Disclaimer: I do not own Nanatsu no Taizai, The Seven Deadly Sins or King, unfortunately.
No proofreader for this chapter. I apologize ahead of time for the mistakes. Read at your own risk!
Chapter 4: Poor, Old Heart
The night was starry and beautiful. A full moon shown in the sky and illuminated the Earth below. The air was cool with the occasional breeze ruffling The Fairy King's hair. In the distance, he could hear the soft chirping of crickets.
The atmosphere was perfect for slumber. That, combined with how tired he felt, made it that much harder to keep his lids from fluttering shut.
It didn't help that his target seemed to be taking her sweet time leaving her apartment.
King was a good distance away and was careful to remain in the shadows. He sat within a tree, leaning his head casually into Chastiefol's pillow form. The pillow form was a green with darker green leopard prints, perfect for blending in with the foliage of the tree.
As if on queue, he suddenly heard the sound of a door squeaking open.
"I'll be back soon, Zeal. Stay out of trouble." His target spoke to someone.
"I will, sister!" King could hear the voice of a young child reply to her.
"I know, you always do."
King heard the door shut and the sound of footsteps heading his direction. He slowly sat up, very careful not to make any sound. He watched as she walked passed him, completely unaware of his presence. King slid out of the tree and kept himself from hitting the ground by levitating a few inches off of it.
Her cell phone began to ring suddenly and instinctively she glanced around to make sure no one was within listening distance. King quickly ducked behind the closest object, which unfortunately for him happened to be a trashcan. He held his breath to avoid breathing in the stench.
Once she was satisfied no one was around, she answered the phone.
"Hello?" There was a long pause after she answered as she listened to the person on the other end. "Jericho? Really?" Another pause. "No, no. I'm not questioning you. If you think that is the right step I will follow your orders without question, sir." She nodded into the phone a few more times. "Alright, I'm on my way now." As she hung up the phone, King made a mental note of the name Jericho. Merlin could look up this person's identity in the school's system.
The tall and dark-haired woman began to walk again. King once again began to trail her. He followed her what felt like a mile and a half. She ended up off of campus and went deep into a forest on the edge of town. They crossed over a creek and over a few hills before eventually arriving at a large cave.
"Wow…" King whispered to himself. The cave was massive and he had no idea such a thing existed so close to town.
The woman headed inside and King quietly followed. The cave was cool and very damp inside. It smelled earthy and water dripped from the ceilings. Eventually she arrived in a clearing within the cave and there were a group of other people but King couldn't make out who they were. It was too dark in the cave. He found a safe hiding spot behind a rock and watched them carefully.
One of the figures suddenly flipped on a flashlight, and King was able to see the group. The one holding the flashlight was none other than Hendrickson, the University's vice president. Two unknown men held a small silver-haired girl in chains. They had her mouth gagged and she made muffled attempts to scream.
"We're going to take your gag off. Do not scream, Jericho." The dark-haired woman spoke.
'So that's Jericho? I wonder if she's a student… What are they going to do to her?' King mentally made the decision to help her if the group began to hurt her. He knew The Sins wouldn't be happy with his actions but ultimately he couldn't stand idly by if they tortured or attempted to kill her.
The woman removed Jericho's gag, and surprisingly she didn't scream. Instead she was quite angry.
"What are you doing Guila?! What is the meaning of this? My brother will—"
"Shhh." The woman shushed her. "We brought you here today for a good reason. We would be happy for you to join our elite fighting force."
Jericho looked confused. "But… I'm already a Holy Knight Apprentice."
"Ah, yes. But tonight is your initiation." Guila pulled a key from her pocket and began unlocking the bounds that held the smaller girl.
"My… initiation?"
"That's right. You're very special, Jericho. Hendrickson himself has come to assist us."
Hendrickson approached her and kneeled. He placed a hand under her chin. "Tell me child, do you know why the Holy Knights exist?"
"To protect the innocent, sir!" Jericho answered eagerly.
"That's correct. But unfortunately, in order to take on such a monumental task, we need power. Our normal strength alone isn't enough to accomplish it."
"W-what do you mean?"
Hendrickson smiled and stood back up. He flashed his light towards the back of the cave.
King's stomach twisted in shock. In the back of the cave was the corpse of a gigantic red demon. It was long dead but its large yellow eyes were still wide open. He wondered how old the corpse was. Like the bodies of fairies, the bodies of demons never decompose after passing.
Jericho let out a scream. "W-w-what is THAT?!" She tried to stand up but the men next to her held her firmly in place.
"This… is power." Hendrickson pulled a knife from his pocket and sliced into the belly of the creature. A black and bubbly blood began pouring out of the wound. Hendrickson casually grabbed a cup from his satchel to catch it. After a few moments, the wound sealed back up. He walked back towards Jericho and kneeled again.
"What are you…" Jericho started and then trailed off.
"Drink. Drink and become a full-fledged member of the Holy Knights."
Jericho bit her lip and began trembling. "But…"
Hendrickson shook his head and sighed. "I thought you were ready. Your brother will be very disappointed to hear." He began to stand up but Jericho stopped him. She snatched the cup from his hands and eagerly drank it down.
A few seconds passed before Jericho let out a loud screech. She fell to the floor and began clutching her stomach while her body flopped around in protest.
"Now we see if Jericho is worthy of the gift." Hendrickson said coolly and then tossed the cup to the ground.
After some time of her flailing around, King was very confident she was going to die. Their group seemed to give up on her as well and began to leave.
"So this… is what true power feels like."
Guila turned around in surprise. "Jericho?"
Hendrickson smiled. "It looks like her body accepted the gift, after all. Guila, help Jericho back to her room. You two guard the body of the demon."
"Yes sir!" The men replied in unison.
'Shit…' King bit his lip. It would be difficult to escape with everyone present. He would really need to play his cards right to get out of this unscathed. Although he was fairly confident he could take down most of their group on his own, he wasn't so sure about Hendrickson. He couldn't measure how much power was coming from Hendrickson and it made him very uneasy. He scooted around the rock as to stay completely out of sight as they walked by.
Once Guila, Jericho and Hendrickson were clear from the cave, King began coming up with a plan to elude the other two guarding the corpse. He looked around and noticed a pebble on the ground close to him.
'Well… here goes nothing. Hopefully these guys are stupid.' He grabbed the pebble from the ground and tossed it behind the two men.
"What was that?!" They both quickly turned around and flipped on their flashlights.
King used the opportunity to quickly fly out of the cave. Once he made it back into the wooded area, he grabbed his phone from his pocket. He had to let the others know what he had seen.
Diane arrived at the soccer fields with plenty of time to spare. She wanted plenty of extra time to change into her athletic gear and put her hair up into a ponytail. In her tiny duffle bag she carried her soccer uniform and a pair of cleats and shin guards. She was relieved by the early morning weather; at least it wouldn't be too hot to play. As she headed into the ladies locker room, she was immediately met with the stares of two upperclassmen. One of the girls was tall and wore a white jersey with pink shorts. She had beautiful long black hair with a pink hair band. Her eyes remained in a squint. The other girl had short grey-ish blue hair, and wore no make up. If Diana weren't in the locker room, she might mistake the other female for a boy.
"Hello! I'm Diane." She greeted, trying to ease the tension.
The two girls exchanged a careful glance before relaxing a bit. The girl with the dark hair spoke first. "I'm Guila."
"And I'm Jericho."
"Nice to meet you! Have you girls ever played soccer before?" Diane asked, trying to make conversation. She approached an empty locker and stuck her things into it. Before closing the locker, she removed her cleats, sock, shin guards and uniform from the bag.
"Yep, Jericho and I have actually been playing our whole lives. We used to be quite competitive before college."
"Wow…" Diane mumbled, pulling off her tank top and then slipping the jersey on. "You might have to teach me a thing or two."
"You've never played before?" Jericho asked, shock clearly in her voice.
"Nope. You might even have to teach me the rules. I can't say I've even ever seen a match." Diane stuck her tongue out playfully. She approached a bench and sat down to begin putting her shin guards and socks on.
Jericho's jaw dropped in surprise. "You've never seen a soccer match?! Where are you from!?"
Guila shot her friend a glare for being so rude. "Don't worry, we will teach you. You look quite athletic, do you play any other sports?"
Diane shook her head, slipping a cleat on. "Nope, but I do try to keep in shape. I lift weights and do cardio."
Guila smiled. "I'm sure you'll learn fast, don't sweat it."
Diane nodded, happy that the girls were at least somewhat friendly. She finished tying her cleats and grabbed her water bottle. It was about time for class to start so they headed out onto the field. The other students were sitting on the bleachers, waiting for the coach to address the class.
Diane's eyes scanned the benches as she decided where to sit. Suddenly she spotted a familiar face and headed towards him. She had forgotten she had this class with King. He wore a bright green jersey with blue shorts and blue socks.
As she approached King, it became more and more apparent that he was fast asleep. He was slumped over, snoring softly to himself. Diane sighed, sitting down next to him. As she watched him, her mind couldn't help but float back to her conversation with Elaine and Elizabeth. It was obvious King had probably been up most of the night, but why? What could possibly so important that he would risk falling asleep in his classes?
As she wondered, the faint smell of roses began to fill her nose. Curious, she glanced around for the source and could not find any. It was only after a few moments that she realized the wonderful smell was coming from King. However, as much as she enjoyed his scent, she did find it a bit odd that he smelled of flowers.
"Alright class! Welcome to Taizai University's Soccer course. Many of you have different reasons for being here. Some of you would like to get fit, others just really enjoy the sport of soccer, but I'm aware most of you are just here to fulfill your P.E. credit for your degree. Don't worry, I plan on going thoroughly over the rules. All I ask is that you give your best everyday." The coach suddenly turned his attention towards Diane and then towards the sleeping form next to her. "It seems we already have a student who doesn't intend to give me his best effort."
All at once, all twenty-five students turned their attention back towards King. Diane bit her lip nervously, feeling bad for her new friend. She gently shook his shoulder to wake him.
King's eyes flew open and he sat up straight quickly. He perfectly collided with Diane's head, causing them both to recoil back in pain.
The class collectively laughed.
"How nice of you to join us." The coach said icily.
King didn't hear his words though. Diane was so close to him. He could feel his heart racing in his chest. He momentarily forgot the pain in his head. "S-s-sorry." He finally managed.
The coach seemed to think King was talking to him, but in reality his words were intended for Diane. The coach shrugged once more and began talking some more.
"It's okay." She whispered, rubbing her temples. "I've got a hard head, I won't feel this in five minutes or so."
King swallowed and then nodded in response. He tried to focus his attention towards their coach but he had a hard time processing anything he was saying. His thoughts were filled with Diane.
"So what's up with falling asleep on the first day anyways?" Diane whispered, teasing her friend.
"Late night." He said quietly, trying to avoid drawing further attention.
"I figured. Isn't it a bit early in the school year for you to be partying? Yesterday was only the first day." She smiled at him.
He couldn't help the smile that found its way to his own lips. "Meliodas and Ban would say it's never too early to start partying."
"That sounds exactly like something they would say."
The coach suddenly sighed as he noticed two of his students talking still. "What's your name, boy?" He said, addressing King.
Diane's face flushed in embarrassment. Once again they had the attention of the whole class.
"King."
"Well, King. I know many of you fraternity members do not give a damn about their grades but let me be clear. I will not be one of those cool teachers that let's you daydream your way through college. If you want your P.E. credit, you're going to have to earn it. That means showing up alert and attentive everyday."
King nodded, his face not losing its lazy expression.
The coach seemed satisfied with his attempt of making an example of King and kept talking. He began going over the rules of soccer. At one point he asked Guila and Jericho to help explain some things since they had prior experience in the sport.
It was only then that King noticed the presence of the two of them. He bit his lip and narrowed his eyes in disgust. If only the class knew what they were up to in their free time. From his place on the bleachers, he could feel the dark and ominous energy coming from the two of them.
All he could picture in his head were sight of Jericho drinking the blood and then her screams of anguish. The rest of the class was a blur.
After the coach felt confident in what he had taught, he dismissed the class. During the next class period they would have a pre-test to see where there knowledge of the sport was at the start of the course.
"Sorry I got you into trouble so many times…" Diane blushed, twirling her hair around her finger absent-mindedly.
"You didn't get me into trouble. I brought it upon myself by falling asleep in class." King replied, standing up and stretching once more.
She frowned. "But I'm sure it was still embarrassing to have all that attention on you like that." Diane stood up and began following her friend down the bleachers.
"It doesn't bother me. When you've lived as long as I have you don't get fazed by much."
"Lived as long as you have?" Diane asked, tilting her head curiously and crossing her arms behind her back.
King's mouth flopped open and he quickly shut it. "Er… I mean, you know, because I'm a senior and all."
"Ohhhh… That makes sense!" She turned her attention back ahead. "Man, I feel so silly getting into my soccer gear. We didn't even do anything today!"
King nodded. "Well, at least the whole class got changed for nothing and it wasn't just us." Secretly he was very glad they didn't have to endure any sort of physical activity that morning. He was barely holding it together and had to constantly fight to keep himself from falling asleep. He wasn't particularly a huge fan of sports and physical activity. Technically, he could blow the class off and fail it. After all, his ultimate responsibilities lie with the Sins and not his college education.
He sighed to himself. If only he had the will power to not be a wallflower for once in his life. King often wondered what it was like to live a carefree life like Meliodas and Ban.
'At least I get to have this class with Diane…' King could feel his cheeks heating up slightly at the thought. She looked as beautiful as ever. Oh how he wished that he hadn't erased her memories. Maybe right now they would be walking side-by-side and holding hands instead.
"Hey Diane! If you want to practice with us sometime you're welcome to!" Guila approached the two of them and King instinctively stepped forward, ready to defend Diane if things went south.
"Sure! That would be great! I will definitely need the extra help."
"Here, let us see your phone. We'll put our numbers in." Jericho said.
"Sure!" Diane handed over her phone to the two girls. They quickly typed their numbers in and then handed it back.
"We'll see you around, Diane." Guila and Jericho waved as they departed.
King couldn't help the scowl he wore on his features. He didn't like the thought of those demons having Diane's number.
Diane seemed to sense the tension. "Everything okay, King?"
He looked back up towards her. "You should be careful who you trust."
Diane frowned. Did King know something about Jericho and Guila? He didn't seem to like the two of him but didn't elaborate further on what he said. "So you never answered me earlier." Diane chirped at him in an attempt to change the subject.
King snapped out of his thoughts. "Hm? About what?"
"About what were you doing last night?"
'Crap… not this again.' The Fairy King thought to himself. He thought for sure he had thrown her off his trail earlier with his vague answers. "Oh… you know, hanging out with Meliodas and Ban."
"Drinking?"
"Yep!" He answered. Technically not a lie, although he himself didn't partake, Meliodas, Gowther and Ban had a few drinks.
Diane rolled her eyes. "Figures. I heard that you, Melidoas, Elizabeth and Ban run a bar together."
King laughed. "Well, I feel like I'm the one that MOSTLY runs it. Meliodas is our bartender, Elizabeth is a cocktail, and Ban cooks the food. I manage and do all the boring paperwork."
"Well then…" Diane suddenly spun around to face the fairy. She leaned over and winked while sticking her tongue out playfully.
King's eyes widened and he couldn't help the blush that covered his face. "Uhm…"
"You have any room for one more?"
King swallowed, too nervous to speak while Diane was only inches away from his face. Eventually he mustered up the energy to give her a shy nod.
"Great!" She shouted excitedly, causing The Fairy King to jump. She sat up straight and began rifling through her bag until she located the item she sought. "Here." She said as she handed him her phone. "Put your number in my phone. I'll send you a message so you have my number as well! Then just let me know when you would like me to start."
After a few moments, King was able to control his shaking enough to grab her phone. His mind was racing and he was embarrassed to admit to himself that he had temporarily forgotten his number. He took a deep breath and concentrated, eventually remembering his digits. When he was done, he handed her phone back to her.
"Yay!" Diane threw her arms around King, picked him up off the ground and squeezed him tightly into a hug. "Thank you King!" Before he could respond, Diane's phone began to ring. She promptly dropped him and he fell into a crumpled pile on the ground. "Oh! I'm sorry! I have to take this! Bye King!" With one last wave, she took off jogging away.
On the ground, King realized he wasn't breathing. She had been inches from his face, hugged him, and THEN asked for his number. He wasn't sure his heart could handle all that had just happened. Was it even still beating?
Minutes later, his own phone vibrated. Diane had sent him one simple message.
'Heya King! It's Diane. (:'
It was going to be a long semester for his poor, old heart.
"So, let me get this straight, you hired Diane without even consulting me first?!" Meliodas gave The Boar Hat's manager a glare before taking a swig of beer.
"I'm consulting you now, aren't I?" King replied calmly.
"Well then, the answer is no! We don't need another waitress for The Boar Hat. Elizabeth does just fine on her own."
"But…"
"King, you might be managing this place, but I'm the owner. I get the final say."
King frowned and nodded. How was he going to break the news to Diane?
Ban emerged from the kitchen and slung an arm around the fairy's shoulders. "Oh come on Meliodas, are you really going to keep our friend from getting laid?"
"B-Ban!" King squeaked in response. "It's not like that!"
Meliodas smirked. "I mean, that is a dilemma, and I'm certainly not in the business of cock-blocking my friends, but… we don't really need another waitress around her. Elizabeth is great!"
As if on cue, Elizabeth was heard yelping from the other room before there was a loud crash. The sound of shattered glass filled the bar.
Ban, Meliodas, and King quickly rushed out into the main area of the bar. Elizabeth lay in the middle of a pile of broken glass.
"I'm sorry Meliodas!" Elizabeth said, tears welling up in her eyes.
"Don't move, Elizabeth." Meliodas commanded softly as he approached her. He leaned over and scooped her up in his arms to carry her bridal style. "You're hurt." He whispered softly, indicating a small slice on her ankle.
"It's fine… really… let me help clean up! I'm so sorry!"
"No worries! We're going to the office to get you cleaned up. King and Ban can take care of the cleanup."
"Yeah, don't worry about it. We'll take it from here." Ban agreed while King nodded.
"Thanks guys!" Meliodas flashed his famous smile at them before disappearing with Elizabeth.
When he was sure they were out of sight, King raised an arm into the air and used his magic to lift all the debris off the ground. The glass levitated across the room before landing safely in the trash can.
"Wow." Ban whistled. "Sometimes I envy you and Elaine. That magic business is some awesome stuff."
King laughed, turning his attention back towards Ban. "What, being immortal isn't enough for you?"
"Psh." Ban rolled his eyes. "Don't act like I'm so much better than you. How old are you now? 7000?"
King shot him a glare. "I'm not even close to that old. Don't be dramatic."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever."
Meliodas reentered the room with Elizabeth following behind him. She had a small bandage wrapped around her ankle.
"Wow! You guys are done cleaning up already?" Elizabeth's gasped and her eyes widened in shock.
"It wasn't that bad. It didn't take us long at all since we worked together." King replied.
"King, message Diane and see if she can be here in an hour to start training. If she does well enough we can have her start working her first shift tonight."
"R-really?" King asked, bewildered as to why their captain would change his mind so quickly. Although, now that he thought about, Elizabeth's clumsiness might have something to do with it.
"Is Diane really going to work with me!?" Elizabeth shouted excitedly, throwing her arms around Meliodas.
Meliodas wasted no time before grabbing a handful of her breasts.
"KYAHH! M-Meliodas! Stop!"
"So… let's see… all I have to do is take orders and deliver drinks and serve food?" Diane asked.
"That's right!" Meliodas answered. "Simple as that!"
"So… then… what's with this outfit?" The giantess glanced down at her outfit giving it a puzzled look. The top was a yellow crop top that did little to hide the top of her breasts. She wore a very short skirt with one single stocking on one leg.
"That's The Boar Hat's mandatory uniform! Right Elizabeth?"
"R-right!" Elizabeth stood next to Diane, donning the same outfit but with a pink top instead. It was obvious she was used to the weird getup by now.
"Uhhh…" Diane bit her lip, still a bit unsure about the situation.
"Sorry about the captain. He's got some weird pervy tastes!" Ban approached and replied in his normal sing-song voice.
Meliodas rolled his eyes. "It's not pervy, it's distinguished." He crossed his arms and quickly changed the subject. "So, do you feel trained up enough to do your job tonight? It's a Thursday so at least it won't be super busy."
Diane gave him a mock salute. "I won't let you down!"
"Yo! Captain!" King's voice could suddenly be heard coming from the back room. "I think we should-" The fairy's voice caught in his throat once he caught sight of Diane.
"Hm? You think we should what?" Meliodas looked at his friend with confusion.
"N-n-nevermind!" King pivoted on his heel and then quickly walked back in the other room.
"What's with him?" Meliodas tilted his head.
Ban leaned back against the wall, placing his hands behind his head. "No idea. He is always so uptight about things. He's probably stressed about our opening night for this semester."
"Poor King…" Elizabeth whispered.
Back in the office, King quickly closed the door behind him and took a deep breath.
'Dammit Captain! How could you make her wear that?! Diane's not that kind of girl!'
Still, he couldn't fight the blush that reached his cheeks just thinking about the way she looked. He supposed it was to be expected, after all Meliodas had long established The Boar Hat's uniform for its cocktail waitresses. King sighed, rubbing his temples. It's a good thing their waitresses were their friends. He could foresee some sort of lawsuit with anyone else for enforcing a uniform on only the female employees. It didn't help that the uniform left very little to one's imagination.
A knock on the door took him from his thoughts.
"Come in." He said softly, flipping on his computer's monitor quickly as to appear busy.
"It's just me!" Diane gently pushed the door open.
"Oh, hello Diane." It took all of his willpower to hide his excitement. "Everything okay?"
Diane smiled. "Everything's great! I just wanted to thank you for getting me this job. It really means a lot to me."
He turned around his office chair to face her. "You bet! I'm glad to help. I know how tough it is for money to come by in college."
Diane's smiled widened in response to his enthusiasm. "Well I appreciate it." Diane turned to leave before stopping "Oh, and King?"
"Yes?"
"Meliodas and Ban said you were stressed about how tonight will go. Don't worry about it, okay? We'll all do great!" She punctuated her statement with her trademark wink and then stuck her tongue out.
King couldn't find his words and quickly nodded. Every time she pulled that maneuver his brain would stop functioning temporarily.
Diane left the office and shut the door behind her, leaving the fairy king to himself.
'Ahhhh! I'm so stupid! What if Diane figures out I like her? I can't keep it together at all in front of her!' He flew around in circles, not handling his distress very well. He tried to take a deep breath and then close his eyes in concentration. It only made the situation worse. Over and over in his head he replayed the wink.
'AHHHHHHHHHHH!' The fairy screamed internally. It was going to be a long night for his poor, old heart.
Next Chapter: The Sins devise their next plan of action and Diane meets someone. King might have a bit of competition winning her heart!
Eeek! Thank you for all the lovely reviews and encouragement. I'm glad you guys are enjoying this! To answer Alexandrorca's question, this a completely AU universe but there will be some similarities to the canon story.
Please leave some more reviews!
