The Eighth Sin

Episode 10 - The Vaizel Fighting Festival

Diane and I walk through the woods, collecting edible plants for the tavern. Suddenly, Diane says, "Y/N?"

"Yes?" I reply, examining some mushrooms.

"Why are you acting so... flustered around the captain?" Diane asks me. I pause and blush, remembering the sweet kiss that Meliodas had given me in the Necropolis.

"He kissed me." I mumble, picking a mushroom.

"WHAT!?" Diane screeched, picking me up to interrogate me further. Before she can question me, pink smoke covers our bodies, shrinking us.

"Drat!" Diane shouts, quickly putting on my clothes. She just the right size or them, while I've shrunk to about the size of a beetle. After some careful consideration, we decide that Diane should disguise herself and take us to town. I hide in her hair, and we head there quickly.

Once we arrive, we discover that there is a fighting festival, and the prize is Gideon, Diane's hammer. Diane signs up and she easily makes it to the finals. We have a bit of trouble with progressing, but after some difficulty, Diane beats the opponent, her identity revealed. She walks up to the rest of our comrades, me still safely tucked away in her hair. "Oh well! And here I was, hoping to stay hidden just a little while longer. Yup, it's me!" Diane says cheerfully.

"Um, do I know you?" Meliodas asks Diane. Diane frowns and punches Meliodas and then walks off in the direction of a stone building.

"Hey! Wait, Diane!" King shouts from behind us. Diane turns around to face him as he bombards her with questions. "Is it really you? What in the world happened to you? How did you become this size, anyway? And where's Y/N? Wasn't she with you?"

"I'm right here!" I wave, sticking half of my torso out from Diane's bun. King's eyes widen and he runs off to tell Meliodas about our current condition.

A few moments later, we all meet in the same place that the final rounds where decided to explain what happened.

"A giant mushroom?" Meliodas asks, examining Diane.

Diane nods. "It happened after you guys went into town. Y/N and I were gathering ingredients for dinner in the forest, and then the giant mushroom came and shrunk us! I ended up having to borrow Y/N's clothes for the time being."

"Got it." Meliodas says. "But, erm, where exactly is Y/N?" I wave my hand again and reveal myself.

"I'm right here. We didn't have any actual clothes that would fit me, so I had make do with this cut up napkin." I explain to everyone.

"It was like a eringi mushroom, a variation of the Chicken Matango." King muses. "They're monsters that are timid by nature and rarely show themselves out in the wild. But whenver they do feel threatened, they release spores that shrink living things."

"Why didn't you say something from the beginning?" Meliodas asks Diane.

"It's just," Diane starts to say. "I really wanted to surprise you, Captain!" She shouts, jumping into his arms. King shrieks and I giggle, knowing that this is all a play to see how King will react. "I've been jealous of Elizabeth for so long now!" Elizabeth lets out a squeak in surprise.

"But you're the one who threw yourself at me." Meliodas says, obviously uncomfortable.

"H-Hey, get off him, Diane!" A flustered King exclaims.

Diane jumps out of Meliodas' arms and says, "All the stuff that you do to Elizabeth everyday you can do to me!"

"Hey, he doesn't do it to me either." I say, trying to comfort my normally giant friend.

"That's right, I don't." Meliodas agrees. Suddenly, he cocks his head and asks, "Would you like me to, Y/N?" He asks me, leaning close to my small body. I shake my head furiously and slap him with my small hand.

"No way, you perverted idiot!"

"Hey King, are you in here?" Ban says as he opens the door. He decided to stay outside to observe the matches and tell us when it was their turn to fight.

"So, how has the match been going?" Meliodas asks as he rubs his cheek.

"Well, there's not much to talk about that middle-aged baldy is way to weak." Ban explains, pointing to the very much one-sided match. The match is easily one, and soon it is King's turn. He of course, loses his fight, because King is pretty weak. Next up is Ban's and Meliodas' battle, or as the rest of town sees it, Meliodith and Ba-a-an. I sigh. Who in their right minds would come up with those obvious names?

Meliodas and Ban step up into the ring, and a shiver flies down my spine. It's been a while since I saw the two of them fight, especially in such serious circumstances. I can't help but wonder, who will win?