Reborn into The Promised Neverland//RayxReader//

//tensions//

Sup kiddies! Ilyy <33

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I approached the capital confidently, striding directly toward the gate with my mask tightly secured on my face. "Halt!" one of the guards called out at me, barring my path. 

I frowned. Typically, the guards loosely monitored the gates at best. If they were barring my entry, regardless of the fact that I had a little blood on my coat... had someone tipped them off to the bandit's approach? If so... who?

I sighed, reaching back to pull down my hood. "Don't recognize me?" I chuckled, though the humour was forced.

The security guard stiffened. "Y/N! Apologies. You may pass."

I nodded in acknowledgment. "Why so tense? Something going on inside?"

"Well, er..." the guard hesitated. "it would be best to hear from Sonju yourself, 'cause I don't know the details... we were just asked to bar suspicious people's entry."

"Okay." I brushed past the guards.

"Wait–" one of them called out. "do you need an escort, miss?" I turned around slowly to look at them. 

I paused a few seconds, and then, without another word, I pulled my hood back over my head and continued on my way towards the castle. 

I made my way through the main gate, which was unlike me, to say the least. And then, I walked straight to the conference room, where one of the guards had told me Sonju was.

I pushed open the large doors and walked into the room, without so much as a knock. Inside was seated Sonju, with several leaders and soldiers, Mujika, and, to my surprise, Norris.

"Carl is dead." I announced, pulling his knife out my my pocket and sliding it across the table. 

Several of the sentries stiffened. Carl was a well-respected soldier, who frequently acted as a captain of the battalion. He had been with the garrison for many years, and as a cheerful, friendly man, he had befriended many.

"–So is everyone else sent out for the mission." I concluded. "Including his wife."

Norris rose to his feet. "No way... You're joking, right?"

"Hell, I thought you were dead, too." I muttered. 

I gestured to the group of sentries seated near the end of the table. "Are any of you familiar with his children?"

A couple of them raised their hands. I pulled out the necklace and tossed it to them. "Celia wanted this brought to them. She fought well. Carl, too. Figure something out for the children, please."

Two sentries nodded and then exited hastily. "So?" I turned my attention to Norris. "You're alive?"

Norris nodded. "I... was sent ahead... to warn Sonju, when we noticed that they had changed directions..." he braced himself against his chair. "Oh god... they're dead..."

"Bandits took them by surprise." I explained simply. "Their leader was smarter than they thought; sent a group back to check and see who was tracking them. And then, come nightfall, the bandits split apart and moved individually to form an ambush. About 8 of them were too strong for Carl and the others to handle."

One of the higher-ups rose to their feet. "Where did you learn of this from?"

I rested my hands on the table. "The tracks, my own assumptions, and Carl's own word."