Okay?" GFT said before her stomach growled again, making her frown as she pat it. "Shut up. I know you're hungry." she whined before looking back at the two, a smile coming to her face as she slowly morphed into her monstrous lizard form. "And look what we have here? A meal for two, all for me!" she said before roaring and lunging at them.

Saitama took a sip of tea before placing it down and looking at the group of monsters. Vaccine Woman, Ki and Abysstalon were sitting at the table while Kogane, due to her tall size, was sitting up against the wall.

"So you two are Super Mouse and Abysstalon and you're looking for a place out here in the Ghost Town to stay?" Saitama asked.

"That's pretty much it." Super Mouse answered. She and Abysstalon had been asking and answering questions, all while keeping any talk of the Monster Association out. "I told my friend here, along with a few others, about your strength. Sadly, many of them don't believe me."

"And you came over to meet me and see if it was true?" Saitama asked.

"Yeah. When Super Mouse kept boasting about your absurd power, none of us believed it." Abysstalon replied before staring at her tea. "But...if it's true what we heard, that King is a fake and you're the one who's supposedly done all the deeds he's gotten credit for, then maybe there's more truth to it than I thought."

"Which is absolutely baffling." Super Mouse said before rubbing her temples.

"That I'm this strong?" Saitama asked.

"Yes. However, what I'm talking about is the fact that the Hero Association messed up this bad." she answered. "I mean, how can they just give a Class-S seat to some random person just because he was there after the fight?! No investigation! No tests of his strength! Just 'Oh, he was there, so he must've done it!' It's ridiculous! And what if it's not just King?! What if there's a whole bunch of fakes within the ranks of the Hero Association?!" she finished while raking her hands down her face. "I'm losing my mind just thinking about it."

"I just chalk it up to the people in charge of the Hero Association being dumb. After all, if they had any brains, they'd have made Saitama into a Class-S hero on the spot. But nooo. They were too hung up on his low score on the written exam and placed him at the bottom of Class-C." Ki huffed.

"Well, I worked my way up to Class-B in a short time. I'll get to Class-S soon." Saitama said before frowning. "But you still haven't answered my other question. Why did you three bring more monsters here without talking to me first?"

"We heard King was nearby and...we panicked." Vaccine Woman admitted. "We thought that if he saw us, we'd be dead before we knew it."

"And I was too scared to let Abysstalon out of my hair before coming here." Ki added.

"Hmm." Saitama hummed before turning to Kogane. "So you brought Super Mouse here because you thought it was King?"

"...no." Kogane admitted in shame. "We didn't know which Class-S hero it was. We didn't even really know if it was one." At Saitama's confused look, Kogane continued. "All we saw was two of Super Mouse's friends run by, and they looked terrified. Only a Class-S hero can bring that kind of fear out of a monster. So...we ran here." she finished, her hands trembling before she fell forward and planted her face onto the floor. "I'm sorry! I did it again! I was so scared that...that it was that hero that came by!"

"That hero?" Saitama asked. "Which one are you talking about?"

"Pig God!" Kogane answered. Ki let out a small gasp before she went over and comforted her crying sister.

"Pig God? Which hero was that?" Saitama asked.

"Pig God. Class-S, Rank 10. Really fat guy that's always eating food. You must've seen him at the Class-S meeting, or even at the trip to the hot springs." Vaccine Woman answered. Saitama crossed his arms and closed his eyes in thought.

"Big fat guy...Class-S meeting...always eating." he mumbled as he tried to remember someone with that description. He opened his eyes and punched his hand into his palm. "Oh yeah! I remember a guy like that there! Why are you so afraid of him?"

"He fights monsters by eating them." Abysstalon explained. Saitama looked perplexed before looking at a whimpering Kogane, understanding coming over him.

CRASH!

Everyone jumped at the sound of something crashing outside.

"What the heck was that?" Abysstalon asked.

"Probably one of the others letting off steam aftering hearing about King." Vaccine Woman answered as she walked out the door and looked over the railing, then turned back to Saitama with wide eyes. "There's a giant lizard monster attacking Beast Queen and Mizuki!"

Everyone in the room, and all the other rooms, ran out to find the Beast Queen grabbing the jaws of a berserk Great Food Tub as it tried to bite down on her head.

"You...really...need a breathmint!" Beast Queen grunted before lifting her up off the ground and tossing the lizard behind her, the monster landing with a loud thud on it's back. It scrambled and got onto it's feet and glared at the Beast Queen as she was joined by Mizuki, followed by most of the residents of the apartments.

"Who is that?" Deep Sea Queen asked.

"She's our friend! She must've gotten too hungry again!" Super Mouse answered as GFT growled at them, saliva dripping from her maw.

"I...need...FOOD!" she roared before lunging at them, her mouth aimed right for Kogane and making the tallest Kombu sister scream in terror.

POW!

Everyone covered their eyes to avoid dust getting into them. When it settled, they opened their eyes to see Saitama standing before them all, his fist smoking and a Great Food Tub shaped hole in the pavement before them.

"Whoa!" Abysstalon gaped as she peered into the hole, a less monstrous looking Great Food Tub lying unconscious at the bottom. "I didn't even see you move!"

"T...T-...Thanks." Kogane got out as she slid down to her knees.

"You're welcome." Saitama said as Super Mouse pulled her friend out of the hole.

"Well, this has been an interesting day, but I think we'll head home now." the mouse monster said as she bulked up her muscles and started dragging GFT away.

"Uh...yeah, me too." Abysstalon said as she ran after her friends, but then turned and waved. "Nice meeting you!" she said before she ran off, leaving the others to watch.

"Can someone tell me what just happened?" Mizuki asked.

"Later. Right now, I need something for this headache." Saitama groaned as walked back to his apartment.

"I'll tell them." Ki offered as she helped Kogane to her feet.

"Okay. We'll be in my room waiting." Beast Queen said as she and Captain Mizuki walked towards her room. When they were far enough away, Ki whispered to the others.

"Not a word about King's lack of strength to anyone other than the monsters here." she said.

"What about the monsters from the Monster Association?" Nori asked. Ki grimaced at that as she looked in the direction the other monsters ran off.

"If they blab, then King's image is ruined. But quite honestly? I don't care."

The Great Food Tub stirred awake as she felt herself being dragged across the ground by Super Mouse.

"Super Mouse?" she groaned, making the other monster stop.

"Oh good. You're awake." she said before dropping her. "Now you can get yourself back to the Monster Association."

"What? Wait, where am I?" GFT asked before her stomach growled. "Oh man, I'm starving."

"Save it for when we get home." Abysstalon said as she jumped up and landed on the larger monster's stomach, earning an 'Oof!' from her. "We got a lot of things to talk about after our meeting with Saitama."

"Will it keep us alive from Gyoro Gyoro?" Great Food Tub asked.

"It'll do more than keep us alive. We found out something so mind blowing that you wouldn't believe it!" Abysstalon answered with a grin.

"It can't be that big." Great Food Tub answered as she lifted Abysstalon off her stomach. The smaller monster grinned before whispering into GFT's ear, making her eyes widen before she dropped Abysstalon. "I'm sorry. It sounded like you said King is a fake."

"He is." Super Mouse answered. "He confessed to it himself out of Saitama letting him know his secret of letting monsters live if they sweat off killing humans."

"What?! But...But he...He's said to be the strongest! If he's not...but...HOW?!" Great Food Tub yelled.

"Don't worry. You'll hear the full story when we tell it to Gyoro Gyoro." Super Mouse reassured.

"You're not telling anyone anything!"

The three monsters perked up before they were suddenly engulfed and restrained by tendrils of black.

"Hey! What's going on here?!" Abysstalon asked before one of the masses of black rose up and formed into a smiling Little Splitter.

"Little Splitter?! What are you doing here?! I thought you ran off!" Great Food Tub asked.

"That was a single me. The me you see now has been hiding under Saitama's kitchen with Manako over there." she answered while pointing at the monster in question as she approached them all. "And I overheard everything that took place inside of Saitama's home, including King's big secret. A secret that nobody here is going to tell!"

"What?! Why?! If we let the rest of the Monster Association know about this, they'll be overjoyed to know that one of the biggest threats to them is a phony!" Abysstalon yelled before Splitter morphed a large hand around her throat and pulled her in close.

"That would be a very bad idea." Splitter said to her captive. "It's true that all the other monsters in the Monster Association would be happy to hear that King is a fake, but it'd also shoot their morale sky high. A lot of them are itching to go already, and this would send them over the edge and not wait until the planned day of attack. And that'll not only have them be divided and get killed by the other heroes, but it could also risk exposing the Monster Association too early! Plus, in case you've forgotten, while King is still the fake, there's still Saitama! You know, the one who actually is incredibly powerful?! The one who will most definitely come down to the Monster Association and possibly waste everyone?!"

That got the three to freeze in terror. Two had witnessed Saitama's power, one felt it firsthand, and none of them wanted to go through it again.

"Now, what do we say about King being a weakling?" Splitter asked.

"We say nothing!" the three of them answered. Splitter smiled as the black mass holding them was quickly sucked back into Little Splitter's body, leaving them to fall to the ground.

"Now that we've got that taken care of, let's get back to the Monster Association." Splitter ordered before assuming her male disguise. The other three nodded before booking it for the nearest entrance.

"Hey, Splitter?" Manako asked.

"It's Black Sperm when I'm like this." she answered in her male voice. "And what?"

"Sorry. I thought you said you wanted to kill King yourself when the time came." Manako told her.

"I do, but they don't need to know that. Right?" she finished with a menacing glare.

"R-Right!" Manako yelped with a nervous smile.

"Good...Let's get out of here." Splitter said, making Manako nod and run after the others. When she ran out of sight, Splitter took the tip of her antenna off and dropped it, letting it form into her true female form. "100 should be a good number. You know what to do?"

"Roger. Spy on Saitama and the others." the new Splitter answered.

"Good. Don't let me down." the disguised Splitter said as she ran off, leaving the new Splitter to head back towards the apartments.

"Now, how should I ask to stay?" she asked herself.

-Meanwhile-

Fubuki was relaxing on a couch in the Blizzard Group Headquarters, her subordinates all present as Eyelashes gave her a thick folder.

"That's everything we've manged to find on Saitama, Miss Blizzard." the Class-B Rank 2 hero said.

"Thank you." she replied as she began to pore over the collected notes, information and pictures of the bald hero. "Let's see...Broke through every record on the Physical Exam...Loves to shop for food on sale...What kind of shirts does he keep wearing?" she asked as she looked at everything, including pictures of him wearing his usual 'OPPAI' hoodie. She hummed before she started sifting through quite a lot of pictures of Saitama with Nori. "Who is that woman he's with?"

"Unknown, but a lot of people were talking about her." Wild Ape answered.

"With that outfit and those...assets of hers, who wouldn't?" one member asked.

"Hmm." Fubuki hummed as she kept reading through the notes before shutting the folder, a small smile coming to her face. "I believe we have enough. Wild Ape. Eyelashes. Meet me at the Ghost Town he resides in tomorrow at 1." she ordered.

"Yes, Miss Blizzard!" the two said before all the members left her alone. She gazed down at the picture of Saitama she removed from the folder, an image of him holding her after saving her from Vacuuma coming to mind.

"You will be mine, Saitama. One way or the other." she promised herself.