Hi guys, another chapter here! So this is more heavily focused on plot and all that, and definitely on like King and all that.

How are you guys doing? I hope you're doing well cause I'm doing fine in this summer (or whatever season you're in depending on the hemisphere and whatnot).

So without further ado, let's go!

Initial Release Date: July 15, 2020

"Huh? What's going on out there?" Saitama wondered out loud, voicing the questions that the others in the restaurant had. They had heard a cacophony of screaming, followed by a perverted cackle, then finished off with a choir of cheers and celebration. And to top it all off, the cheering was then cut off by a screeching static and a robotic voice coming for King.

"Well, obviously King's outside, but what's the robot supposed to be doing here?" Fubuki wondered, and got up. The other three got up and followed her out of the restaurant, sent off with a simple farewell from Tetsuya.

The group of heroes were met with the sight of the apparent strongest man on Earth.

"He is the one who has wrongfully taken your title, correct, Sensei?" Genos asked, his shoulders tense. He felt a unique presence from King, something that was most likely strength, but different than the strength that Saitama had wielded.

"Wasn't even mine to begin with, Genos," Saitama shrugged off; he really didn't care about titles or ranks or anything like that. "Besides, it'd be too much stuff from the public if it was my title."'

Genos was just reminded of how much mail he'd got from his own personal fan club; he found it repulsive yet slightly flattering. Fubuki, on the other hand, found the love confessions heavily irritating.

Gasps were heard as the group of heroes were also recognized, the attention slightly split from King but almost evenly split.

The civilians could feel the sheer power from the group of heroes. Even though they hated Saitama, they could feel his power amongst the others. Four S-Class heroes, the biggest gathering of top-tier heroes that they had ever seen.

"Tornado," King greeted quietly, quickly acknowledging her. "What brings you and the others here?"

"Saitama, Genos, my sister, and I organized it at this restaurant. I found it really good, so I decided to keep going here," she simply explained, just knowing how much more publicity Tetsuya's would get from this. She sort of wanted to keep the privacy but was personally fine since it would always just be the same place as always.

"Hm," King simply grunted his affirmation. The crowd was still silent, the screeching from the robotic voice that had seemed to hack the speakers forgotten.

"And what brings you here?" Genos questioned. Despite being a part of the heroes, Fubuki couldn't help but feel the disparity of power between her and the other heroes with her; her clique wouldn't even come close to these guys, and she knew that no matter what she did, it probably wouldn't rival them.

"Not much. I just came here because of the games, but apparently there was a monster. That's him over there, actually," King explained, shrugging as he pointed out Tongue Stretcher, who was still bowing.

"And you didn't kill him...why?" Fubuki prodded. Saitama stayed silent, staring intently at King. He felt a certain presence about the scarred man, but was unsure why.

"He surrendered. If he's sentient enough to know to surrender, I believe he's sentient to change his morality. Doesn't that make sense?" King explained, gaining a bit of support from the crowd for his empathy.

The other heroes nodded; they sounded like they were talking casually, but the atmosphere was heavy, tense, the air thick. To the public, this is the most they had heard King talk in a long time; he was known for being generally silent when defeating his opponents, giving concise explanations to his opponents, usually not even needing to fight.

"Thank you, King. I am glad you had waited here," a new robotic voice came; it was the one that had hacked the speakers earlier. "I am G4, a robot from The Organization. I have come to collect data from you."

"Oy, should we do something?" Saitama asked the rest of the heroes there. "Or should we just let him do this on his own?"

"I think we should just let him fight," Tatsumaki crosses her arms, her eyes slightly narrowing as she analyzed the situation. "I've never seen King actually do something; I'm curious what he can actually do."

Genos built off of that, "I agree with Miss Tatsumaki. It would be good to see King and analyze how he could possibly be the strongest man on Earth."

There was a bit of silence after the heroes finished discussing amongst themselves, while Fubuki stayed silent, in awe of G4.

The robot was extremely large and imposing. It seemed to possess far more strength than Genos' cybernetic enhancements, and it was embellished with many pieces of jewelry. It was even adorned with a fur cape and crown similar to that of the Deep Sea King's, just scaled to a larger size. Its arms were absolutely gigantic, and it wielded a blade that would absolutely humiliate the Buster Sword.

"You are from this...organization...and you are aware that I am King...S-Class Rank 7, the strongest man on Earth?" King repeated, as if making sure that this robot was aware of its choices.

"Indeed, and I must fight you to collect proper data! I cannot fight you and catch you off guard, otherwise the data would be skewed and would determine how you fight at full strength!" G4 declared, anger somehow flowing from its emotionless hull. It nearly completely swung at King, before suddenly stopping before the blade hit the ground. It left the very tip staring at King menacingly, a murderous glint in its shine.

King grunted before responding, "Then lemme use the john. When nature calls, I can only fight at half strength. That wouldn't be good for your data, would it?"

G4 seemed to contemplate his information, then lowered its blade, "Very well. I shall wait ten minutes for you to prepare. However, afterwards, I will show no mercy. Every minute that you are not here, I will murder one of these civilians. Understand?" The crowd suddenly panicked, and even though King was there, they didn't want to risk falling at the hands of something willing to challenge the Hero of Heroes.

"Learn humility, robot," King suggested, and as if taking that as a signal, the crowd's instincts triggered at his words.

Simply put, they fled, and amongst them, King calmly walked to the bathroom.

"Hm. You are also heroes from the Hero Organization. Caped Baldy, the Tornado of Terror, Demon Cyborg, and the Blizzard of Hell. I hold no business with you. If you wish, I will not initiate contact with you; I only wish to duel King, and will not harm anyone given he fulfills his word," G4 calmly explained, slightly shocking the group. They half expected it to order them to go away, but to be so passive and just focused on King more than anything else was something they were not expecting. Despite this, they kept straight faces, making sure that G4 wouldn't try anything funny.

They just kept faith that King was going to come back in due time.

Shit, shit, shit, shit, SHIT!

It...it wants to kill me?!

My knees go weak, my heart pounds faster, and my breath becomes heavier, more ragged. Fucking shit, what am I doing?

I instinctively lean against the wall for support, my hands pressing firmly against it as if I'm backing away. I know what I'm backing away from. Fear.

Strong? Bullshit!

Scared...I'm scared! I'm fucking sweating even thinking about it? What the fuck am I gonna do?! How did this even happen?!

Why do they think I'm strong? I'm not strong! I'm an unemployed 29-year-old! I'm a weeb, an otaku! I'm a goddamn cowardly loser! How am I even supposed to be strong?!

Jesus Christ, man! This thing that I'm in is practically as crappy as 2020!

I grasp at my chest, feeling it become heavier, and a twisted smile comes upon my face. Tears flow, sweat falls, my body feels like it's gonna collapse but it doesn't. I almost maniacally laugh at my own misfortune.

The King Engine. The "King Engine?" What were they thinking?! Are they idiots?! What sort of dumbass wouldn't realize my heartbeat is fucking audible when I get scared?! I almost fucking piss my pants at this point, and I don't care.

I'm cowardly enough for dozens, maybe thousands of people, and here I fucking am as the Hero of Heroes?! What sort of dumbass luck was that?! Oh, I come across a Demon-level monster, close my eyes and whimper, and it just fucking dies in front of me?! And it just happens five times?!

T-They sent me a letter saying that I was a strong hero and just set in me in S-Tier...and I liked it! I liked being strong for once, I liked everything about it! It paid well, the fame was cool, and I was actually liked by people for once! But I'm a liar!

I puke on instinct, the port-a-potty just becoming a vessel for my vomit. I can't keep this up for long. My knees give out again, and I fall. Once I finally finish puking, I lean against the wall, too weak to give up given what's going on around me. I can't even face the public, let alone the other heroes without being known as a coward after this. Can I?

Fuck! What was that? I heard a swing, air cutting, like the bullets from that huge ass spaceship! Did it begin? It begun! Fuck!

No...I'm so sorry...every minute...can I do something? No, that'd just get me killed.

Wait.

It's two minutes on foot from me to that robot.

I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry!

Fuck, I can hear it whirring and slashing and things blowing up, but I don't wanna look back! I can't! I have to keep running!

Wait, my home's only a few minutes from here! I can make it!

I keep sprinting, making sure not a goddamn soul sees my face. Shit, I hope that the others are taking care of it! They can! Tornado can! I can't do a goddamn thing!

My fear takes control of me and make me run even faster, faster than my legs can take. I can feel the aching, the pain, the bursting of my heart, everything, but I can't stop running.

I keep going. I keep going until the sound of swinging and burning and exploding stops, completely disappears, and I can feel my door smash against its frame as I slam it and fall against it, nearly collapsing.

I'm safe...I'm sorry...

Fuck, I need to distract myself. As my knees and limbs finally give into their fatigue, I nearly fall before I remember my game. Finally! I can play it.

As my hands shake, I slowly make my way in front of my T.V and quickly put the game into my console. I sigh in relief as nothing tragic is happening to me right now, and I'm glad for that bit of relief.

The joyful music comes on and drowns out the sins of what the fuck I just did, and I take the bait gladly. Finally, I got Doki Doki Sisters!

I recognize the girl from the cover pop up and ask with a high-pitched, cheerful yet slightly seductive voice, "Hey there, big boy! Welcome to our school! You're the new student, right? Lemme show you around! But first, what's your name, Big Boy?" A box popped up to type in my name. The music was cheerful, and reminded me of the Let's Plays I've watched of this game's inspiration. But by God, was the voice acting stiff.

"Uh...what should I put..." I wondered out loud, staring at the screen.

"What about King?" I hear.

I instinctively reply, hunching forward to think harder, thinking that'll work, "No, no, I can't just be Big Boy King...that'd be too embarrassing..." Wait, who am I talking to? Who did I hear?

I turn around and come face to face with a bald guy wearing really casual clothes. He seems really familiar.

Wait, why is he here?! I gulp, recognizing him as the one of the heroes that was with Tornado. He was an S-Class hero, too!

"W-Who are you?" I recoil at the fear in my voice, but his expression stays passive.

"Genos is fighting in your place. Why did you run?" I ask, genuinely curious. My eyes narrow a bit, but it's barely noticeable. And in an instant, I feel another presence. Not King's, but another one, approaching rapidly. It's far away though, probably a mile or two.

"I...u-uhh..." He stutters, and my eyes nearly widen; I know exactly why his presence felt different from the others. What should I do? Draw it out of him or just let him talk?

Even though I know it's the opposite, even though I know what reality is, I ask, "Is it because you're too strong and find it boring?" Why'd I ask that? Was I looking for someone to console me about my own issues? Who knows.

"Wait, how'd you even get up here?!" He questions, trying to divert my attention. I'll give for a bit.

"Your window was open," I admit.

"This is the 22nd floor," he gulps. I notice what was really on his T.V, and I get a bit sidetracked.

"I didn't know you enjoyed games like this," I observe, and he goes into a panic, a whole spiel about how he prefers action games even though it was absolutely clear that it was called Doki-Doki Sisters and not Wrathful Shooters. Yeah, he was a bad liar too.

"Sure, let's play that one," I accept when he suggests another game that's supposed to distract me from that. As he puts on a fighting game, I see that he's a really high rank. I remember playing a few videogames and the ranking system when I was younger, and to see that he was top 2000 in the world was, admittedly, pretty impressive.

After a few minutes, I'm sitting on the couch behind him as I just watch him play and note, "Man, didn't know you were this good at videogames too." I take a long sip of the apple juice he offered me.

He explains, "Yeah, I won a few tournaments when I was younger." He seems proud of that, but is focused completely on the game right now. What I'm saying is idle talk, so I decide to stop playing along and just get straight to the point. He's trying to not drop his apple juice from his mouth too, so that's cool, I guess.

"You know, I already asked you this, but why did you run away?" I ask, still knowing the answer. At this point, I did want to coax it out of him. "That's sort of why I came here, to ask you. You play videogames, so why don't you wanna take out those monsters?"

Before he can answer; he wasn't really going to talk in the first place; the sirens go off, this time not hacked, "There is a Demon Level monster incoming! Repeat, a Demon Level monster incoming! Stay inside or evacuate!"

King seems afraid, like something's going to happen specifically to him despite being on his own, away from all sort of monsters. He's sweating again, and I leave it be.

"You're not going? What are you going to do?" I ask as he continues to game, acting like he didn't hear it. "Well, I'm gonna leave. I'll come back later, maybe play some videogames with you."

That presence I felt earlier? It's approaching...us. Really quickly. I can just feel it come towards this specific apartment and I understand exactly how King got here, how King became a hero, and why he was so on edge.

Because he was saved every single time; there was a hero to save him every single time; and he was always caught with the monster's corpse. Every. Single. Time.

I simply reach my hand out and stop the gigantic bird just as it crashes through the wall, catching the tip of its beak in my palm. King barely dodges the debris in time, backing away against his kitchen counter, and I see a dark patch.

He pissed himself.

He really was a wimp, wasn't he.

God, god, god, someone save me!

"I'm sorry!" I apologized like I was praying to the gods, waiting for the inevitable moment something would kill me, but my heart was still pounding. The...King Engine was still roaring, and as I slowly opened my eyes, I saw that the bald hero had completely stopped the monster without moving a muscle.

I nearly choke up, tears streaming down my cheeks and piss streaming down my pants.

"Woah. It came straight to your place," he noticed. "It's like you attract monsters or something." It's cause I've always been unlucky!

Why, God?! Why?!

"It's in your house, now. You gotta fight, right?" He asked, and I can't respond.

That one time with the multi-faced monster...the time with the titan...the octopus, the dinosaur thing, the, the Vaccine dude...every single time...

I was just present. I haven't even been in a fight. The King the public knows...I'm not him.

But he must exist somewhere, right?

I have to tell him. I can't lie anymore. I can't get out of this.

"T-The truth is-" The bird opened its beak, and I screamed, closing my eyes. I couldn't watch.

I heard a splatter, but no crunch, no closing. I very hesitantly opened my eyes, only to see the bald hero's face a bit covered in blood.

And then I learned that he figured it out; it wasn't like it was hard to figure it out in the first place, though, as he asked just to make sure, "Is it true...that your strength, that your battle history, all of it. Is it true that it's all a lie?"

"Well, I guess I should ask first...you okay?" He asked, and I recognize that voice. I knew who he was.

After a few minutes pass, and the ambulances and cleanup crew arrive to deal with the bird's corpse, I sit in front of King, who's calmed down enough to sit down without crying. We both know what went up, and we both know each other. He told me as the corpse fell.

I have to admit, I didn't expect King to be the guy I saved that one time from the octopus thing. That's why the scars seem so familiar. But as I figured it out and he told me, it...made sense. All of it. Why I wasn't famous, why King was called the strongest man, why he was so afraid.

King took my title and fame.

And really? I'm not mad at him for that. I'm fine, really.

I'll deal with that eventually. I don't need the fame, anyways. I'll be fine.

"So...is it fun doing this?" I ask, and he doesn't even try to hide it as he shamefully shakes his head. "Well, I guess it's none of my business, so I shouldn't really lecture, but I sho-"

"But I stole the credit for all of your good deeds!" He interrupts, staring me dead in the eye, even more ashamed.

"This isn't about that. You're everyone's hero," I calmly explain, and before he can interrupt, continue. "People believe you're the strongest. So will you keep lying, or quit being a hero?"

He shrugs.

"So in that case...why don't you get strong?" And before he can keep talking, I just suddenly get up. "I'm gonna go now. They're probably waiting for me. Bye."

King seems hesitant, but seems to eventually bring the courage to call out, "Wait, aren't you angry?!"

I completely ignore his question and shrug, stating, "I'll come again sometime to play videogames, okay?"

As I start to fall, I hear him eventually say, "Uh...yeah. Sure."

"There you are, Baldy!" I snap at him, pointing accusingly at him. "Where were you this entire time?! Genos had to deal with this and I had to deal with his whining and pleading for me not to take over, and here you are just coming! Where did you even go?"

He stays silent for a moment, and I try to stay angry as he explains, "I went to look for King. He wasn't at the port-a-potty, so I guess he just left since Genos took care of it." I feel like something's up, but I don't mention it. I feel like it's not something that he'd do, but I don't even know that much about King.

"So, what happened anyways? I heard that there was a Demon Level threat that was coming here," Fubuki asks.

Saitama seems to smile a bit, simply saying, "King took care of it. It's all good. The bird that came just died after King fought a bit."

"C'mon, that seems a bit simple. You're either giving him too much credit or making him seem way too humble," I argue.

Saitama shrugs, and I give in, slowly letting my anger fizz away.

"Hey!" We hear Tetsuya call out. "Thanks for taking care of the monsters!" He smiles at us, and I can't help but smile back.

We don't even say anything as we move on in the rest of our day.

"C'mon, Baldy, you can't tell me his reasoning for going to his own place was because Genos was already fighting the robot by the time he got out," I complain, furrowing my eyebrows and looking up at him. My flats are pit-pattering against the ground, and other than when we talk, it's the only sound we hear off the sidewalk; the city was practically empty after two monsters had come, so we weren't really concerned about all that.

"Well, that's what he told me," he shrugs, and I roll my eyes, eventually just giving up cause I know that even if Saitama knew the full truth, he'd probably brush it off as something irrelevant. King's probably strong enough to be a hero, but I still am a little bit salty about him just owning that title instead of the Baldy.

Something comes to mind as I hesitantly move closer to Saitama while we walk and I ask, "Oh, by the way, what do you plan to do about the thing the Hero Association talked about?"

"I'll probably just go there tomorrow. It's not like they'll kill me if I don't."

"...Yeah, you're right," I agree, and as we get to the next stoplight, we decide that we'll just head our own ways and split up.

"Today was nice," Fubuki admits, and I nod to agree. Genos and Saitama probably feel the same way tomorrow.

"Maybe we could organize something like this another time," Genos suggests, and again, I nod, down for another hangout.

"I don't see why not," Saitama goes along.

I add, "Yeah, but I'm pretty tired right now. So, we're going now?"

"Yep," Saitama says.

I see Genos and Fubuki do some pretty sappy stuff, but with Fubuki initiating contact and kissing him on the cheek. Even though he's a cyborg, I can see the blush, or at least overheating from something in his brain. Really sappy stuff.

But I can't really criticize, because before I can turn around and fly off, Saitama gently hugs me. I try not to accept the hug in front of Fubuki, but I eventually do give in. I slightly smile but hide it, and as we pull away, I smile a bit at him and he smiles back. It's nice.

Fubuki snickers, and I flush a bit. Rolling my eyes with a bit of an annoyed smile, I turn and fly away before something else happens.

And as I fly away, an idle thought reaches me.

Yeah, we're in a relationship, but maybe I should do something nice for him. But not now. I feel like I gotta be grateful to him about something.

Maybe I should let him know...about these emotions I've had for a while. I've gone into a bit of detail, but that was when I was drunk. Does it mean more when I'm sober? I think it does.

I have to talk with him eventually about my past, but calmer, so he can really know how I feel about it and what I should do. But should I tell him all at once? No, I think it'd be too much. I think we can just take it slowly, one at a time, right? Can I trust him to keep it secret?

No, I should be able to trust him. Eventually. He's my boyfriend. It'll take time, because I want to trust him but something's just stopping me from really trusting him.

I'll tell him when I feel like I should.

He's a really nice boyfriend, though.

Hello, there, and that's another chapter!

I hope that you guys liked this and that everything's going well on your end. I probably paced this chapter incredibly poorly and I apologized, but I feel like writing this was just really odd because I didn't really know how to write out King's character without voice acting, and I wish I could've provided a bit more emotion in it.

Anyways, if there's any feedback you have, whether it be grammatical or plot-wise or something minute that I could fix, please let me know!

Sincerely,

SpiritBloodDragon