After relocating to a new restaurant, the group all left after having their fill and paying.
"That was delicious!" Zenko exclaimed with a smile.
"You said it." Nori agreed. "And no nasty little boys threw fruit at me this time."
As the two girls talked, Saitama and Bad were walking behind and watching them having fun.
"Never thought my sister would make friends with a monster." said Bad.
"Yeah. And Nori usually doesn't take this well to new people." Saitama answered. "Guess they must've bonded a lot in the bathroom at that last restaurant."
"Maybe." Bad said as they continued walking before glancing at Saitama. "So, anyone else besides my sister and I in on this little secret of yours?"
"Yeah, but I think the others don't want anyone to just blab it out." Saitama answered, his mind trying to piece together whomever asked him to not just say it. After a moment, he shrugged. "Well, you two are coming over now. You'll meet a few other monsters when we get there."
"From Nori's reaction to me, I'm betting those other monsters won't take too kindly to a Class-S hero just popping in on them." Metal Bat guessed.
"Probably not, but a quick explanation should keep them from going crazy. Otherwise, they might wreck my home." Saitama answered. "I hope I have some tea left when we get there."
"Don't worry about it. We won't stay for long. I just want to see this place for myself." Metal Bat waved off as they passed the gate into the abandoned zone. "Still, why do you live out here anyway?"
"I told you, it's free." the baldy answered. "Besides, the monsters don't bother me."
"Probably learned that fighting you is a death sentence, huh?" Bad joked.
As the two heroes talked, Zenko and Nori were chatting about their own lives.
"And this is our cat, Tama." Zenko said with a smile while showing a picture of said cat on her phone.
"Awww! She's cute!" Nori gushed.
"Yeah, and guess what? She's going to be a mother in the future!" Zenko added.
"She is?!" Nori asked before smiling. "I wanna pet them already!"
"Me too!" Zenko nodded. "Maybe I can convince my brother to let you come over and play with her."
"That sounds...great..." Nori said, her enthusiam starting to wane.
"You don't want to?" Zenko asked, sounding just a little hurt.
"I want to, but..." Nori began before glancing back at Saitama and Metal Bat. She then held up her hand and whispered to Zenko. "I've never been anywhere without either my sisters or Saitama. Being on my own is...kinda scary."
"Really? Are you a weak monster?" Zenko asked.
"Well, before I met Saitama, I took down two Class-A heroes." Nori admitted before looking up in thought. "Or, well, my sister did when she was the only one around."
"Only one around?" Zenko said in confusion.
"It's complicated. I'll tell you when we get there." Nori said with a sigh.
"How do you all live out here anyway?" Zenko asked. "It's abandoned."
"The water and electricity still work. As for each of us living out here? Well, we all do our own things." Nori explained. "I like to collect stuffed animals and fix them as best I can, or sew cute designs on clothes that can fit me."
"Really? What kind of animals and designs?" Zenko asked with a smile.
"Where do I start?" Nori began.
"HEEEEYYYY!"
All of them stopped to see Ki running towards them all.
"Saitama! Nori! Have you gu-" she started to say before noticing Zenko and, more worryingly, Metal Bat. "Oooh shit!" she cursed.
"It's okay, Ki. They know." Saitama said.
"They do?" Ki asked sighing and shaking her head. "Something for later. Look, have either of you two seen Kogane?"
"No. Why? What's wrong?" Nori asked.
"That metal moron Genos turned on the vacuum cleaner, sending Kogane running for her life!" Ki explained.
"She ran from a vacuum cleaner? Sounds like something a dog would do." commented Metal Bat.
"She's not a dog." Ki answered before looking at Saitama and Nori with pleading eyes. "If you guys see her, try to calm her down, okay?"
"Sure." Saitama nodded.
"Thanks. I'm gonna look in this direction." she said before taking off. "AND WHEN YOU GET HOME, SMACK SOME SENSE INTO THAT DISCIPLE OF YOURS!" she yelled out as she ran.
"This isn't good." Nori muttered before looking at Saitama. "I'm going on ahead to the apartments. Maybe the others will help."
"Okay. We'll meet you there." Saitama said as she ran off.
"Who's Kogane?" Metal Bat asked.
"She's Nori and Ki's sister. She's the really tall one." Saitama answered before turned towards Metal Bat and Zenko. "We should get to my home soon. I need to let Genos know we have guests."
"Indeed, you do."
Saitama blinked before turning around to find Flashy Flash standing there before him.
"Oh great. It's you." Metal Bat said in sarcasm. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to talk to Saitama about a personal matter." Flash answered before his glare hardened. "I paid a little stop at your home, but left for a little walk to clear my head. Quite the interesting neighbors you have."
"Oh? You met them?" Saitama asked, a touch of surprise in his tone.
"Indeed. And it brings up many more questions I have for you." he said.
"Can it wait until we get to my house?" Saitama asked. "There's a bit of trouble happening right now. Plus, I have guests here." he said while gesturing towards Metal Bat and Zenko.
"Actually, I want to ask you two something as well." Flash stated. "Why were you speaking with those monsters that were just here in such a casual manner?"
"You spying on us?" Metal Bat asked with a glare.
"That's not important. Answer the question." Flash demanded.
"Hey! Don't go demanding anything from me or my sister!" Bad warned while aiming his bat at Flash.
"Stop it, big bro! You promised no violence while I'm around!" Zenko yelled before turning towards Flashy Flash. "And no fighting from you either!"
"And why should I follow the orders of someone who could potentially be conspiring with monsters?" Flash asked her.
"I said no fighting!" she declared with a glare. Flash merely gave a light scoff before he grabbed the hilt of his sword. He tried to pull it out, but found that he couldn't move it an inch.
"You heard her." Saitama said, his pointer finger keeping Flash from drawing his sword. "No fighting." the baldy continued while Flash looked at him in shock.
'I didn't notice him move.' he thought before his gaze went to his blade. 'And I can't unsheathe Instakill either!' He ceased trying to draw his blade and quickly jumped back, sweat on his forehead as his glare hardened on Saitama. 'To move so quickly that I couldn't see it, and to have the strength to keep me from drawing my blade. How was he able to do this?'
"Hey. You okay...Forelocks, right?" Saitama asked, making Metal Bat snicker and enraging Flash.
"I TOLD YOU, MY NAME IS FLASHY FLASH!" Flash roared before he drew his blade and sped towards Saitama. 'This man cannot be faster than me! I won't accept it!' "FLASHY SLASH!"
"If you keep this up, I'm going to punch you." Saitama said with a hardened look after catching Flash's blade between his middle and fore fingers, stunning the other three around him.
"Whoa." Metal Bat muttered in astonishment. He may not like Flash, but he did know of his speed. So seeing Saitama, a man that he hardly knew anything about, not only catch it, but sound completely unfazed about it, was quite an eye opener.
'This can't be!' Flash thought, his sweat coated face showing nothing but immense shock. 'To catch my blade...how?!'
"Are you saying I'm weaker than Saitama?"
"Weaker and slower."
Flash's eyes widened as Vaccine Woman's words and Saitama blocking his attack ran through his head over and over on a loop. The more it played, the more the vein that appeared on his forehead throbbed.
'Impossible.' he thought as his muscles all tightened. 'No one can match my speed! It's impossible!'
"Uh...You okay, dude?" Saitama asked when he noticed Flash's demeanor change.
BAM!
Metal Bat and Zenko stumbled for a moment when the ground suddenly shook for a moment.
"What happened?!" Metal Bat asked before he noticed saw Flashy Flash buried face down in the concrete, with Saitama's smoking fist held out in front of him. "...What did happen?"
"He lunged at me. I said if he kept that up, I'd punch him." Saitama answered before turning towards Metal Bat. "Sorry about that. I made you break your promise to your sister."
"Uh...I didn't see what happened." Zenko answered.
"Oh? Guess you're off the hook then." Saitama said to Metal Bat with a smile.
'...Im...possible...' was Flash's last thought before he lost consciousness.
After having moved their conversation to the Beast Queen's room, the monster was now answering Zombiewoman's questions.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN GENUS HAS NO PLANS TO REVIVE THE HOUSE OF EVOLUTION?!" Zombiewoman yelled.
"It's just as I said. The doc gave up on his ideas of artificial evolution." Beast Queen answered.
"But...But why?! It's his life's work! He's spent nearly a century trying to achieve it!" Zombiewoman stated, her tone holding nothing but disbelief. "Why give up?!"
"One word: Saitama." Beast Queen grinned. An image of Saitama flashed through Zombiewoman's mind, making her glare at the Beast Queen.
"How could Saitama make a man as driven as Genus give up?" she asked.
"I wasn't there, but Genos explained...in way too many overly necessary details." Beast Queen grimaced. "Anyway, it happened some time ago." she said before she began to tell the story of Saitama and Genos's involvement with the House of Evolution. After she finished, Zombiewoman had calmed down a little enough to think on her tale. "So Genus was curious about Saitama and wanted to capture him for his physiology, but then gave up after Saitama defeated Carnage Kabuto like he was nothing. Is that right?"
"That's the long and short of it." Beast Queen said with a nod. Zombiewoman stared up at the Beast queen in silence for half a minute before asking her next question.
"Where is Dr. Genus now?" she asked.
"City-W. A little shop called the House of Takoyaki." Beast Queen answered.
"...Seriously?" Zombiewoman deadpanned.
"Hey, I didn't pick the name." Beast Queen huffed before she stood up on her feet. "If that's everything, then I'm leaving. Need to find my friend."
"One more thing." Zombiewoman said, stopping Beast Queen in her tracks. "Why do you stay here? Why not stay with the Doctor?"
"I have my reasons, but I'll only say this." Beast Queen began before looking over her shoulder at Zombiewoman. "Out here in the Ghost Town, living with all these other monsters, with Genos and Saitama?"
A grin spread across her maw as she finished.
"Can't think of a better place to get stronger." With that, she left to find Kogane.
*huff huff* Kogane wheezed as she caught her breath. After running all over the Ghost Town, she finally stopped and wandered into a broken building to rest and collect herself.
"...Stupid...Stupid me..." she cursed as she leaned against the wall and sank down until she sat on the ground. "He's dead. Get over it." she told herself. "I can't believe I got scared over the dumb vacuum cleaner."
"Wow. That's pathetic."
Kogane jumped as a voice came out of nowhere, making her stand up and look around.
"Who's there?" she asked while looking around.
"I mean, you're a Demon Level Threat. What's to be scared of a silly vacuum cleaner?"
"You don't know anything! Where are you?!" Kogane demanded, a scowl on her face. She gasped as something shot out of a tiny crack in the wall before dashing around her before wrapping around her from the waist up, locking Kogane's arms at her sides and making her stumble on her feet.
"Meow." Nyan said with a smile.
"N-Nyan!?" Kogane yelped before the cat monster released her and stood before the taller monster. "W-What are you doing here?"
"Just wandering about the Ghost Town. Stetching my legs and finding good spots for a cat nap in the sun. Stuff like that." Nyan answered as she stretched her arms above her head. "Now I get to ask a question. Why are you scared of a vacuum cleaner?"
"Uh...I...it's complicated." Kogane said while rubbing her arm and looking away.
"Really?" Nyan asked as she turned away from Kogane. "Would these 'complications' happen to include a monster by the name of, say...Vacuuma?" The sound of Kogane gasping in fear made her smirk widen before she looked at Kogane's face terrified expression. "I'd say I hit the nail on the head."
"I...Y...Yes." Kogane admitted as she sat down and hugged herself with both her arms and her hair. "I met him when he and some other monsters came up here. He was...upset that my sisters and I didn't accept the invitation to the Monster Association. I beat all the monsters he sent to kill me. Then he...he sucked them all into his trunk before he changed...He then...attacked me and...beat me to within an inch of my life before tried to...tried to..." Kogane got out before her mind froze, her entire being unwilling to think of what came next.
"Tried to make a snack out of you?" Nyan guessed, making Kogane nod as her eyes started to get misty. "How'd you survive?"
"I...I got rescued by my sisters." she lied.
"Oh? How so?" Nyan asked.
"They...They managed to stop him before he could suck me up his trunk. Then they all whipped him into a bloody mess with hair like mine." Kogane answered.
"Hmm." Nyan hummed as she approached Kogane with a smile. She then held up a single extended claw before catching one of Kogane's hair strands and gently pulled, making Kogane bend over until she was eye level with Nyan. Nyan's smile then began to widen, showing all of her sharp teeth.
"You're lying~"she sang. "I heard from the surviving monsters we sent up here a while back that Vacuuma got wasted by a...what did they call him? Oh yeah! A hero for fun." she said, making Kogane tremble as Nyan continued. "Said that, even though he devoured the hero, Vacuuma had a massive hole blown out of his back, knocking down a few abandoned buildings as well."
"That's..." Kogane got out, her mouth feeling very dry at the moment.
"Hey, you know. I just remembered something about Vacuuma." Nyan went on. "Vacuuma actually had a brother by the name of Baquma. Both were very similar. Both were elephant monsters. Both hate heroes." Nyan continued before leaning up and whispering the next part into Kogane's ear. "Both have the same...abilities."
Kogane felt her heart freeze at that. The mere thought of another monster like the one that nearly ate her...
"...uck...grk...bluerrgh!"
...caused the tallest Kombu sister to drop to her hands and knees before retching all over the ground.
"Thaaat's disgusting." Nyan grimaced as she watched Kogane try to catch her breath. Seeing that she was done vomiting, the cat monster approached again. "So, Kogane, you have two choices." she said as she knelt down next to the Kogane. "Choice 1: You can keep trying to lie to me and piss me off enough to use you and your sisters as scratching posts before handing whatever's leftover to Baquma."
"T-Two?" Kogane managed to get out. The second choice made her feel like the world collapsed on her.
"You tell me everything you know about the hero called Saitama."
Metal Bat grumbled as he carried an unconscious Flashy Flash over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He had wanted to leave the ninja alone, but his sister started to rant at him about it until he caved.
"How much farther?" he groaned.
"It's just up ahead." Saitama said as they walked along the street towards his home. "It's a little small, but there should be more than enough room for you guys to not feel cramped. At least, as long as the others don't try to hang out in there."
"I just hope that you got a place to put this guy. The moment he wakes up, he's probably gonna be pissed." Metal Bat huffed while casting a glance at Flashy Flash. "I'm sick of lugging him everywhere."
"Well, there are a lot of empty rooms. Just leave him in one to rest." Saitama suggested as they approached the building.
"Alright." Metal Bat answered before noticing two figures approaching. One was Zombiewoman, the other was Swim. "Zombiewoman and...who's that?"
"Hello, Metal Bat." Zombiewoman greeted, a lit cigarette between her teeth. Her eyes widened a little when she saw who he was carrying. "Flashy Flash? What happened to him?!"
"Him." Metal Bat answered while nodding his head towards Saitama.
"Huh?" Zombiewoman asked in confusion.
"He kept trying to attack me, so I knocked him out." Saitama bluntly answered.
"You...knocked him out?!" Swim asked in shock. "B-But how?! He's known as the fastest hero! How would you be able to hit him?!"
"I saw him coming at me and simply punched him." Saitama answered before he walked on. "We'll talk more later. Right now, I need to set him down somewhere."
"Hold it!" Zombiewoman yelled.
"What now?" Saitama huffed as he looked at her.
"Why are you letting all these monsters live? A hero's job is to kill monsters!" Zombiewoman stated.
"But if the monster has no desire to attack humans, why kill them?" Saitama countered before he continued walking, with Metal bat and Zenko following.
"Trust me, I'm as confused as you." Metal Bat said as he walked past her.
"Bye, Miss Zombiewoman!" Zenko waved with a smile as she walked past her as well, leaving the Class-S hero utterly baffled. After taking a moment, she grunted and followed them.
"Genus can wait." she muttered to herself.
"Umm...Mr. Saitama?" Swim called out, making him stop and look over at her. "I heard you were out with Nori today. Where is she?"
"She went to look for Kogane somewhere around here. I don't know where she currently is." Saitama answered.
"Thank you." Swim said before she took off.
"Who was she again?" Saitama asked.
"Can't remember." Metal Bat answered.
"Kogane!" Nori yelled as she ran down the street. "Ko...Kogane! Where...Where are you?!" she wheezed before she stopped and hunched over, her hands on her knees. After catching her breath, she sent a glare at her breasts. "Stupid oversized balloons! Nothing but useless meat that hurts my back and has people gawking at me."
"Sounds like quite a problem." came a female's voice.
"Yeah. And little boys were throwing fruit at me." Nori whined.
"Why not just kill them?" the voice asked.
"I don't do that anymore. Saitama would've smashed my head in. Plus, they were just...little..." Nori trailed off after realizing that she wasn't alone. She turned her gaze upwards to see what looked like a giant bird standing on the edge of a building.
"Don't attack humans anymore, you say?" the bird woman asked before flapping her wings and gently floating down onto the street in front of Midori. "Very odd to hear a monster not wanting to attack humans. Then again, I had heard about your hatred for them being stolen from you."
"Uh...yeah. That's right. Who are you?" Nori asked.
"Ah, yes. I forgot to introduce myself, haven't I?" the monster said in apology. "I am Phoenix Woman, a member of the Monster Association."
"The Monster Association? Why are you up here?" Nori asked.
"Scouting the area. Gyoro Gyoro has become a tad curious about a certain hero that lives up here in the Ghost Town." Phoenix Woman answered, making Nori's eyes widen. "And judging by your reaction, you know exactly who I'm speaking of, correct?"
Nori just stared at Phoenix woman in wide-eyed terror, her body trembling as she tried to think of what to do.
"I had heard that he had somehow robbed the monsters up here of their hatred and bloodlust against humanity. I don't know if that is quite true, but it won't matter if we kill him. If need be, Nyan will take care of him herself when we locate him." Phoenix Woman spoke.
"...pfft."
Phoenix Woman tilted her head at Nori's sudden shift, going from being utterly terrified to looking like she was about to burst into laughter.
"What's so funny?" the bird monster asked.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Nori got out through her giggles. "It's just...it never gets old hearing someone say that they'll defeat Saitama."
"You speak highly of this hero. Why?" Phoenix Woman asked.
"It's...complicated. If you want to know the whole truth, you'll just have to meet him in person." Nori answered before she turned and ran off. "I'LL SEE YOU LATER!" she yelled before she began yelling for Kogane again.
"She actually wants me to just go up to a hero? What is she thinking?" Phoenix Woman asked herself before humming in thought as she took to the skies. "Then again, this hero hasn't destroyed her. If he shows mercy to monsters who don't threaten him, perhaps meeting him will give me the answers I seek."
With those thoughts in mind, she now began her search for Saitama.
"Hehe. I really should've asked her where his home is." the bird monster chuckled.
"NORIIIII! KOGANEEEEE! ANYONE HERE?!" Swim called out as she searched the Ghost Town. "DEEP SEA QUEEN! WHERE ARE YO-UWWOAH!" she yelped when she felt herself being forcefully lifted high into the sky. "WHA?! WHAT'S HAPPENING?! WHY AM I FLYING?!"
"You're not."
Swim blinked as she was quickly spun around in the air, letting her see the source of the voice. Her eyes widened when she saw Tatsumaki floating before her, with the Deep Sea Queen, Tank Top Girl, Jet Nice Girl and Ki all being restrained in the air by her powers.
"...uh oh..."
A/N: A few things to say. One, I apologize if the quality of this story drops. I'm still trying, but life is a bitch. Two, I post on my profile what stories I'll work on each month, so please stop badgering me to write for one story if it's not up there. And three, ONE PUNCH MAN: HERO'S HAREM HAS A TROPE PAGE! AWESOME! NOBODY TOLD ME ABOUT IT! NOT AWESOME!
That's all I wanted to say. Don't forget to leave reviews.