Summary: When Kagome went through the well after the final battle, she ends up in the well nearby the castle of Liones. The king and his young daughters find her. Then 4 years later she meets the infant Elizabeth and they grow very close. Kagome and Elizabeth have formed a special bond, no one could get between. Six years later, the Holy Knights staged the coup. Kagome managed to find the Seven Deadly Sins and defeated the possessed Hendrickson. They freed Liones, but remained clueless about the signs of the holy war.
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Seven Deadly Sins. They belong to their respected owners.
"..ooo.."- Saying
'..ooo..' - Thinking
"..ooo.." - Japanese
*..ooo..* - Happenings/doings
"..ooo.." – Exaggerating
"..ooo.." – Unseen Voices
Now…. ENJOY!
Chapter 4 X The Source of Power
"Hold up for a sec, Hawk Mama!" Meliodas shouted as he ran outside. The pig complied and immediately halted in her step. "Why the sudden stop, baka buta!" Hawk yelled at the blonde who woke him up from his nap.
"What's going on, Captain?!" King asked as he flew outside. Kagome followed after him with a concern face. "The Ten Commandments are fighting someone, aren't they?" Kagome question. Meliodas nodded.
"The Ten Commandments are fighting someone we don't know… Monspeet from the Ten Commandments and Galand. And the last one, I have no idea who that is." He answered.
They all could suddenly feel a great source of power coming towards them. "A great mass of power is headed our way at a crazy speed!" King shouted as almost everyone was outside. "ETA 10 seconds." They could hear Gowther say.
"Hawk Mama! Change directions and move at full speed!" Meliodas instructed and the pig complied, however the attack followed. They could see a spark of light in the distant gradually becoming bigger. "This must be a magic attack guessing that I'm here." Meliodas began. "If I use "Full Counter", they'll know that I'm alive and the exact location of where we are."
"But… I don't have a choice." Meliodas grabbed the hilt of his sword and was about to pull it out. But then Mama Hawk shifted direction again, running at the flaming bird at full speed. "Eh, Hawk Mama?" Kagome muttered in surprised.
The attack continued to come closer, everyone anticipating what would happen and then is suddenly disappeared, followed by steam coming out of the mouth and nostrils of the giant pig.
"Did… she just… eat it?" Kagome questioned confused as Hawk Mama appeared to be fine.
"My "Purgatory Flame Bird" vanished…?" Monspeet asked with same confusion. "Is this Meliodas' "Counter Vanish"? Iie… It didn't just vanish. It's as of it was swallowed by something…" He sighed.
"And now all the little power I gathered from eating a human soul is gone…
"Sugoi, Hawk Mama! I can't believe you swallowed that magic in one gulp!" Meliodas complimented her with a big grin. "I agree, you were amazing Hawk Mama, and it seems that you are just fine, no injuries…" Kagome smiled brightly as well as she patted the pig that hummed in delight.
"Captain." Merlin suddenly called the attention to her. "I suggest we change our destination." King perked up. "Matte Merlin! That's not what we decided! If you don't want to look for Diane, then I'll go look for her myself…!"
"I understand your feelings, King." Merlin cut him off. "But calm yourself. Diane's presence disappeared along with the presence that was fighting against the Ten Commandments. Just right before the Ten Commandments attack on them. They're both most likely safe."
"However, if we carelessly approach them, we'll only put Diane in more danger." The others nodded, while King dropped his head. He just wanted her to be found as fast as possible. He looked up when he felt a hand on his shoulder. "We'll definitely safe Diane! All of us!" Meliodas grinned.
"And Merlin, you already know where you want to go, right?" The blonde turned to the invisible wizard. "We must strengthen ourselves to fight the Ten Commandments. Therefore, we first need to…"
"Fill our stomachs."
"Get Captain's power back that I took long time ago."
Everyone got quiet at the confession of Merlin. "So it was you… Merlin." Meliodas whispered quietly to himself. "She did it on my orders." Kagome came and stood next to her. "Meliodas' powers were too great and dangerous."
"Because of how immense it is, Captain had always kept his emotions in check and prevented his strength from running out of control." Merlin added. "But… haven't you lost control a few times already?" Hawk asked.
"Those we're leftover scarps compare to his original strength." Merlin said with a small smirk. "At first I thought that his ki was to great for a human and would attract trouble, so I asked Merlin to take his powers."
Kagome looked at her lover with kind eyes as she continued to speak. "So I apologize for having it taken away." She bowed; she felt a hand on her chin tilting her face up and was met with a soft sensation on her lips.
She could hear the others whistle and blush from the display of affection but for now she didn't mind. "Arigatou, Kagome. For looking after me." Meliodas said after they separated.
"While I don't mind you two being affectionate we need to focus on what is at hand." Merlin said causing Kagome to blush brightly and Meliodas to grin.
"That power that I removes is absolutely necessary to fight against the Ten Commandments." She said. "We need to retrieve Captain's power as well as Kagome's medallion, in order to win against the Ten Commandments."
"So where is it right now?" Meliodas asked.
Once again a map popped up in front of them, a light flickering on and off showed them the location. "It's not far from here." Merlin explained. "The sacred land of the Druids, the philosophers of the forest. Istar."
It didn't take long indeed for them to arrive and they were soon stranded on a land filled with ruins. "So this is Istar…" Kagome mumbled as she looked around, taking in the view. "It's been a little over ten years since the last time I visited here." Meliodas said as he caught up to her.
"You're acquainted with the Druids?" Kagome asked she had no recollection of him telling her about it, so it got her curious. "A little bit, because of a mission as the Nanatsu no Taizai."
"Hmn…" Kagome hummed as she kept walking around. She stopped when she sensed a magical barrier of the two pillars she was standing at. "Such a beautiful place for a barrier." Kagome mutter.
"Indeed it is." She heard Meliodas' voice coming from beneath her skirt of her uniform, boldly staring at her panties. "You hentai!" She shouted as she quickly kicked him through the pillars and saw him disappear.
Her eyes widen slightly at the action, she slowly walked towards the in between of the pillars and realized that what came beyond it was entirely different from where she came.
She saw Meliodas spread our over the little green between the lakes. "The entrance was already open." He said lazily as he stood up. The others followed behind him and watched the scenery change in awe. "It's a type of gate that connects two locations." Merlin explained. "However, the permission of the one who cast the spell is required in order to use it."
"A gate…?" Kagome questioned her eyes enjoying the beautiful place it was in. "I thought it was nothing more than a barrier."
"We've been expecting you for a while now." A strong female voice came through the clearing. She looked ahead of the green path that was made across the lake and saw three people waiting for them. "It's been a long time, Nanatsu no Taizai!" The woman clad in red spoke cheerfully.
They quickly made their way to the trio, with Hawk sprinting ahead of them. "Oh the head! You sure are tall!" He shouted at the sole male that was hovering above the ladies. "I'm Hawk-sama! The strongest ally and the greatest mentor of the Nanatsu no Taizai! And the captain of the knights of the leftovers cleanup!"
A stick was suddenly found in his nostril, causing Hawk to jump away. "The heads are me, Jenna-sama and my imouto, Zaneri!" Jenna announced.
"T-These little midgets are the heads of the Druids?!" Hawk managed to say through the pain. "The who is the old geezer?!"
The said old geezer smiled kindly at them as he answered. "I'm Theo! The priest who protects the heads!"
"Priest?" Kagome perked up and took a step forward. "So you're a priest Theo-kun." She said happily finally finding someone besides those religious liars to have the same occupations. Theo blushed and quickly shook his head. "Oh, I don't posses holy powers, so I'm a priest in name only because I do practice holy spells." He admitted.
Kagome released a short breath and smiled. "I'm sure you're a great priest, anyone with a pure heart like yours must be." Meliodas came besides her, placing his hand on her waist, which she didn't mind. "Yo, Theo! You've grown so much!"
Theo smiled brightly. "I'm already 15 years old after all, Meliodas-san." Somehow Kagome's mood turned puffy as she kept on smiling sweetly at the boy. "That sure brings back memories…" she muttered.
"This pig sure is interesting." Jenna stated with a big grin as she kept on pulling the ear of Hawk. "Omae! Don't underestimate me!" Kagome laughed lightly at the seen, but soon felt heavy eyes on her person. First she thought it was Meliodas but he was still laughing at the Jenna and Hawk.
She turned around and faced Zaneri, whom she hadn't introduced herself too. "I believe I have yet to introduce myself." Kagome started. "I'm Higurashi Kagome…" She strayed off as she noticed the Druid was no longer paying attention to her but to the hand on her waist.
Meliodas noticed that he as well had yet to greet Zaneri and let go of Kagome to wave at the Druid. "Yo, Zaneri! We're both tiny as always." He said with a laugh. Zaneri didn't reply but instead took a hold of his hand and placed it over her chest with a small smile. "Meliodas… I'm happy to see you again."
Kagome couldn't do anything. It wasn't like with Miroku, who was a pervert to every girl, but then mostly to Sango. She hadn't seen Meliodas being the pervert he was to anyone other than herself. So it was a strange sight to see.
She kept quiet, frozen in place watching the interaction play out. "Well, that's enough for the reunion greetings." Meliodas said as he quickly removed his hand from the woman. "The reason why we're here…" He began as he turned to Jenna.
"We already know why you came to the sacred land." The blonde woman stated. "Good. As expected of the heads of the Druids." Merlin complimented. "By the way, Merlin-dono…" Jenna turned her head to the entrance. "Are the ones standing over there with you as well?"
They all looked at Gowther and Arthur who were standing aimlessly at the entrance. Merlin nodded. She watched Gowther tap on Arthur shoulder. "Arthur, are you not going?" The Lust sin asked.
"What about you, Gowther-san?" Arthur returned the question while turning his head away. "I'm attempting to read this atmosphere."
Jenna shrugged at the unsure couple and turned back to the group. "Before we begin…" She started as she walked up to Kagome and bowed. "It's an honor to have the last true miko among our midst"
Kagome shook her head as she began flustered by the attention. "Ah, iie… it's a true honor to be here." She watched Jenna raise her head and look at her. "I hope you take care of me." Kagome smiled kindly.
"Well then, Meliodas. Follow me to the tower to my right." Zaneri cut in the discussion, and glared at Kagome. "And you too." Kagome blinked a few times before following Zaneri with Meliodas.
"Everything's happening so fast. I can't follow what's going on anymore." Slader said as he watched the other three walk off. "How could they have known that we were coming and what we were coming here for?" He questioned.
"The Druids have some mysterious power." King explained, they both turned to Jenna who was just messing with Hawk while Theo quietly watched with his continues smile on his face. "And they're supposed to be sophisticated…" Slader muttered with a sigh.
Kagome strayed behind the two who were taking the lead, observing them as they walked. 'The way Zaneri-san sees Meliodas…' A male voice interrupted her thoughts. "Kagome! Are you alright?" Meliodas asked.
She looked up and saw that Meliodas was waiting for her while Zaneri went on ahead. "Ah, hai." She said as she swiftly joined him so that they could enter the cave.
They continued to walk in total darkness, following Zaneri. "So my powers are here?" Meliodas asked as he looked around in the nothingness. "Hai." Zaneri answered while she came to a halt. "You will be put through a trial, Meliodas. Whether we return your strength or not will depend on the results."
"In order words, I have to pass whatever this trial is, right?" Meliodas ensured. "It will be excruciatingly painful." Zaneri said. "I worry… whether you'll be able to endure it."
Meliodas grin widen in reply to the brunettes words. "If you say that, it'll only make me more pumped up! I'll take whatever trials you throw at me!" He said determinedly.
Zaneri didn't say anything but summoned her powers. "Dolchimot, Hekatohkobe, Omnorea, Kiet." Light engulfed Meliodas and he was blinded.
When he opened his eyes he was in a familiar yet unfamiliar place. It looked like a market with people walking around. "This is…" He muttered to himself, but didn't get to finish when he felt someone bump into him. "Sorry, kid." The man apologized. "Ah, wait, no! Please forgive my rudeness! Captain of the Holy Knight-sama!"
Meliodas watched confused as the man quickly walked away and looked at his hands. "These clothes…" He looked up, staring at the flag that was scattered around the walls. "Could this place be…" He wondered off, worry could be heard in his voice.
"Danafor…?!" He exclaimed shocked, finally recognizing the place. There was a tremble in his eyes as he watched his memories flash.
"Oi, I've been looking all over for you, Meliodas."
He slowly turned around to look at the person who spoke to him. He didn't want to believe it, yet it couldn't be a lie.
"Liz…!"
The pink haired beauty, who was once his love.
"Zaneri-san, what's happening to Meliodas?" Kagome decided to ask as she felt unrest and fear go through Meliodas' aura. "This is the tower if trials." Zaneri replied. "His soul is being tested now to determine if he is worthy of receiving his power back." Kagome looked once more at Meliodas. "Is regaining his power such a difficult task?" She asked. Zaneri shook her head. "The problem lies with what happens after."
Zaneri proceeded to raise her hand and called a goblet to it. She walked closer to Kagome handing over the cup, which appeared to have beans inside of it. "Kagome, now this is your trial." Zaneri stated.
The princess quirked a bit at the lack of formalities but let it slide. "A goblet?" She questioned instead. "Hai. This goblet contains a flower seed with a disease. Mere light and water will no longer let it grow."
Kagome took the cup and let her aura touch it. "D-Demo-"
"Find that seed and make it bloom." Zaneri explained. "Eh?" Kagome looked dumbfounded at her. "For one who carries the blood of a pure miko, the power of healing is fundamental."
"I know that, but…" Kagome wasn't allowed to finish as Zaneri cut her off once more. "If you can't even do this, you cannot be involved in the future battles."
Kagome sweat dropped and sighed. "Alright…" She once again looked at the seeds that were gathered. 'But how am I supposed to do that?!'
"What is Zaneri trying to do by showing me this?" Meliodas wondered as he walked side by side with Liz. "Hey, you've been acting weirdly." Liz commented, watching the blonde muttering to himself again. "You sure are realistic for an illusion." Meliodas stated as he watched her up and down.
He threw aside his armor around his hands and made his way behind the woman with his hand placed on her chest. "It's soft, very soft."
*Slap*
"Don't do this in public!" She had elbowed him in the cheek, who had become very red. "Baka." He heard a high-pitched voice say from above.
"Wandle!" Meliodas allowed the bird land on his head as it looked with curiosity at the two. "Any shiny stuff?" Wandle asked. "Sheesh…" liz smiled softly at them. "Stop fooling around. We're going home."
And they continued to walk towards their house.
'Is there really a purpose in this illusion?' Meliodas questioned. 'It feels like I'm back in… No… Everything that happened in Liones and the revival of the Ten Commandments… perhaps, everything until now was the illusion?'
His thoughts were calmed as he held Liz tightly in his arms, until a drop of water landed on his face. The scenery had changed and they were both in armor.
He heard ragged breathing besides his ear, and placed some distance between them to look at Liz's condition. "Liz…?" blood was dripping from the corner of her mouth while life was slowly disappearing in her eyes.
Meliodas' eyes widen at the sight, the sound of destruction and chaos were raging on behind him, but he paid them no mind. No, his attention was at his dying love. An uncontrolled feeling was building up from inside him.
Darkness took control of his heart, as he couldn't contain it any longer. His anger was raging.
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"
"Are you alright? You look pale." He looked up from his bent over position and saw Liz look over at him with worry in her eyes.
'I get it now.' His thoughts were racing through his mind as he once again looked at a very beautiful and very lively Liz. 'This is what the trial is. Curse you, Zaneri!'
"AAAAHHH!"
Kagome's attention immediately went to the boy who seemed to be in a great deal of pain. "Meliodas…" She slowly approached him, but Zaneri stopped her. "Stop worrying about others and focus on your trial." She said.
"What is Meliodas' trial?" Kagome asked instead. Zaneri took a moment to look at her before her eyes went back to Meliodas who once again screamed. "It's hell." She answered.
"He is reliving the peaceful days and the tragic parting with his most dearly loved one… hundreds and thousands of times." She explained. "Each repetition, Meliodas is losing himself and all his control in rage, and destroys everything completely. This is a trial for him to erase his emotions… No, for him to kill his emotions."
Kagome didn't need to ask who it was, while somewhere deep inside her was hoping that it wasn't her, because Kagome couldn't compare to her. 'Liz…' She thought to herself, seeing Meliodas calm down only to scream in pain and anger once more. 'But is that really necessary…? For him to "kill" his emotions…?'
"We can't have him regain his power knowing that he has the possibility to lose control in his rage again." Zaneri continued. "There'd be no point in this.
"This is where the warrior of the Druids train themselves. The tower of Training." Jenna explained as she led the others to the opposite tower of where Meliodas and Kagome had disappeared.
"Say, Jenna." King got her attention. "Why are you bringing us here?" He asked which cause a tick mark to appear on he face. "To train, of course!" She yelled at him. "In order to fight against those legendary Demons, the Ten Commandments. You all are so pitifully weak. You have to become stronger, and save this world!"
Slader and King nodded in determination. "By the way, there's already a group inside." Jenna said as a smirk crept on her face. "Apparently, they know you."
"Is it Ban?" Hawk asked.
"No, she said group so perhaps Guila and Jericho." King tried.
"Sorry to disappoint you." A voice came from behind Jenna, exiting the cave. Everyone got ready to attack, except for the women, at the sight of the man.
"Oh, you're out already?" Jenna questioned as she turned to look at the male with a smirk. "Hendy."
"Hendrickson! You are still alive!" King raised his voice with malice; he had his Sacred Treasure ready to fire at the silver-haired man. However no action was taken as Hendrickson remained quiet, and fell over.
"Huh?"
"What a hopeless lad." Jenna sighed. "I understand you have reasons for holding a grudge against this lad. But he's returned to normal, most likely because he went through a full purification. But still, would you hold back your rage for my sake?"
"Purification…?" King questioned confused. "The arrow…" Merlin answered. They looked at her waiting for an explanation. "That's right. Kagome-sama's arrow of purification forced the Youki to release his soul and so he managed to survive." Jenna replied. "I don't know however if she realized it."
Merlin chuckled as her eyes went to the other towers. "I'm sure she didn't, she tends to be dense when it comes to her powers. But I'm sure this will be an interesting development, after all… Kagome and Hendrickson did have a history together." Both Merlin and Jenna started chuckling.
"D-Demo!" King tried to protest. "Isn't this for the best?" Hawk began. "I mean, now we can find Kagome-chan's powers, right?" Slader nodded in agreement. "This will make the search easier."
"Look!" they looked at Arthur who was pointing at the entrance. "There's something else…" Slader saw it as well. "What is that? An old rag?" Hawk was already sprinting at it when he had a taste of the smell.
"No, this deliciously burnt smell is… Must ne the Druids' leftovers" He yelled excitedly as he got closer, but halted when he got a better look at it. "T-This isn't leftovers or old rags!" he exclaimed. "They're… the Tattered Three!"
Indeed, it was Howser, Gilthunder and Griamor, with wounds covering their body making them appear and smell burnt.
Both Zaneri and Kagome kept on watching as Meliodas kept going between calm and rage.
"Meliodas…"
"Liz…"
"Meliodas…"
"Liz…!"
"Meliodas…"
"LIZ!"
Memory after memory flashed through his head as the pain kept increasing.
"AAAAHHHH!"
"Nemeza." Zaneri chanted as she touched his forehead, bringing him back to reality. He was sweating when he opened his eyes and looked at the two women. "Wh-Where am i?!" He shouted demanding an answer.
"Meliodas…" A sweet voice caused him to turn his head. Kagome was standing there; her calming and beautiful features reminded him of where he was… and when. His head snapped back to Zaneri.
"Why did you pull me back?!" He yelled at her. Her worry for him did not waver at his glare. "It's obvious that you couldn't control your rage and repeated your cycle of rampage and destruction. We should stop this now." She said.
"If you continue, your heart will die first before your emotions." Zaneri explained. "Kuso!" Meliodas slammed his fist into the ground creating a small crater.
"It's fine." Meliodas looked to the side at Kagome who kneeled beside him. "No one is going to find fault with you." She softly stated. "Meliodas, you are always fighting an putting your life on the line for the rest of us." She smiled. "Forgiving doesn't mean forgetting."
She placed her free hand on her chest and closed her eyes, reminded of her travels, of her friends… and her feelings. "Why don't you embraced them, accept those feelings and don't forget them." She opened her eyes. "They are after all still very precious emotions of yours."
"Kagome…" He muttered her name softly leaning towards her. She had broken the cycle…
"You are supposed to e focusing on your own trial!" Zaneri scolded her to where Kagome flinched in respond. "H-Hai…" The miko stood up again with goblet in hand.
"Zaneri, send me there one more time." Meliodas asked of her with his bangs covering his eyes. "That's… crazy! Even for you…! You won't be able to endure it anymore!" she tried to reason.
Meliodas tightened his fist. "No problem. I can still do it!" He stood up again, his eyes connected with Kagome's. 'I will be stronger for what I have to protect, now.'
"If you continue, your mind will be really crushed! You could lose your life!" Zaneri protested again, Meliodas faced her. "I can't move forward until I pass this test!" He stated determined, with unwavering eyes.
Zaneri had no choice but to comply and chanted the spell once more, bringing him back to his most precious… and painful memories.
-In Meliodas' mind-
'I already know the answer. In order to have complete control over my power, I just need to get rid of emotions. It's easy, right? Meliodas.' His voice kept on reminding him.
'Just forget everything about Liz. Get used to Liz's death…'
He stood once again before her lifeless corps. "It's easy, right? Meliodas."
'I can…' a helpless smile came on his face as he looked at the sky, feeling the rain come on his face.
But a spark of darkness spread through the light.
"THERE'S NO WAY IN HELL THAT I CAN DO THAT!"
-At the cave-
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"
Again Meliodas screamed in agony. "I can't watch this anymore! I am going to pull him back!" Zaneri said as she stepped forward, however Kagome stood in front of him, her arms spread out to protect him. "Please wait, Zaneri-san!"
"Move! At this rate he will…" Zaneri strayed off.
'I can't do it…' Meliodas was once again pulled back to the calming memories. 'I can't forget you. I can't get used to losing you.' He looked at Liz' lifeless body.
'Every time I relive our meeting and farewell… I can't help but love you more.'
Again her body fell to the ground, blood trailing down her lips. 'I can't help but become more infuriated!'
'I can't… do this.'
"Meliodas can do this!" Kagome stated stubbornly, she could hear him grunt again, but ignored it. "I believe that he can!"
'I don't want to see something like this happening again.' Meliodas walked to her body. 'I won't be able to stand it.' He ignored the destruction around him and stood still in front of her
"Accept those feelings and don't forget them."
'I don't want to repeat it…'
"Never… again!"
"A little girl like you dares to speak as if she knows…!" Zaneri began yelling but shut her mouth when she noticed what was happening to Meliodas.
Kagome followed her line of sight and turned around. Her eyes widen when she saw what was happening.
Meliodas opened his eyes tears streaming down his face. He saw Kagome, tears dropping down her eyes as she stood with a dazed look at him.
"Kagome…"
"Meliodas…!" She had placed the goblet on the ground before she launched herself at the man, who embraced her lovingly. "I came back."
"Why are you crying, Kagome?" He questioned with a soft voice as he held her tighter, a smirk escaping his lips. "That should be my line." She retorted with a small laugh.
"Crying? Who?"
Kagome let him go to take a look at his face, which was completely dry. "Eh?" she was confused as her own tears kept dripping.
"Meliodas, if you passed the trial…" Zaneri spoke up. "Then you threw away your emotions…?" She asked surprised. Meliodas simply shook his head. "Iie, I have everything that's important right in here!" He smiled brightly while pointing at his chest.
His head turned to Kagome, who was desperately trying to stop the tears. He smiled as he raised his hand and wiped one away. "I accepted them… all of them. And I won't forget them." He said and Kagome smiled in reply. "Good."
"Now I passed the trial." Meliodas turned back to Zaneri who had been quiet while watching them. "Give me my powers back."
"Ban, hurry and wake up!" Jericho shouted at the man who was passed out on the table with beer still in his hand. "What's going on…?" A sleepy voice said, and Jericho quickly hushed the child back asleep in her arms.
"Shut up, Jorucho. I sleep however long I want." Ban replied glaring at the woman. "Those guys in the bar keep staring at us." She said hinting at the many eyes towards them. "I can't even relax."
Ban yawned as he sat straight up, snatching the child away from the woman, and letting Elizabeth continue to sleep on his shoulder. "They aren't looking at me." He said. "They're looking at you, Joricho."
"E-Eh, me?" She questioned confused. "They target anyone who dresses well. Also money and women." He explained Jericho looked at her clothes before looking up. "But what about the princess? She has nicer clothes than me."
"They wouldn't dare cause the brat is with me." Ban said lazily which caused Jericho to huff. "And what about me?! I'm traveling with you too!" She protested, but Ban ignored her and stood up, grabbing his bag as he walked towards the door. "Anyway, the info we've got led us to nothing. Let's go to the inn."
Jericho quickly followed him outside as they walked in the dark. "We don't know how many of them were in a group. Try to avoid trouble as much as you can." He glanced at her lagging behind. "Hurry up, I'm still sleepy."
As if to support his reason, a yawn came to him as they entered their inn. "Five silver coins. In advance." The innkeeper stated. "She will be paying." Ban said as he pointed at the Holy Knight. "Me?!"
"The room is at the end of the 2nd floor. One bed." The innkeeper told them and Jericho quickly changed her mind. "By the way," Ban began "I heard a rumor that a dead man was revived here in Ravens. Do you know anything about that?"
"I don't know anything." The man replied. "Probably just a stupid rumor some brats started. Anyway, don't get too into it and break the bed. It's cold."
"Hah?"
Ban ignored the blushing Jericho and went ahead to their room. Cockroaches were crawling around once the door was opened. "Mushi! Look there! There!" Jericho mumbled in panicked as she backed herself against the wall.
"You know bugs have to live too…" Ban whined annoyed. "Five silver coins for this? This is robbery!" She retorted. "This is even worse than Baste Dungeon."
"This place is one of the better ones in this city." He stated while placing his bag on the ground. "Hurry up and go to sleep." Jericho blushed as she quickly got herself ready for bed. Ban gently placed the young princess on the bed as he sat comfortable against the wall.
"Are you not seeping on the bed, Ban?" Jericho then asked as she crept besides Elizabeth under the covers. "I don't mind if you sleep next to…"
"I'm used to sleeping on the floor." He quickly said. "Besides, that brat is a monster when sleeping." He added with a slight smirk. Jericho looked at the young girl in disbelieve, because until now the child had been sleeping quietly.
"B-But what if you catch a cold or something… I'm actually trying to be considerate for once…" The holy knight muttered beneath her breath. "Hah!" Ban scoffed. "You are more like a girl than I thought."
"You sound like you know a lot about this city. Have you been here before?" She ignored his comment. Ban remained silent for a short while until he answered. "I used to live here when I was a kid. A long time ago."
"Tell me more about when you were a kid, Ban-sama!"
The two snapped their heads to the child that was now on top of the covers, waiting happily for her bedtime story. "Omea… since when were you awake?" Ban asked with an annoying look on his face.
"I-I would like to hear more too." Jericho backed up the girl, who smiled in triumph. A scream from outside took away their attention before Ban got a chance to say something.
Elizabeth took a peek out the window and saw a group surround a single person, beating them up.
"Beat him up and take everything he has!" The leader said as the other men hit the person over and over again. "Someone is being attacked by thugs!" Elizabeth cried, making the adults look over her shoulder at the sight. "We should do something." Jericho stated, as she was about to reach for her sword.
"Leave it alone. Don't stick your neck into it." Ban stopped her from going anywhere further. "Stuff like this happen everyday in this city." He explained while the kept looking.
"We already know, you bakemono, that you are the one who's reviving the dead people." The leader said and raised his arm to hit the person once more.
"Eh, Ban-sama?!"
The men were on the ground, before anyone had the time to register what happened, while Ban dragged the man over his shoulder to their room.
"What are you doing?!" Jericho asked frantically while she opened the door for them. "You were the one who said to avoid getting in trouble." Ban nodded as he threw the man on the floor. "Yeah, I said, "as much as you can"."
However the man managed to land on his feet and stood up, his hood that had been covering his face fell down.
"A Kitsune? A beast man?" Both Elizabeth and Jericho wondered. "A were fox." Ban explained. "No wonder you had uncanny moves." The undead smirked. "You dodged everything by a hair and pretended to be knocked out. And… your thieving skills are pretty high too."
The fox went with his hand inside his cape searching for something, but couldn't find it. "I'll return this to her for you." Ban said as he handed the bag with coins back to Jericho. "Eh?"
"Not too bad, kid." A low voice came from the man as he spoke. "I sure got old." He said with a small smirk. "Is it true that you revived dead people?" Ban immediately asked.
"Sorry to disappoint you, but were foxes don't have such powers. If you don't want anything else from me, I'm leaving." The man placed back his hood over his face and made an attempt to walk out of the room. But he fell to the ground with a loud thus before he could go far.
"Oi! What's wrong?!" Jericho and Elizabeth surrounded him worriedly. "Jericho, make some space on the bed." Ban ordered, and soon laid the stranger comfortably on the bed and was taken care of.
"I've run away from countless humans, but I guess I can't run away from death." He started telling while Jericho carefully placed a wet towel on his head. "We were foxes are constantly despised by the humans. We lost our places to live, and struggled to even find food to eat. You humans will never understand, what it's like to have to live only by stealing."
*Squeeze*
"It's so soft!" Elizabeth exclaimed happily as she gave the ear another squeeze. "Oi, Elizabeth-sama?!" Jericho made an attempt to take the young child off the bed, but instead Elizabeth was brought closer as the small hand explored the face of a creature other than her own.
"You have so many sharp teeth! Does is hurt when you bite your tongue?" She proceeded to ask, which cause the fox to release a small chuckle. "It does."
Ban kept his eyes on the man who held emerald eyes as a memory from a long time ago passed.
-Flashback-
A young child was laid on the ground cold from the light clothes he wore in the harsh winter. His stomach was empty and his mind was blank. He kept to himself while he ignored the other man in the same cell as him.
"Oi, bozu." The man suddenly called out, but he was ignored. His hand went to his pocket and pulled something out and showed it to the child. "Here, do you want to eat?" He asked as he offered the small piece of bread he had left.
The child perked up and instantly grabbed ahold of the food a gulped it down his throat. "I'm gonna break out of here no." The man claimed as he smirked brightly. "Wanna come, bozu?"
The child glared at him in responds. "Those aren't the eyes of a child." The man chuckled. "What's your name, bozu?"
"It's Ban. What's your name, old man?"
"Zhivago, nice to meet you, Ban."
-End Flashback-
"Are you alright?" Jericho asked the man when she finally managed to pry Elizabeth off of him. He released a heavy breath instead and look at the ceiling. "I'll finally be able to see my sons again." He stated.
"Eh? You have sons?" Jericho asked. "Are they Kitsunes as well?" Elizabeth questioned hopefully, with sparks in her eyes. The man chuckled again. "Yeah. My two dear sons are waiting for me in the next world."
And he began telling the story, how he met a young boy who was like a son to him… and how he betrayed him.
"If I hadn't made the wrong choice back then… Perhaps I wouldn't have lost everything." The beastman finished his story as a single tear escaped his eye.
"You haven't made any mistakes." Ban suddenly stated. The man scoffed as he came to sit upright. "What would you know?" Ban looked at him. "Even if you had helped me, when I'd learned that you'd abandoned your real son, I wouldn't have forgiven you for that."
Eyes widen as they all realized. "I've never hated you." Ban continued, his eyes went back to the ground. "You were what I thought my father should be," Ban looked up again this time with a smile. "Zhivago."
Zhivago couldn't stop the tears from falling as he looked at the child who had grown up without him. "Ban…" His arms held the man tight. "You've grown so much." He managed to say between the sobs.
Ban smiled again and placed one hand on top of the fox's head, letting him continue to sob.
*Sniff*
"Eh? Why are you crying, Elizabeth-sama?!"
"D-Datte…!"
"Right now, it's time for training!" Jenna announced, the other guys had since then woken up and been healed. King crossed his arms and looked away. "To be frank, I don't feel like it now." He huffed.
"That's fine." Jenna brushed him aside. "But it's not like the Ten Commandments care about how we feel or what's convenient for us." Jenna smirked at her counter.
"Well then," She proceeded. "anyone who wishes to train should get to the entrance." She looked at the men who stepped forward. "Also, you have to leave all your equipment outside."
"In order to better feel and bring out your latent power, it's best to do it naked." She explained. Gowther immediately complied and removed all his clothing and was once again butt naked in public. "All equipment removed!" He posed with a peace sign.
"You can keep your pants." Jenna deadpanned. "Still, you will need some minimum equipment. Everyone take one of these." She handed them a stick. "It's just an ash tree branch strengthened by magic, but you can count on its toughness. I see you all ready." Her eyes wandered over all of them for one last time.
"Then go on inside."
It didn't take long for everyone to disappear in the darkness. Jenna and Merlin were observing them from a glass bowl outside. "The man obsessed with following the rules broke them." Jenna said as they watched Gilthunder and Hauser work together yet separately to defeat the monster.
"It's amazing to see someone's power level rise so quickly." Merlin noted. "Those two are interesting." Her head went to the side as she saw two bodies appear on the ground, gasping for air.
"Where are we?! Where's the grey dragon?!" Hauser asked in panic as he frantically looked around. "Did we get beaten again?" Gilthunder questioned with disappointment in his voice.
"You dropped the ball at the end." Jenna told them. "But your tactics were good up to a point." They sighed. "You did well, though." Jenna smiled. "And you did get a solid foothold on the next step."
Hendrickson, who didn't go inside this time smiled at the two man, memories of them sparring came to his head. 'Those little boys grew up into fine young men. I'm really glad… that I didn't lay a hand on them.' He stared at his hand. 'But even so, my hands are stained with the blood of many, Dreyfus.'
"I heard what happened." A voice spoke from behind him. "You helped Gil, Hauser and Griamor." Hendrickson looked behind his shoulder and saw a familiar blonde grinning at him. "You have my thanks, Hendrickson."
The silver-haired man casted his eyes to the ground until he found the courage to look at Meliodas, tears streamed down his eyes as he saw the acceptance and forgiveness. "My pleasure."
Their attention went to Jenna who was laughing loudly. "The doll and king pair are having a surprisingly tough time. Good luck!" She snickered. "Jenna." King began. "Would you let me into the Cave of Training too?" He asked of her.
"What's with the change of heart?" She questioned. "I thought you didn't feel like training." King 's eyes didn't waver as he answered her. "It's to make sure I can save Diane. If we were to face the Ten Commandments now, we wouldn't stand a chance." He reasoned.
"Then how about you go in with Hendy?" Jenna smirked as her eyes narrowed. "It's customary to go into the Cave of Training in pairs." She explained, King's face twisted in disgust, as he wanted to yell at her for even suggesting it.
"I'll go with him." Meliodas announced as he came to stand beside the fairy. "Captain, if you here then that means." Merlin began seeing a person walking closer to them.
Meliodas turned around to see Kagome coming closer, she had different clothes on that would be more suiting for battle.
She wore a light green dress, with a silver chest armor covering her breast. She wore gold colored armor on her right arm, while silver colored one was covering her elbow on her left. Both her leg were also in armor, stopping med tight. Her hair up in a ponytail, which was being held by, a red piece of clothe. A quiver of arrows were on her back, while she wore pouches filled with herbs and ofudas around her waist.
Eyes shifted to Hendrickson who was still looking at them confused.
"Hendrickson…" A soft voice muttered his name and he could feel shivers going down his body as he slowly turned to look at the person who called his name so tenderly.
"Kagome... sama?"
KT: YESSSS DONE! I absolutely love this chapter! Kagome's outfit will be posted on my Instagram (Kami_Chama) as well as my deviantart (XXkagomeX) So if you want to know how it looks visually, go check it out! ^^
Anyway maybe you noticed that I changed the rating to T, my friend had convinced me to change the rating because she thought that I was too careful XD She said that I didn't have enough actually M rated things to change the story rating. Instead I will say before a chapter if it has M rated things… like lemon XD But other than that I don't think it's going to be a problem. But if I do get in trouble somehow than I'll change it back to M.
I wonder if anyone actually reads this XD But oh well
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So many thanks for those who did review!:
RedLovesBlack: Thank you very much! It's such a relief, also I got accepted into my college so everything is going good! ^^ So here you go!
Guest Elizabeth (Guest): Hehehe I can't wait to show you more^^ But tell me what you thought of this one!
Lorelei Evans: Thank you very much! It's awesome, I have so much free time I actually don't know what to do with itXD It was also hard for me to write that part, because I know Kagome would do anything but it would also become a drastic change if she did help so I tried XD Hope you liked this chapter!
Gcardozaqromero1: Still don't get it, but thanks… I guess XD
The Blue Insanity 8500: YEAH! LOVE HEATED FLUFF! XD Hope you enjoyed this chapter too!
Guest: Here you go ^^
Heaven-water-sister: I hope you love this too! ^^
Sesshylovr: Hope it was worth itXD
Guest: Your welcome! ^^
SomebodyOnceTold (Guest): Of course! XD And thank you!
For those who do not know these words:
Hai: Yes
Iie: No
Ki: (Spiritual) Energy
Baka: Idiot
Bozu: Kid
Buta: Pig
Mushi: Bug
Omae: Bastard
Demo: But
Kuso: Damn
Sugoi: Amazing
Nani: What
Matte: Wait
Miko: Priestess
Hentai: Pervert
Arigatou: Thank you
Bakemono: Monster
Kitsune: Fox Demon
Nanatsu no Taizai: Seven Deadly Sins
-chan: Honorifics for girls
-kun: Honorifics for guys
-san: Honorifics for everyone
-dono: Honorifics for respect
-sama: Honorifics for those of higher standards
