Greed and Despond (Ban x Sin!Reader)

83

Outside of town, you, Ban, and Jericho were standing before a large rock, freshly replaced dirt just in front of it. On top of pile was a small boulder, a makeshift tombstone, where Ban poured the best quality ale he could find in Ravens. Bernia ale, apparently aged for a couple hundred years- he wasn't sure how accurate the claim was, but he took it anyway. Him and Jericho stared down at the rock somberly, remembering the man they had been forced to bury much too quickly.

Even though she had only met him once, Jericho knew what a great man he must have been. He had a fatherly demeanor that not even she could ignore, his presence inviting and comfortable. She would miss the man, and regretted not getting to know him better. She knew that she would have grown to love him if given the chance to know him.

Ban was feeling... mixed emotions. He was content- his father had died peacefully, and he had been able to see Zhivago one last time. Of course he was upset, too. Who wouldn't be? Burying a father after just reuniting is never fun, but he was happy that it ended well, and that he seemed happy when he passed. He would never the man he was currently if it weren't for Zhivago. Even if he wasn't all that great... it could be worse.

"Such a good guy," Jericho mumbled as Ban finished off the ale bottle, propping you up next to her. It was the next day and you were still passed out, so she still had to carry you along.

"He was," Ban smiled, setting the bottle neatly on top of the boulder. "If it weren't for him... ha, I woulda been dead a long time ago."

"Yeah, now I see where you get it from," she smiled.

"Hah? Weren't you ranting about how I was an asshole just last night?"

"You have your moments, and (y/n) is way out of your league," she huffed, turning around. "But you're not that baAHHHHH!"

She shrieked, falling backward and pulling out her sword on reflex, but fumbling with it, resulting in you getting stabbed in the leg. The ground just behind her had burst open, a rotting corpse penetrating the dirt above it and dragging its way out. It's hand landed on her back, resulting in her shriek. A man, rotting, but it looked as though he had died young. He fell forward as Jericho scrambled backward, then lifted himself back up.

His face and other missing muscles hissed, rebuilding themselves the further he came from the ground. The grotesque maggots and decaying organs fell and renewed themselves, piecing him back together. It seemed as though he didn't have life, though. His eyes vacant, and filled only with the small spark of hatred.

"...ate....omen..." the vague words came slurring from his still-rebuilding tongue and vocal chords. In a few moments, though, he was back to himself entirely. "I hate... women. Haha, yeah... All women should just die!" He towered over Jericho, who was pale as a ghost and shivering on the floor. "Always betraying me.... yeah, yeah, yeah... haha... die, die die! Die, woman!"

He jutted his arm forward toward Jericho, suddenly and violently, with much more strength than he should have had. Before it could make contact, Ban stepped in front of her, pushing her backward with his foot. The man's arm pierced through his skin, but Ban looked unbothered, staring down at the man with an uncomfortably monotone stare. The rejuvenated corpse moved his gaze upward, staring, confused, at Ban. It quickly turned to anger.

"Out of my way!" The man growled, his expression becoming crazed and demanding. "Out, out, out! Women must d-mph!"

Ban forcefully put his hand over the man's face, tilting his head to the side. "So, you're one of the corpses rumored coming back to life. Superhuman strength too? How fun."

He pulled his hand into a fist, crushing his face and killing the man instantly. He fell backward, lifelessly, his body returning to its decayed state almost instantly. Jericho looked from Ban to the man, then back to Ban, who turned around nonchalantly, flicking the blood off of his hand.