Reborn into The Promised Neverland//RayxReader//

//Family/Home//

Two weeks... by the time I make it to the village, I'll have ten days left...

I awoke to a small clatter coming from the first floor. Dull, watery sunlight drifted in through the curtains. I made my way down the creaky stairs to find the man standing by the door, dressed head-to-toe in winter gear.

"There's some things for you there," he said, gesturing to the armchair, where gear appropriate for the weather had been stached– boots, a jacket, warm mitts, and a fluffy hat. Everything fit well but the gloves, which were obviously the only item that belonged to the man. They were warm, however.

Underneath the clothes was a paper bag, in which I found a small loaf of bread and some dried meats. At my apparent surprise, the man gestured outside.

"I don't suppose you were planning on hunting small game..." he shook his head. "Ever since the war, they've been scarce in this area."

I pushed the paper-bag into my pack, feeling a little embarrassed. "I was, actually... I appreciate it."

I trailed after the man's big, heavy footprints in the snow, face tucked close to my warm jacket, against the biting wind. "I didn't ask..." the voice of the man drew my attention up front. He glanced over his shoulder with those watery blue eyes. "I didn't ask because I didn't believe it my business, but, what is your reason for rushing off to Europe?"

My boots squeaked against the snow, every other noise muffled by the blankets of soft white. "My family," I said. "I need to get to them soon..."

"I see..." the man said. "Your family... They're in Europe?"

"I'm not certain," I said. "It's more like they need to find me, rather than the other way around, see. I'm just trying to make it easier."

We fell back into the same, rhythmic walking. An hour passed before either one of us spoke again. "You were separated from them, then?" the man asked. "Your family."

"Yeah," I said, "Something like that... If they don't find me soon, I'm going to lose them again," I smiled ruefully, "This time forever. That's why I'm in a rush."

"How is that so?" the man asked.

I laughed, breaths forming little puffs of steam. "I doubt you'd believe me. But well, I made a deal with a devil, so to speak. If I don't find them in two weeks, I'll forget them, and they'll think I'm dead. I'll never see them again..."

"A devil..." the man's head lowered.

"Or a God," I offered. "You don't believe in devils?"

The man shook his head. "The only devils are in people," he said.

I hummed, eyes trailing to the weak yellow sun. "You think?"

The train tracks were buried entirely under the snow; but the rails protruded enough to form a definitive trail. The man stopped as I pulled ahead. I watched as he retied his boots and adjusted the straps of his bag. Then he resumed in his step, pulling ahead of me.

"You're coming?" I asked.

He shook his head. "I could hardly let a child wander these mountains alone," he said. "I figure I'm better equipped to call things off, when it gets to dangerous... But I really will go no farther than the village."

I beamed, jogging forward a few steps. "Much obliged!"

We arrived at the village at dawn on the fourth day. It was quiet– Aside from a few clusters of residential houses, the village was the seasonal kind. Most of its inhabitants would be compromised of temporary guests who gathered during the spring and summer months for the market.