Ban smirks up at the boy as Y/N follows his gaze in boredom. Her hand is in her pocket while the other rests at her side, still tightly bonded together by her red collar.
"Bad Ban!" A voice says followed by a loud bonk from behind the two. The two turn to see Meliodas in all his shortness.
"Hey Captain, can you butt out? I and the lieutenant are kinda busy here" Ban says, rubbing the back of his head.
"Well as I said I think he's more interested in you than me," Y/N adds.
"What's the matter with the two of you? Think you guys can skip out on work?" Meliodas asks as the two taller sins look down at him.
"What's the matter with us? Some little punk we've never seen before came out of know here and started a fight with. I mean, just look at what he did to my sweet threads and Y/N's hand." Ban says, holding up Y/N's torn hand.
"It's kinda cool looking though. Will freak Diane and Hawk out." Y/N says. Meliodas then looks up to the boy.
"Alright, someone better tell me what all this commotion's about," Diane says, walking over. She sees the boy and comes face to face with him. Her eyes widen and she gasps. Meliodas following. Y/N sniffs the air and catches a familiar scent before she too gasps.
"King!" The three shout in unison. Ban doesn't react for a second until it sinks in and his eyes widen before he looks between his Captain and Lieutenant with his finger pointing at King.
"Tell me how that tiny creep is supposed to be Y/N's boyfriend!" Ban asks. Y/N glares at him.
"You better shut your mouth up!" She says.
"Well, maybe he lost a little weight," Meliodas says, looking at King.
"A little weight! That ain't even the main issue here!"
"King we came to look for you and now your here!" Diane says, hands behind her back as she bends forwards slightly. "This is incredible! I bet Y/N is so happy to see you again! She wouldn't stop talking about you!"
"Quite it Diane!" Y/N shouts up at the giant. She then looks to King, smiling. "Good to have you back King." King doesn't say anything and the sins of the other watch as he turns around and slowly flies off into the forest.
Back at the tavern, Ban places down a plate with cooked fish on the table alongside many other plates.
"Okay, everybody. Dig in." Ban says. The two siblings from before look at the food in delight while Hawk, whose mouth is foaming at the sight and smell of Ban's cooking, is being held back by Meliodas. Elizabeth stands beside Meliodas while Y/N sits on the stool at the bar, drinking a bottle of ale. Her hand is now wrapped up tightly with both bandages and thick cloth.
"That smells amazing!" Elizabeth says.
"Yup!" Meliodas agrees, his hand keeping tight ahold of Hawk's ear.
"As we said, Ban is a wiz in the kitchen," Y/N says, chuckling.
"I-It's great, but we rea-" The boy stutters before Ban steps in.
"If you won't eat it, then I'm just gonna give it all to the pig," Ban says, causing Hawk to blow steam from his snout in excitement.
"We're eating!" The children say, digging into Ban's food. Meliodas then let go of Hawk, who falls against the table.
"It's wonderful," Ellen says.
"Come on, I need a taste!" Hawk says, crying that he can't have any.
"It's the best I've ever had, thank you so much!" The boy says, smiling brightly at Ban. Y/N leans forwards, holding out her bottle of ale.
"This will make it 10x better!" She says. The boy goes to take it only for Meliodas to clear his throat. "What? He's old enough." She shrugs, before going back to drinking it.
"It's time for some give and take, alright," Ban says, bringing the attention of the siblings back to him as he sits opposite them. "Now tell me everything you know about this necropolis place
"What are you doing Ban?" Meliodas asks. "Finding King was our mission, so there's no reason to go there anymore right?"
"No way in hell that little punk is King," Ban says.
"Trust me that's him."
"Yup. It smelt like him too" Y/N adds.
"Well, I think he's a fake." Ban continues.
"Nope, it's him."
"Scents are like fingerprints. Hard to copy." Y/N says.
"He's a fake!" Ban shouts.
"So you guys are trying to get into the necropolis too?" The boy says. Meliodas, Y/N and Ban look at the boy with a confused look. "That boy's asked us questions about it a lot. And he told me he had to find it, no matter what"
"King said that huh?" Y/N asks.
"He told us he's been looking for a long time too." The boy adds.
"So it's here in this run down place?" Hawk asks.
"No, but it's not far away." The boy answers.
"Then where is it exactly?" Diane asks, her eye peeking through the window.
"The entrance to the necropolis can be found here in this hamlet, but it's not a place that you can reach just because you want to." The boy explains. Elizabeth and Diane give each other an uneasy look while the rest continue to look at the boy.
"Look man, riddles have never really been my thing."
"Oh, I get it." Meliodas says, bending down to Hawks "So what your saying is, it's something like this?" He pulls away and shows Hawk with a stick attached to his back with a bowl of Ban's food in front of him but unable to touch.
"I don't think that's it," Elizabeth says.
"So it's like a grave that is normally hidden, right?" Y/N asks.
"It's not a grave at all." The boy corrects. "It's land owned to itself. A place where you'll find the spirits of those who died."
"Are we talking about the afterlife?" Meliodas asks.
"How could we reach a place like that?" Elizabeth asks as Hawk tries to reach for the bowl of food, struggling.
"Why can't I reach this plate right here!"
"Tell me, have you guys ever gotten the chance to go there yourselves?" Ban asks. The boy shakes his head and hands.
"No, no, of course not. All that stuff is just superstition nonsense." He says.
"If you share with the dead your precious memories, they will lead you to where you want to go," Ellen says, looking at them with a straight face. "The man next door used to say that to us all the time. I'm sorry, but that's all I know."
"It's a hell of a lot more than we could ever find out," Y/N says, smiling at the girl. Ban reaches his hand over the table to rub the girl's head.
"That tip just paid for your meal and then some. Seriously, well done. Thanks a lot, Elaine." Ban says.
"My name. My name is Ellen." The girl corrects. Ban laughs it off.
"Oh yeah, I'm sorry about that Ellen. Now eat, there's still food on your plate." Behind him, Elizabeth, Y/N and Meliodas all smile at the rare sight.
"What kind of reason could it be?" Elizabeth asks. "That Sir King wants to get into the necropolis now?"
"That's a really good question," Y/N says, taking another gulp of her ale.
"Guess we'll learn the answer when we get there," Meliodas adds.
Somewhere in the forest, King hugs his pillow tightly and rubs his face into it.
"What a moron! I can't believe how stupid I am! Idiot!" He says, before lifting his head. His eyes seem to water up slightly. "Now Y/N's going to hate me because I brought up her sin. Stupid. Idiot! I nearly made her cry. I nearly made THE lieutenant of the Eight Deadly Sins cry! And then I just fly off without apologising!" King sighs into his pillow. "But then again, who can blame me for flying off, being called Y/N's boyfriend and being told that she misses me, after all, this time"
"Good to have you back, King" Y/N's voice echoes through his head and the smile on her face appears in his mind. King smiles brightly before he begins doing small loopy loops.
"Y/N is just as soft as she ever was!" Kind suddenly stops. "But what am I going to do? What is this tips it off that I like her? What am I going to do!" King says, leaning back with the pillow on his face. King then goes back into a straight position, quickly changing the subject. "And why hasn't the captain changed at all in the past 10 years, anyway? It's strange that he still looks the same." King stuffs his mouth back into his pillow, slight blush on his cheeks. "Still, it was good to see them again." His expression suddenly turns to anger, brows furrowed. "I can't let that monster deceive my three friends. Ban, I'm gonna do everything I can to make sure you pay for this."
The group make their way into the abandoned village.
"Even if this necropolis place does exist. There's no way to get to the other side."
"Well, I guess all we have to do is die right?" Meliodas jokes. Hawk jumps to stand in front of Meliodas.
"You big idiot."
"Says the talking pig," Y/N adds. Hawk glares at her.
"Share memories that are precious with the dead, huh," Elizabeth says. "If I could, when my mother died I was too young to remember, I'd love to meet her," She says, eyes sparkling.
"That rules you out then," Hawk says.
"I guess your right," Elizabeth says, looking down. Y/N glares at Hawks, who looks at her in slight fear. "I don't have any shared memories." Y/N leaves the three alone and makes her way over to where she sees Ban standing. He seems to be dazed out slightly and she looks down at the ground, remembering.
Y/N is sat on a cliff ledge with her feet hanging over the edge. Tyran sits beside her, his legs crossed and hand tightly wrapped around Y/N's. The sunset is in front of them and about to go behind the mountains.
"Why is everyone so mean to you?" He asks, looking up at her with innocence. "They say that you hurt people and that you don't care about anyone but yourself." Y/N looks down at him.
"Well. It's because I'm cursed." She admits. "Wherever I go, whatever I do. Someone always ends up getting hurt. That's why I'm way out here and away from your home. I want to keep you safe."
"But no one should have to live alone. Especially not you." Y/N gives him a shocked look before he hugs her hand close as tears run down his face. "You have always been so kind to me. No matter how many times I've messed up you've always given me chances. I-I don't want you to be alone. You've been alone for far too long!" Y/N looks down at him and hugs him close, rubbing his head.
"Hey, don't cry. Look, if that's really how you feel about me being alone how about I come and live in the village?" Tyran sniffs, wiping his tears and looking up at her.
"R-Really?" He asks. Y/N nods.
"Of course. And you can live with me."
"Y-You mean it!" Tyran asks, eyes sparkling. Y/N chuckles and nods. He smiles widely before hugging Y/N tightly. She laughs and leans down to kiss his head. "Neither of us will be alone again."
Y/N is snapped out of her small flashback by a loud laugh. She lifts her head to see Ban has also snapped out of his daze and the two turn their heads to see Diane walking over to them while pointing below them.
"Ban, Y/N, those are so not your styles" They hum in confusion before turning around to see that the once sandy and empty area is now covered in pinkish-white roses.
"What the hell is this?" Ban asks.
"When did they all get here?" Y/N asks.
"Elizabeth! Come here!" Diane shouts, turning her head to them. "Look at all these flowers.
"Oh, my," Elizabeth says, walking over to Diane. "What kind are they?"
"Who cares about a bunch of stupid old flowers," Hawk says. "You can eat these things all day long but they'll never fill you up."
"Yeah because we eat flowers," Y/N mutters, hand behind her head. Hawk blows the petals of the flowers and they fly all over the place. The soft flow of petals soon turns into a heavy blizzard. Unknowing to then, King watches from behind the cliff and gasps.
"Pretty~," Diane says.
"Hey! You guys, be careful!" The boy from before shouts as the blizzard of petals soon picks up speed.
"Hey lady! Mister!" Ellen shouts. From outside the blizzard, King comes flying down from the cliff and into the blizzard of petals. Inside everyone is covering their eyes. The blizzard soon dispersed and they open their eyes to reveal a green looking place filled with green crystals.
"Captain. Lieutenant." Diane says pointing.
"Look, you guys..."
"Do you think it was the wish to meet my mother that opened it up and carried us here?" Elizabeth asks.
"Maybe it was my powerful longing for all the scraps I missed in my longing colourful life," Hawks says.
"My mind was blank," Meliodas says, his finger in his ear as he cleans it.
"Mine too!" Diane says, bending down to him. Ban and Y/N stay quiet until his eye catches the sighs of a girl in a white dress floating away. Ban begins running towards her.
"Ban!" They all shout.
"Hold it!" A voice says. They look to see King following after Ban.
"King?" Meliodas asks.
"But how did he get here?" Elizabeth asks.
"What the hell is going on here?!" Hawk yells.
"Captain, lieutenant what are we supposed to do?" Diane asks.
"I guess we'll run after him for now." The group begins following Ban and King.
"Mama" Y/N stops suddenly.
"What?" She mutters, stopping and turning around to locate the source of the voice.
"Mama, I'm over here" She whips her head around to just see a young boy run behind the crystals. She begins to quickly chase after him and the noise of her heavy footsteps alert the group.
"Y/N! Get back here, we can't go splitting up!" Diane shouts. Meliodas looks after her, unfazed.
"She'll find her way back to us. There's a reason she's my second in command." Meliodas turns back around and begins walking again. "She'll catch up to us."
Y/N jumps on top of the crystal, expecting to see the boy behind it only for him to not be there. She looks around again, seeing no sign of the group.
"Oh, man." She sighs. "I was probably just chasing after my imagination." She sniffs up and catches the scent of the group. She goes to follow after it only for her to get interrupted.
"Over here, mama!" The voice says again. Y/N jumps down from the crystal, hands clenched and eyes closed.
"You're not real. Your just in my head. This place is evil." Y/N says, slowly beginning to walk away. "It takes your precious memory and turns it into something to torture you with."
"But I'm right here mama. I'm not in your head, I'm right here." Y/N feels a presence standing in front of her. "Just open your eyes. I'm right here mama." The voice says, clear as day. Y/N opens her eyes slowly to see the young boy standing in front of her, a wide smile on her face. "See, I told you!"
【Ａｓｐｅｎ】
27/01/2021
Last Edited: 29/09/2023