Blood Bond (Ban X Reader)

Chapter 23

Hey there. Just a crazy update, I heard that just about everything is closed now. At least, where I live, that is. This corona virus outbreak is a whole other level of crazy. How are you guys? I hope all of you are in good health. If not, I hope you will be better soon. 

I also hope that you have toilet paper, lol!

~author-chan.

What am I doing with my life?

Once again, I was taking a walk alone in an unfamiliar city. There's tall, tudor architectural homes that ran as high as four to six floors. All the curtains in the homes are closed. Which is odd for all of the other cities I visited, all of their curtains were open. The people are also strange, they are all wearing dark cloaks with the hoods up. I heard that all cities were different, but this is just idiosyncratic.

A small child ran into me, then kept running. He/she didn't even look back to apologize or anything. It was as if I wasn't even there. The kid was just under four feet, and was wearing a forest green cloak. Like the others, the hood covered his/her head. I checked myself to see if anything was stolen. From past experiences with Ban, I had to check. There wasn't anything stolen, I sighed in relief. I wonder what the kid was running from. Looking around, I didn't see anything  unaccustomed.

Something else about this city that I should mention, there is liquor store about every three hundred meters. 

Other than the unusual fashion, and these people's drinking issues, there isn't anything strikingly unusual about this place. I'm not one to judge. These people call this place home. This strange, gothic feeling, introverted, a cult place home. 

I walked into one of the liquor stores, but it wasn't booze that caught my sent. It was blood. It's not strong, but there was definitely blood in this store. Was someone murdered here? No, the blood doesn't smell like distress. A paper cut? Maybe. 

My eyes wondered over to the clerk. He had gray, slicked back hair, a curled mustache and neatly tripped goatee. He worn a black vest, black bow tie, and a maroon long sleeve shirt underneath. The sleeved were rolled up to his elbow. His red eyes peered over to me.

"Welcome, young miss. Is there anything I can help you with. Are you new here? I don't believe I have seen you in these parts before." 

"Uh. No, this is the first time stepping into (home town)." I replied.

He nodded then walked around the table, then made his way to me. He was tall, and I mean tall. He isn't Ban's height, of course, but tall enough to be his brother. Is he Ban's brother? Now that I think of it. How old is Ban anyway?

"Is there anything you would like to sample?" He asked, looking at the selections.

I eyed the shelf. Alcohol doesn't really stick out to me. I want to know where that delightful smell is coming from. 

"Ah," he seemed to have magically read my thoughts, "you must want to try this." He picked up a bottle filled with crimson liquid. "This is mage blood. It's said to have a luxurious flavor. You'll love it."

I smiled a bit. 

And then it hit me like an arrow.

Why would a liquor store sell mage blood? What the heck is mage blood anyway?

"I-"

The bell chimed as someone entered. My head spun to meet the new customers. In the doorway stood two armored men with swords tied to their waist. Trepidation filled my body.