Ban, King, and I had trained for a good two hours. The entirety of it had either been me and Ban duking it out while King attacked us with his Chastiefol or Ban and I attempting to take King out. It had been surprisingly fun, considering all we were doing was fighting each other. Currently, I was standing outside the tavern, humming to myself as I brushed the sand and dirt off my Cloak and boots. It was nice- I often never had a peaceful moment. Especially now that I was with the Sins.

Of course, my luck was short lived, and so was my peace.

As I was putting my left boot back on, a loud shout startled me, causing me to yell and jump slightly.

"HEY! WHO'S THE IDIOT WHO BUILT A TAVERN IN MY TOWN WITHOUT MY PERMISSION?! COME OUT!"

I stood from my sitting position, turning toward the source of the shout, slightly annoyed. My annoyance quickly melted away, however, when I saw eight children standing in a group in front of the tavern, a few feet away from where I was sitting. A few of them held swords or wore paper helmets.

I smiled, hopping down from the patio of the tavern. I approached the small group, crouching down in front of the one who had shouted. He was short and blonde, with bright green eyes, very similar to Meli. He glared at me with confidence.

"Calm down, kid," I chuckled, "I'm right here. Whatcha need? Minors don't get booze."

"Tch, I don't want booze," he glared, then raised his voice to a scream again. "I, THE CAPTAIN OF THE EIGHT DEADLY SINS, PELIODAS, WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!"

My eyes widened in surprise, then softened. I chuckled, feigning sudden shock as I looked at him. "You?! You're the captain of the Eight Deadly Sins?!"

"Mhm!" He said proudly, "And you have disrespected me by building this tavern here without notifying me!"

"Then you.... you all must be part of the Eight Deadly Sins!" I spoke, gasping as I stared at the group behind him. The children stood up higher, grinning, seeming proud that someone was going along with their game. "Oh, my!"

"Oh, guys!" The boy in front whispered, whirling around. His face shone with excitement and he whisper-shouted to his friends. "We can do our introductions!"

"Oh yeah! Let's do it!" Squealed a green-haired girl in the group, and 'Peliodas' turned and faced me proudly.

"I'm the Dragon Sin of Wrath, Peliodas!" The blonde boy, 'Peliodas,' shouted. He put his right hand on his hip, and pointed at me with his left hand.

"Grizzly Sin of Sloth, Thomas!" A rather chunky boy shouted, grinning widely as he bowed. He had light brown hair and deep hazel eyes, and his skin was somewhat toned.

"Fox Sin of Greed, Katts!" The second tallest boy of the group joined in, slouching over and wiggling his fingers greedily. I had to resist the urge to giggle at the action. He had black hair and bright blue eyes, and his skin was extremely pale.

"Serpent Sin of Envy, Meera!" A girl with light green hair squealed, putting one hand on her head and another on her hip. In the arm on her hip, she held a small baby. She had green eyes, which were slightly darker than her hair, and a skin tone that matched mine. She then gestured to the child in her arm, who was wrapped in a pink blanket, with green hair that matched hers, but bright yellow eyes. "And he's the Boar Sin of Gluttony, Eric!"

The baby cooed loudly, as though trying to join in on the fun at the mention of his name. It was pretty adorable.

"Lion Sin of Pride, Tanto!" Shouted the shortest one in the group, a boy with deep brown hair and purple eyes similar to Diane's. He had gone down on his hands and knees, baring his teeth in a large smile as he mimicked the pose of a crouching lion.

"Raven Sin of Despond, Emma!" Shouted a girl, who was a few inches shorter than the other girl. She had the same (h/c) hair as I did, but she had crimson eyes, like Ban's. A thought flashed through my head for a split second, is that what mine and Ban's daughter would look like if we had one? I quickly dismissed it, paying attention again as a small blush creeped up on my cheeks. She spread her legs wide and stretched her hands up into the air, a confident grin on her face.

"A-and I'm the G-Goat's Sin of Lust... Armando," the tallest boy of the group spoke, making a rather lewd expression with one hand on his cheek. He had dark purple hair and spectacles that highlighted his magenta eyes. I smiled.

"Wow! You guys sure are cool," I laughed, then turned towards the Goat Sin, Armando. "And y'know Armando, the actual Goat Sin doesn't represent that kind of lust."

"Huh?" He asked, cocking his head to the side.

"The real Goat Sin, Gowther, lusts for a heart and knowledge of how human emotions work."

"How do you know that?!" 'Peliodas' demanded, looking at me suspiciously.

"Because I know him," I chuckled, then pointed to the girl, Emma. "You do a very good expression of me."

She gaped, then turned to the rest of the group, who all looked very confused. Peliodas looked accusingly at me.

"No way!" He shouted, "You may kinda look like her, but you're not (y/n)!"

I grinned, "Oh, really?"

I slipped off the sleeves of my cloak, laying it on the ground behind my crouched form. I stood up fully, turned around so my back faced them, pointing vaguely to the small of my back, where my marking was.

"Congratulations, guys," I laughed, "You just met one of the Eight Deadly Sins, (y/n), the Raven Sin of Despond."

"OH MY GOD!" A squeal came from behind me, causing me to turn around in confusion. The Emma girl was running toward me, and before I could react, she tackled me.

"Ack!" I yelped, falling harshly onto my back. A small thud sounded as I made contact with the grass, flattening it between our combined weight. She was sitting directly on my stomach, looking down at me with wide, excited eyes.

"I can't believe it! This is so cool! You're, like, the best Sin ever!" She squealed, reaching down and wrapping her arms around my neck in a tight hug.

"Are you with any of the other Sins?!" Peliodas asked excitedly, as I began to stand up. Emma still hung on my neck, her legs wrapped tightly around my stomach as she clung to me.

The kids were all staring up at me in awe, wide-eyed and excited. I smiled, crouching down and prying Emma off of me.

"I'll let you get back on in a second," I smiled, addressing her pouting expression. Her eyes lit up in excitement as I turned to face the group again. "If I show you guys, you have to promise to never talk to anybody about this, okay? Nobody can know we're here because the Holy Knights are after us, so it's like our little secret. You can only talk about it in this group."

They all spoke at once, agreeing immediately to my terms. I smiled, turning around to face the tavern. I put my hands up to my mouth as a sort of megaphone.

"DIANE, KING, BAN, AND MELI! GET YOUR HAPPY ASSES OUT HERE!"

It took a moment of silence, then they started coming. Diane and King were the first to appear, coming out from the woods, followed by Meli and Ban who came out of the tavern.

"(Y/N), who are they?" Diane asked curiously, pointing down at the group of kids.

"Fans of ours, apparently," I smiled, seeing the girl Meera squealing as she ran over to Diane. She began fangirling hard, talking too rapidly for Diane to respond. However, the Giantess quickly got into the groove of talking to her, and they began to chat happily. King floated down next to me, arms crossed.

"Why would you tell children who we are?!" He demanded, looking at me from his hovering position.

I just smiled, looking from the kids to King. "Would you mind changing to your other form?"

"(Y/N)..."

"Please! You have a cosplayer," I gestured to the chunky kid, Thomas, who was looking around excitedly for the Grizzly Sin. King looked at him, then at me, then back to him. He growled, unable to resist the charm of an adorable child. He changed, opening his arms awkwardly to present himself.

"Whoa! You're King!" Thomas spoke excitedly, rushing over. To King, who had changed back. The two clicked just as fast, talking as King answered Thomas's questions.

"Whaddoya want," I heard Ban's voice from behind me. I spun around, grinning widely. He looked around at the group of kids, cringing.

"Who are they?" Meli asked, looking down at Peliodas, who was gaping at him. It took a moment, but he rushed over to the captain and began talking.

"Holy crap, I'm talking to Meliodas! The Meliodas!" He grinned, beginning to talk rapidly. Meli looked over over at me with a raised eyebrow, and I smiled.

"They promised not to tell, and I'm sure they don't want us getting captured," I giggled, looking over the group of kids who had all separated, talking in small groups or singularly to various people. Katts has gone to Ban, who looked completely unenthused with the situation. Emma jumped on me again, landing on my back.

I walked over to Ban, who was answering in short 'yes's and 'no's. I nudged his shoulder, and he looked over at me stoically. "C'mon, have a bit of fun, beanstalk."

He growled, glaring at me. I smiled widely, then crouched down next to Katts. He looked over at me with a wide grin.

"Did you know that Ban is a master thief?" I questioned, and the boy's eyes widened. "I'm sure he'd love to teach you a few things."

"Really?!" Katts asked, looking up at Ban. He looked down at the kid, then over at me. Sighing, he started talking.

"First rule of stealing, never get caught," he started, and Katts listened excitedly. I chuckled, turning away and sitting down a few feet away from them.

"Ms. (y/n)?" The girl asked from my back, and I looked back at her. I crossed my legs, picking her up and allowing her to sit in my lap.

"Just (y/n)," I smiled.

"(Y/N)," she repeated, eyes shining as she said it like it was some sort of god-like word. She was acting like she was talking to King Liones, it was kinda cool. "You can use fire magic, right?!"

"Yup," I smiled, "Let me guess, you wanna see it?"

Her eyes widened in happiness as her grin grew wider, nodding her head vigorously. I put my open palm between our bodies, a small flame igniting in it. She stared at it in awe, making me smile.

It changed form as I willed it to, making various shapes. A castle, a person, a raven. She looked somewhat apprehensive being near the fire, but also very intrigued.

"Here, give me your hand," I said, and she looked up at me in confusion. Nevertheless she did so. The fire in my hand moved over to hers, and she yelped in alarm. I laughed, "Calm down. I'll make sure it won't burn you."

She stopped, staring down at her hand in awe. The fire sat there, waiting for a mental command from me. She transferred it from one hand to another, occasionally getting more adventurous and tossing it.

"I want to use fire, just like you!" She squealed, holding the flame up toward me. "You're super-duper-duper cool!"

"Be a Holy Knight, then," I smiled, and she looked at me in confusion.

"Aren't Holy Knights the bad guys?"

"Huh?" I asked, eyes wide and incredulous.

"They're chasing you and your friends, and you guys are the good guys. That means they're the bad guys."

"No," I spoke, "They just are following the orders of bad people- that doesn't mean they're bad guys."

"Why?" She demanded, "They're Holy Knights! They can beat the bad guys up!"

"They think we're the bad guys," I chuckled, "because that's what they've been told. All of us used to be Holy Knights, but then they told everyone we were bad guys."

"My mommy thinks they're lying," she huffed, and I extinguished the flame just before she could cross her arms. "And I think so too. Why would anyone kill a Holy Knight Grandmaster?! Especially if they were good guys like you are!"

Wow. A kid is saying this. I guess that means we still have some people on our side. I smiled at her.

"Emma, you and you're friends might just be the next Deadly Sins. So be Holy Knights like we used to be and get super strong," I grinned, and her eyes shone as she looked up at me. "You might even be stronger than me!"

"No way!" She shouted, puffing her cheeks out. "Nobody's stronger than you!"

I laughed, ruffling her hair. "How old are you, Emma?"

"Six and a quarter!" She said proudly, puffing it her chest.

"Wow!" I laughed, "You're super smart for six and a quarter!"

Her eyes shone at the compliment, "Thanks!"

"Here," I spoke, reaching behind me and grabbing my discarded cloak and handing it to her. She looked down at it with wide eyes, then back up at me. "It might take a while, but you'll grow into it."

"But this is yours!"

"I have another one," I laughed, "Think if it like part of your costume as part of the Sins!"

At that moment, the biggest smile I have ever seen made it's way onto her face. She fumbled to put it on, and it was giant on her. The arms hung down just above her ankles, and the back was sitting on the ground. The hood went down below her nose when she had it on. Nevertheless, she had that giant grin, hugging herself as she wore it.

"Thank you, (y/n)! I'll wear this everyday! I'll never take it off, even when it's sleep time!" She squealed, jumping out of my lap and running around in it. She was laughing and imitating making fire come out of her hands, sound effects and all. I smiled, watching her do so.

"PELIO! ARMANDO! ALL OF YOU! GET OVER HERE RIGHT NOW!"

The shout came from the village. Pelio, as his name apparently was, turned around, followed by Armando, who were both standing by Meli. They were both playing with their wooden swords, doing play battles with the Dragon Sin. Pelio gave Meli a giant hug before running off, and Armando waved and thanked him before following his friend's lead.

Katts turned away from Ban, looking sad about having to go. Ban looked like he had been somewhat enjoying talking to the kid, and was staring at the woman who had shouted from the edge of the village, who was holding two large baskets, one in each arm. He turned around, giving Ban a large hug, then ran off, laughing. The man's lips curled up at the corners in the smallest of smiles.

Meera had been sitting on Diane's knees, talking to her happily while her baby brother sat in her lap. She and her brother gave Diane a hug on her cheek, and Diane's returned it with her hand. She set them down and Meera ran off, promising that she wouldn't tell anybody who Diane was and that she would never take out her pigtails. 'Never, ever, ever.' Diane giggled, waving goodbye as well.

Thomas, the chunky kid, and Tanto, the short boy, were both bouncing on King's pillow, laughing and talking with the Grizzly Sin. They both stopped, frowning as they climbed down. King waved happily, turning momentarily from his normal form to the fat one pictured on the posters. They both grinned, waving as well, before running off. They talked excitedly as they did so.

I turned to the girl standing in front of me, who was crossing her arms and looking away defiantly.

"You should probably go too, Emma," I said, and she huffed.

"I wanna stay with you!"

I laughed, standing up and walking over to her. I crouched down in front of her, ruffling her hair through the hood of the cloak I gave her. "Go. Your parents are probably worried. I'll visit, okay? I promise you."

She frowned, looking back at all of her friends, who were waiting for her, then back at me. She smiled, tackling me in one last hug. She wrapped her arms tightly around my neck, and her legs tightly around my stomach. She lingered there for a moment before letting go.

"Bye bye, (y/n)! I won't tell anyone about you or your friends, I promise!" She shouted, waving goodbye before sprinting off friends of her own. I waved as well, grinning. They all regrouped, talking excitedly to each other as they followed the woman back into the town. They shouted happily, laughing and imitating fighting moves.

"That was stupid," a voice grumbled from behind me. I looked, finding Ban. King, Diane, and Meli were all standing together, talking to Ellie and Hawk, who had just joined us outside. No doubt explaining who the children were and their own interactions with them. Diane seemed to be the most excited about the subject out of ten three, although I could tell the other two had a pleasant experience as well.

Ah, kids.

"You liked it," I said, looking up at him with a grin.

"Tch, yeah right."

"I saw you smiling, Ban," I laughed, and he glared at me in annoyance. "Nothing gets past my eagle-eyes."

"You mean raven eyes," he corrected, looking down at me with a smirk.

"Shut up, Q-tip."

"Got it, stumpy."

"Hey! I'm not short, you're just a giant!"

"Got it. You're vertically challenged."

"Goddamnit, I'm gonna kill you!"

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