Saint 》Seven Deadly Sins

And So Rei Met Ryuuji

Meliodas collapsed in Rei's arms as she dragged him inside the hut. Worried about her friend, she ran ahead toward the nearest town, known as Dalmally, in search of a doctor. She gave a murderous glare to Diane when she offered to go instead but Rei made a point of the giant frightening the townfolk. Instead, she ensured Diane stayed with Meliodas, Elizabeth, and Hawk until she returned.

"Is there a doctor anywhere?" Rei shouted frantically. "Is there a doctor here?! My friend needs help!" She felt something bite the back of her neck. Rei winced as she went to swat the bug away but it flew off her before she got the change. "What the hell -"

"Lady Rei!" she heard Elizabeth call out from behind.

Rei clenched her jaw before glaring at the princess. "I told you to stay with Diane!" She had enough problems as it is and she didn't want to babysit Elizabeth.

"Let me help you look. We might have a better chance if we search together."

Rei scoffed. "Or you could be slowing me down? Have you ever thought about that?!" Elizabeth's mouth flew open but no words came out. She only wanted to help Rei but it seemed like no matter what she did she only made the girl angrier. Rei pinched the bridge of her nose while letting out an annoyed breath. "I get that you're worried about Meliodas but -" Her breathing came out more rigid. Beads of sweat began to drip down Rei's forehead as her body felt like it was starting to burn. "But -"

With her eyes rolling to the back of her head, Rei collapsed.

"Lady Rei!" Elizabeth yelled in worry as she knelt and grabbed her. "Lady Rei. Lady Rei!"

Flashback

Just inside the Blacksmith Forge, the lonely blacksmith was wielding the final touches of a new sword. He mixed the beeswax and oil before setting it over the steel. The man smiled as he inspected the sword. His smile soon faltered when he heard a loud crash coming from outside. Curious about the noise, the man gripped the sword before heading out.

The crashing sounds of rain filled the man's ears. The villagers were running to find some sort of shelter. The man looked around for the source of the crash but didn't see anything.

"Must be the cat again," the man grumbled as he turned around to head back inside. He heard another crash coming from around the back near the trash. The man followed the sound this time. Thinking it was someone trying to rob him, the man pressed his back against the wall and waited to strike. He heard something rustling, assuming someone was trying to break in. At the last second, he went to attack the intruder.

He yelled which startled the stranger. The man stopped midway when he realized it wasn't an intruder, but a little girl. Her dark tangled hair went past her shoulders, her skin was sickly pale, her eyes were sunken in as though she hadn't slept for days, and her face was hollowed out. The shirt she wore was a little too big for her but the girl was mostly skin and bones.

"It's just a kid," he muttered out. The girl's eyes widened when she saw the sword in his hands. The man quickly lowered it while holding one hand up. "Hey, I'm not gonna hurt you." He noticed the rotten apple in the kid's hands. "Shit, you must be hungry." The little girl was in panic mode. She quickly got up and started running. "Hey, wait!"

The girl's foot slipped from the mud, making her fall over and into the puddle. The man quickly ran over, not caring that he was getting drenched. He knelt to pick her up. The girl was startled when he grabbed her wrist. "Come on, let's get you out of the rain. You came in at the right time, the stew's almost ready." The man gave her a small smile when he heard her stomach growl. "I'll take that as a yes?"

》》》》

The little girl wasn't sure why she trusted this man so easily. The man gave her one of his shirts to wear while her clothes dried. It got a chuckle out of him seeing her in one of his shirts because it was three times her size. The girl grabbed another loaf of bread before shoving it into her mouth. She ripped another one in half and used it to soak up the broth of the stew while inhaling the other half.

"Pretty good, isn't it?" the man said as he inspected the girl. The kid was still chewing but her eyes were on the kind man in front of her. Even though she hadn't spoken at all, the way she was looking at the man showed she was listening. "So, care to explain why you were out there alone? Where's your family? I'm sure they're worried sick about you." The man tilted his head when he saw the girl's eyes cloud a bit. "You do have a family, don't you?" She shrugged. "You don't know?" She shook her head.

The man gazed out the window. It was still pouring and he didn't have the heart to kick a poor defenseless kid out. She probably didn't have anything to eat in days with the way she was scarfing her food down. And not to mention her clothes were old and tattered.

"Do you at least know your name?" he asked.

The girl stopped eating. Her mouth opened. Her words were low and hoarse but he still heard it when she answered, "R-Rei."

"Rei," the man repeated as he stood up. Rei watched his every move before he disappeared into another room. The man came out with a pillow and a blanket in his arms before heading over to the couch. "I'm Ryuuji, by the way." Ryuuji set the pillow and blanket down before looking at her. He chuckled when he saw her confused, yet innocent, look. "The rain's not gonna die down anytime soon. You can take my bed, I'll sleep out here. Tomorrow we can head out to the market."

"Huh?"

He smiled. "To get you some new clothes. You are going to stay here, after all."

Rei blinked again a few times, processing everything Ryuuji just told her. "What?"

》》》》

Flashback Over

Elizabeth placed a cold damp towel on Meliodas's head before doing the same to Rei. After Rei collapsed Doctor Dana came and rushed to her aid. When Elizabeth told him about Meliodas, he ushered her to get him as well. Now Rei and Meliodas were lying in separate beds. Elizabeth told Diane that Rei collapsed as well, so the two and Hawk were just waiting for them to get better.

"It doesn't make sense," Diane commented. "Rei wasn't injured or anything, it's weird she would pass out like that." She glared at the ravenette. "Unless she only did it to sleep next to Meliodas. Why else would she offer to go to town alone? Probably wanted to save him and have him thank her."

Elizabeth dabbed the sweat off Rei's neck. "It's more than that," Hawk piped up. "Meliodas saved Rei years ago, so she thinks she vowed to stay by his side 'til the end. I didn't think she meant literally." Elizabeth felt a bump on the back of Rei's neck.

"What's this?" Elizabeth breathed as she turned Rei's head. Hawk went over as Diane tried to look through the window.

Hawk grimaced. There was a bump on Rei's neck but it was swollen. It was bruised and dark veins surrounded the area. Hawk squealed when he saw a little bump inside starting to move.

"Is that a bug inside her?!" he squeaked. He gasped again when the veins around the bump started to grow. Whatever was inside made Rei wince as her eyes shut tight. The veins started to cascade down her body before turning bright red.

"She's burning up!" Elizabeth shouted when smoke started to come from under the towel. The light soon died down. Elizabeth sighed in relief when she felt Rei's temperature drop so suddenly that she turned the girl on her back. She gasped when she saw blood dripping down from the corner of Rei's mouth, making Hawk shriek.

"Ahhhh, whatever the hell that thing is, we need to get it out of her!"