A/N: I was hit with the need to write something with Ban in it (and subsequently, Elaine). I was surprised at the lack of stories in general, though I guess I didn't realize that this was a more obscure (new-ish) series. I watched the anime and read up to 11 volumes of the manga, so that's what I am familiar with for the series. For the most part. That, and a few of the future chapter spoilers which prompted this fic idea in the first place. Don't take it too seriously-this fic ignores some (most?) of the storyline of canon, so the fic ends up as more of an AU where things go terribly wrong (to be honest, I just wanted to do a short Ban and Elaine fic that started out nice and ended tragically because I enjoy tormenting characters that I like for some reason).

And with that, I feel the need to again point out that this fic ends with a death, because I really do love angst and tragedy as much as I love fluff and humor, so I couldn't resist ending the fic the way it will end.

Disclaimer: I own nothing from the Seven Deadly Sins series.

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The campfire had dimmed down to glowing embers as the group of people surrounding it began to toy with the idea of turning in for the night. All but for one person, who appeared to have no intention of going to sleep in the immediate future if he could help it.

Ban was happily guzzling down drink after drink, so nothing was really out of the ordinary and it was mostly business as usual. Ban was drinking in a carefree manner as if he hadn't just been engaged in a serious and dangerous battle on his own against an army of many until Meliodas and the others had caught up with him. Not that the overwhelming odds had bothered the Fox Sin of Greed in the least bit. It wasn't like he was going to come to any lasting harm, as any wound from that battle earlier in the day had closed up the moment the weapon had been removed from his body.

Only some of Ban's wounds hadn't closed immediately, leading him to believe there was something suspicious behind the force that had engaged with him in battle. But it wasn't like there was anyone around to question about it, as the group had either been driven off, or the unlucky ones killed because they weren't strong or fast enough. And even stranger, Ban was certain that he had lost consciousness for a brief time. But only for about ten minutes. That was Ban's best guess at how much time had passed, anyway, because Meliodas and the others had been in the area searching for survivors to question despite the fact they had to have known there was no one left. But as soon as Ban saw that the remaining wounds had healed over entirely, leaving nothing behind, Ban had dismissed the encounter entirely from his mind as he went about drinking himself into a stupor for a job well done.

The Fox Sin of Greed just decided to keep to himself the disquieting dream that he had had between passing out and waking up. It wouldn't do good to dwell on something so unbelievable anyway. There was no way it could happen, so there was nothing to worry about.

The only worry right now was that there might not be enough booze that day, away from the tavern and in a forest as they were.

Night seemed to have come out of nowhere too, and even though he had a surplus of alcohol to choose from, Ban still hadn't completely shaken the odd dream he'd had. But as it was night, and the immortal man saw more bottles of alcohol appear as if seemingly from nowhere at the edge of camp, Ban went into drinking it all down with a great deal more enthusiasm than before. With the influx of the bottles of booze one after another, and then in a mug at Meliodas' insistence, Ban ended up becoming drunk much faster than was usual for him, which said a lot, because he was such a lightweight when it came to alcohol in the first place. It was to the point that Ban ended up hanging off Meliodas' shoulder as he heckled King, who was hovering nearby and looking profoundly unimpressed at the immortal man's actions.

"Hey, King. King. Gonna do something 'bout that yet?" Ban pointed with the hand not holding a mug of booze, but what he was indicating was lost as he appeared to be pointing at random. But Ban seemed to think that he'd made his point, as he let his arm drape back over Meliodas' shoulders, and asked for confirmation of something. "He really should say somethin' already. Ain't that right, captain?"

"That's right." Meliodas agreed, as if he could tell what the other man had intended to point at. He glanced up at King. "Though I don't think anything's going to happen."

"Prob'ly not." Ban slurred, hanging heavily off of Meliodas in an attempt to remain upright as he waved the mug around to show just how unlikely he believed it to be.

Whatever 'it' was.

King seemed to finally realize what was being hinted at, and blushed, pressing his face against his weapon that was in pillow form to hide the covert glance he sent Diane's way. The giant didn't seem to pick up on the topic of the conversation or King peeking at her as she shook her head instead at the other sin's actions.

"Ban, you really shouldn't overdo it." Diane cautioned, frowning when Ban waved a full mug unconcernedly in return as he sloppily drank from it, some of it missing his mouth by a long shot.

"Ah~. This stuff is so good~." Ban said in satisfaction as he set the now empty mug aside. As Hawk passed by to find a better place to rest, the tall man reached over and hung off from the pig. "Hey, master, where're you going?" Ban let himself be half-dragged around the small camp they had set up in the forest, before he lost his grip and flopped to the ground with a sigh. "Still gotta teach...me…"

Ban promptly passed out and started to snore.

"He really can't hold his liquor, can he?" Diane commented, not looking surprised in the least bit.

"Nope." Meliodas confirmed as he looked around the surrounding forest. "But it looks like that rumor we got a couple days ago was way off the mark. All we've found for it was another group of people claiming to work for the Holy Knights."

"Does that mean we're going to leave and check up on that other rumor?" King asked, floating closer to the dying fire. "There doesn't seem to be any reason to linger here anymore if that's the case."

Meliodas was about to respond when one of Ban's arms abruptly shot up and seized King by the ankle to easily drag him down.

"Nice pillow~. You should…invest more in 'em, captain." Ban mumbled drunkenly, crushing King to his chest. "Though this one's…kinda uncomfortable."

"You reek of alcohol." King griped, grimly trying to free himself before he uselessly slapped at Ban's arm. "Let go of me!"

Ban's brow furrowed as he snuggled King closer to him to presumably sniff his hair, since the tall man's nose briefly brushed the top of King's head. Ban let out a sigh. "Hmn, Elaine...you smell different than usual~. You use the fountain today?" Ban held King closer. "You should….let me join you…next time~." The statement ended with a laugh, prompting Ban's captive makeshift pillow to try and make a break for it again.

"What the hell do you mean by that?" King made a funny face, as if he really, really didn't want to think about what the other man's words could entail, before King redoubled his efforts to free himself, Ban really too close for comfort.

And the Fox Sin of Greed was still creepily sniffing his hair, the jerk.

Unfortunately, King's physical strength was pathetic in comparison to Ban's, who hardly seemed to be making much of an effort to hold on. Whether or not King would have been able to eventually free himself from Ban's drunken grasp would remain uncertain because a scream suddenly rang out of nowhere.

Or so it seemed.

Meliodas went still instantly, his gaze flicking to the side with narrowed eyes. Hawk looked between him and Elizabeth, who appeared surprised. Diane exchanged a glance with her captain. The only two not taken aback by the mysterious scream were the first ones to react as soon as the scream rang out again, solidifying the fact that none of them were imagining things.

It was a faint scream, coming from some distance away, but everyone present had heard it all the same. As the second cry rang out, it could be distinguished by the Sins that were present as a scream that was piecing in its desperation, as well as surprised and, oddly enough, hopeful. But what stuck with them all was the fact that the voice that could be heard appeared to be calling for someone specifically.

Ban came instantly awake as soon as the first scream had rung out. By the time the second happened, his body was already in motion as he let go of King and sprang to his feet. Ban's entire body tensed for a full second before the immortal man was moving, his body shaking off most of the effect of being drunk in favor of lending his body speed. The call for help, and that was what it obviously was, took hold of him completely. Because along with the scream, Ban had sensed something. He'd sensed a presence, after he'd heard the cry, though he didn't dare latch on to it until he saw the person with his own eyes. Because Ban didn't want to be mistaken this time.

King was right there with him, soaring through the air alongside the taller man, completely alert with look of surprise crossing his features. Ban ignored the calls from Meliodas, as well as Elizabeth, Hawk, and Diane, and he only took the time to briefly flick his gaze up to meet King's in question. As soon as Ban saw King's hopeful yet hesitant expression in return, the immortal man set his gaze forward and completely focused his attention in the direction that the scream had come from.

The frantic run to the edge of the dense forest seemed to take forever, but even that didn't seem to matter when Ban finally emerged into a clearing, King right behind him. It was at that point that time seemed to come to a stand still as soon as Ban caught sight of the source of the scream.

A woman with blonde hair stood at the top of a cliff, her back to the drop off where she was being menaced by a group of heavily armored individuals.

A young blonde who looked oddly familiar when her profile could be made out as she turned her head slightly.

But it couldn't be...

As soon as Ban saw the blonde look over her shoulder at him and their eyes seemed to meet for a split second, he bolted forward.

It was her.

It was Elaine.

It had to be her.

It had to be.

It was completely unacceptable that the person standing there at the top of the cliff could be anyone but Elaine.

And the way she had looked at him…

Ban couldn't help but move faster, bristling at the thought of any of those armored thugs causing any harm to Elaine. But they wouldn't, because the Fox Sin of Greed was going to make sure that didn't happen. It was no demon that he was faced with, so there was nothing to worry about.

The people menacing Elaine seemed to think differently about his headlong, reckless charge in their direction. The leader of said group, the one waving their weapon wildly in Ban's direction, seemed to be encouraging the others to attack.

Ban just sneered at the gesture as he ran a little faster for the cliff. Let them try and stop him. They were only going to be vastly disappointed that he would keep going, regardless of any wound they might happen to give him. And since Ban had dismissed the armored group in favor of keeping his eyes on the blonde, he was unable to, or unwilling to, get himself out of range of the now attacking group. He didn't even care that the group at the top of the cliff had reinforcements at the base of it. Ban didn't bother to dodge those attacks either, as it would have made it take him even longer to reach the blonde.

To reach Elaine.

So Ban let those arrows strike him, but the most those weapons accomplished was to cause him to stumble with a brief hacking cough of blood, before he righted himself and continued on. The pain he could feel coming from those wounds was nothing in that moment. Ban's attention was solely for the woman at the top of that cliff, who by now had turned around completely, exposing her back to the armored group attacking Ban.

But she was the one who had screamed before. The one who looked so much like Elaine. Who had sounded so desperate for her voice to be heard. For her to be heard by him. Because this time, when the blonde cried out, Ban heard what she said for certain without the dense forest as a buffer against her voice.

"Ban!"

She was calling to him specifically.

To him.

Ban's sneer morphed into a lopsided grin as he slowed only long enough to rip the arrows out of his body, disinterested in anything but keeping his eyes on the blonde as if there was a chance that she would disappear if he looked away. The wounds closed with each arrow that was removed, and with a faint grunt of exertion, Ban also tugged out the odd spear that had pierced him in the chest.

Funny, he hadn't noticed being struck with it in the first place.

Ban kept his gaze up and on the blonde as he carelessly let the weapons drop to the ground, until he came to a halt at the bottom of the cliff, wound free. Ban completely ignored the fact that his jacket had been torn into unrecognizable shreds again, as well as the fact that another arrow had slammed home into his chest with vicious accuracy. The pain really didn't matter at this point in time. Instead, Ban chose to tilt his head back to meet the blonde's gaze, now that he was close enough to do so. The cliff, in reality, was more of a high hill littered with a pile of rocks against one side of it. Ban stood still like that for a moment, ignoring the shouts of battle around him as he stared into those golden eyes. The moment was broken when he let out a single, disbelieving breath.

"Elaine?"

Ban was hopeful that it truly was her, yet he was doubtful, because he couldn't help but wonder whether or not this might be a trick. It wouldn't be the first time he had been mistaken over someone's identity. Or mistake some random girl for Elaine, which only led to disappointment on Ban's part.

King, who had been ignored for the most part by the Fox Sin of Greed, had been working to fend the armored group off. He had been successful for the most part but for those that attacked Ban, since King knew they really couldn't do any lasting harm, and a way out would be more convenient. King was startled at the sight when Elaine, at least, he felt it looked like Elaine, when she jumped off the cliff-like ledge, until it was clear to him that she would not come to harm. She was floating down from the looks of it anyway. King absently waved his hand and blocked another attack aimed his way with Chastiefol, although he echoed Ban's question in a similar disbelieving tone, as if he too couldn't believe his eyes.

"Elaine? Is that you?"

Elaine came to a halt a few feet off the ground in front of Ban. She remained hovering in midair as she tilted her head to one side quizzically, her blonde hair brushing one of her bare shoulders as she quietly observed the tall man standing before her.

Instead of speaking, of saying something, anything, Ban ended up staring in return. From this distance, the fairy didn't appear to be much older than Ban remembered her to be, though there was some kind of difference that he couldn't quite put his finger on. But such things were dismissed as unimportant details right now when Elaine spoke to him with a soft smile, as if amused by the other's lack of a greeting.

"Have you come to take me away, Ban?"

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A/N: I want to try and keep this fic as IC as I can, but as I am still relatively new to the series, I am not entirely sure if it will be (which is why this fic is going to focus more on just Ban and Elaine). So if there is something overly wrong or there was some misinterpretation on my part, please point it out (I think the rating is all right for what it is). And as to death at the end of the fic, I think something I'd read online seemed plausible to me, so I'm rolling with the idea in this fic, because I liked it. But it is also why I would consider this fic more AU, because I wasn't entirely certain if it could happen in canon or not.

And with the way I have this fic typed out so far, it should end up being four chapters in total. I plan on putting this on Ao3 as well, just because there's little in the way of fics for this series (and pairing) over there as well.