Fireworks were popping overhead. There were voices all around; they sounded like men mostly. You shot a quick reassuring smile over your shoulder to Elizabeth and she returned it with a faint one of her own.

'How's it looking out there, Diane?' you asked.

'Easy,' was her reply. Her chest vibrated as she spoke. 'I can see the captain, King and Ban.'

You nodded. 'Good.'

'First up is the Elimination Round,' said a shrill voice. 'The ref will be yours truly, Love Helm. The rules of this round are extremely simple: knock your opponents out of this ring. Throwing them out is fine, pushing too. Or send them flying! As long as it's bare-handed. The eight contenders who are still standing will move on to the finals. Now then, let the brawling begin!'

A gong sounded and you braced yourself. 'Hold on to me if you need, Elizabeth,' you said and felt her hands clutch your shoulders.

Battle cries and shouts pressed against your ears. If you listened closely, you could hear someone freaking out. You frowned; that sounded like King. And now you could hear Hawk? You could also feel Meliodas's excitement and, despite your exasperation towards his lack of restraint, couldn't help but smile.

Suddenly Diane was moving and she was moving fast. You could feel the force she was using but stayed strong, wedging Elizabeth securely behind you. Then you were upside-down and your ring slipped a little but stayed put. The screams of the men Diane hit pierced the air.

'Talk about moves as fast as lightning,' said Love Helm. 'This one girl just knocked ten men out of the ring all at once.'

'Well done,' you said and felt Diane's answering hum resonate around you.

A sudden hush fell.

'Let's take a look at who's left in the ring,' Love Helm called.

There were murmurs and cries of outrage.

'What's going on?' whispered Elizabeth. You shrugged.

'Well,' came Love Helm's voice, 'I admit that it's unfair, but he's not using any weapons. I'll allow it!'

You still had no idea what was going on. Was someone cheating?

'And now we'll hold the lottery to decide the match-ups. The eight finalists should head to the waiting area!'

'Come on up and draw your lots,' said Love Helm's voice. It wasn't the most pleasant of voices and was starting to grate on your ears. 'The first round will be contenders who each draw the same letter.'

Diane must have drawn her letter. You could hear Ban complaining and Meliodas teasing him. Fools.

'Okay, folks, I'm announcing the fight cards. The first match-up is: Griamore versus Matrona!'

'That's you right, Diane?' you muttered and felt her nod. 'What's this Griamore like?'

'Big,' was all she said.

You tilted your head pensively and hummed.

'Is something wrong?' whispered Elizabeth behind you.

You smiled at her. 'Not at all. Size is no guarantee of power. And I've yet to meet the man who can survive a punch-on with Diane.'

'The second match-up is: Howzer versus Taizoo!' said Love Helm. 'And here's the third match-up: Cain versus Old Fart!'

You couldn't stop the snort of laughter bursting from your lips. Elizabeth was giggling and you felt Diane's chest tighten as she tried to stop her own laughter.

'Who's that?' you asked.

'It's-' she stopped to giggle '-it's King.'

Ban had been the one to sign them up. You pressed your lips together to stop more laughter coming. Poor King. You sniggered quietly.

'And the final pairing,' Love Helm said, 'Meliodith and Ba'an!'

Your palm slapped against your forehead. Ban had definitely been the one to sign them up. Suddenly you could feel Meliodas tense and you reflexively tensed too. But then it passed. You wished you could ask him what happened but, if you had to hazard a guess, it was probably someone almost recognising them from the names Ban chose. What a fool.

¾

Meliodas stood beside King at the edge of the ring. The crowd pressed in around them. The excitement in the air was palpable, almost a physical presence that made Meliodas's heart(s) race and blood fizz with anticipation.

Love Helm took his place in the centre of the ring and raised his tiny noodle arms. 'The finals of the Vaizel Fighting Festival are about to begin, everyone!' A huge roar came from the crowd. 'The rules are simple: matches are won by submission or KO. Fall out of the ring and you lose then and there. Let's get to the first match. It's Griamore versus Matrona!'

The girl called Matrona entered the ring, her cloak rippling around her. The huge man called Griamore entered opposite, his brow furrowed and eyes firm. They walked to the centre of the ring and faced each other.

'Standing at seven feet tall and weighing four hundred pounds - Griamore!' Love Helm announced. The crowd cheered. 'Standing five feet five inches tall and weighing an undisclosed amount - Matrona!' The cheers were punctured by wolf whistles.

'What are her measurements?' called someone.

Meliodas narrowed his eyes and concentrated. 'They're thirty-six, twenty-three, thirty-five.'

'How'd you come up with that?' King whirled to look at Meliodas, face bright red.

'Hold on there, miss.' Love Helm turned to Matrona. 'The hat's fine but you'll have to take off the cloak. Gotta make sure you aren't hiding any weapons just to be safe.'

Matrona unclasped her cloak. It flew into the air along with a new round of whistles but Meliodas wasn't listening. That was [Y/n]'s outfit. But how? That wasn't her wearing it. And it wasn't Elizabeth and it couldn't be Diane. He frowned. [Y/n]'s ring was still warm; she wasn't in danger. If anything, she felt ... pleased. What was happening?

'Captain, that outfit ...' said King. 'Isn't it-?'

'Yeah,' said Meliodas. 'No doubt about it; that's [Y/n]'s.'

'But it's not her, right?'

Meliodas shook his head. 'No. Her top looks a little smaller than usual and her butt looks a little bigger.'

'Okay.' Love Helm's voice cut through Meliodas's whirling thoughts. 'My eagle eyes will be glued to this first match, folk. Here we go.' A gong rang out. 'Let the fighting begin!'

Matrona wasted no time. She ran up to Griamore and starting firing punch after punch to his stomach. They were strong punches, loud, but Griamore didn't even flinch. The area Matrona was punching started to glow purple. The colour spread over Griamore's body.

'I can't allow myself to be defeated,' he said. 'It isn't anything personal.' The purple light solidified and expanded into a sphere that covered Griamore's body. 'This is my magical ability: Wall.'

'Hey,' said Ban. 'Judging by that guy's power...'

Meliodas blinked. 'He's another Holy Knight?'

Back in the ring, Matrona started punching the purple sphere. It did nothing. The sphere started to grow, pushing Matrona back.

'My wall is a symbol,' Griamore said, 'of my resolve to protect Princess Veronica. I insist that you leave the ring.'

The sphere kept growing. Matrona was right on the edge of the ring. She was still resisting but didn't seem to be doing much. The whole floor of the ring was cracked now, lines radiating out from where Griamore stood in the centre. Matrona's hands shook.

'I'll be advancing to the final round,' said Griamore. 'If Princess Veronica were to command it, I would bring anyone to their knees. Even the Seven Deadly Sins. Even Meliodas himself!'

Ha. Meliodas couldn't stop the wry smile that spread across his face. He could also feel [Y/n]'s amusement, which meant ... she was here. He looked around but couldn't spot her. This was all getting rather fishy.

'Oh yeah?' Matrona's voice was vaguely familiar. She drew back a fist. 'That's not gonna happen!' And her fist hit the sphere with such force it made a strange ringing sound.

Cracks started to spider web from the point of impact and the sphere shattered. Griamore's eyes widened. Matrona ran up to him and leapt, socking him in the chin. The giant man was thrown screaming from the ring.

The crowd cheered. Matrona's hat fell off and settled by her feet. She had a pretty face, purple eyes and brown hair. She raised a hand into the air in victory.

'Griamore's out of the ring,' said Love Helm. 'By default, the winner is Matrona!' The crowd cheered louder. 'This sweet young girl just took out that hulk of a man with a single punch! This year's Fighting Festival is one to remember, folks.'

Meliodas stared. That girl sure was strong.

Ban frowned. 'There's no way it's her.'

King rubbed his eyes. 'Hey, Captain, please tell me I'm dreaming or something.'

Matrona was walking over to them with a big grin on her face. 'Oh well,' she said and giggled. 'And here I was hoping to stay hidden just a little while longer.' She hopped off the stage and bent down to smile at Meliodas. 'Yep, it's me!'

'Do I know you?' said Meliodas. Matrona punched him. Hard. In the stomach.

'Forget it. You can be such a jerk.' And she stormed off through the crowd.

Meliodas got to his feet shaking. 'What did I do?' And why isn't [Y/n] concerned for me? I didn't deserve that.

'You're really an idiot, Captain,' said King before following Matrona.

Meliodas blinked. How odd.

¾

Diane stormed off. You didn't blame her.

'Please calm down, Diane,' said Elizabeth. You and the princess were rising up and down as Diane took deep breaths.

'Wait! Hey! Hold on!' King's voice drifted towards you. 'Diane!'

Diane stopped. You grinned to yourself; of course King noticed.

'Is it really you?'

Diane turned. 'Yeah, King.'

'What in the world happened to you? How'd you become this size anyway? And where's [Y/n] and the princess? Weren't they with you?'

'We're here,' called Elizabeth.

'We're right here,' you said.

There was a rustling and suddenly light was stabbing your eyes. You blinked and slowly King's face swam into view. You waved at him. King's eyes bugged out of his head.

'No way.' King's voice quivered as he stared. 'Is that really you?' And he reached out a hand.

'Pervert,' said Diane. She covered her chest and turned away. You tried not to smile.

King laughed nervously. 'No, no, no. I didn't mean to. Anyway, we should tell the captain.'

Diane covered you and Elizabeth back up and went in the waiting area to, well, wait for King to bring Meliodas. Seeing Meliodas's face when he saw you was the funniest thing. His eyes widened to the size of saucers and his mouth dropped open. But then he smirked. You folded your hands over your chest and glared at him, shifting so Elizabeth was fully concealed (apart from her head, of course).

'What's going on?' Meliodas tilted his head.

'A giant mushroom.' Diane sighed.

'A giant mushroom?' asked Meliodas. His voice sounded calm enough, and his face was straight, but you could feel his amusement and rolled your eyes.

'Mmhm,' said Diane. 'It happened after you guys went into town. We were gathering ingredients for dinner in the forest and then I saw it ... And then I punched it. [Y/n]tried to tell me not to, but it was too late. This pink smoke filled the air and next thing we knew, we were standing in piles of our clothes. [Y/n] insisted I borrow her clothes for the time being.'

'But then we didn't have anything that would fit us,' said Elizabeth.

Meliodas cupped his chin. 'Gotcha. So that's why you're jammed between her boobies.'

'Don't be so crass,' you scolded.

'Don't put it like that,' cried King at the exact same time. 'It was likely an eringi mushroom variation of the Chicken-Matango. They're monsters that are timid by nature and rarely show themselves out in the wild. But whenever they do feel threatened, they release spores that shrink living things.'

'Why didn't you say something from the beginning?' Meliodas turned back to Diane. You sighed.

'It's just,' said Diane. Everyone waited in anticipation. She jumped into the air. 'I really wanted to surprise you, Captain!'

She landed in his arms and giggled. King wailed in anguish.

'It's so nice to have you be able to hug me back.' Diane smushed her face against Meliodas's. You couldn't stop the twinge of jealousy that shot through your chest. It passed quickly, so quickly you hoped Meliodas didn't notice, but when you looked up he winked at you. You looked down and blushed.

'Hey, get off him, Diane,' said King. He floated over and tugged at her arms. Unfortunately, he must have tugged a bit too hard. Diane tumbled out of Meliodas's arms. You braced yourself, but the landing wasn't too bad. You looked down. Oh, that's why. Diane had landed on King. Their faces were inches apart. You smirked.

Just then, the door burst open. Diane leapt to her feet. King stayed on the ground.

'You in here, King?' asked Ban from the doorway. 'Huh?' He looked down and noticed King lying on the floor in a puddle of blood. 'Is he dead or something?'

Meliodas walked up to Ban. 'So, how's the match been going?'

Ban grinned. 'Well there's not much to talk about. That middle-aged baldy's way too weak.'

Diane covered you and Elizabeth back up and walked outside. She stopped at what you assumed was the edge of the ring just in time to hear a huge bang and then a man's screams that got further and further away.

'Howzer wins!' Love Helm shouted.

'Nice one,' said Meliodas. 'He's pretty good.'

'Sure is,' said Ban.

'Next up is our third match: Cain versus Old Fart,' Love Helm announced.

'My turn, huh?' you heard King sigh.

'What a tastleless name,' said Diane.

You turned to Elizabeth. 'Well, taste has never been one of Ban's strong suits.'

Elizabeth giggled.

'I'll hold on to Chastiefol for ya,' Meliodas was saying. 'Go Old Fart. Get 'em.'

Diane went to cheer but accidentally said King. You jabbed her with your elbow.

'Old Fart go!' she said instead.

'Standing five feet five inches tall and weighing five pounds - Old Fart!' The crowd jeered over Love Helm's introduction. You bristled. 'Standing five feet one inch tall and weighing one hundred and eight pounds - Cain! Can we even call this a fight? Well, let the fight begin!'

'I can't believe King's fighting without a weapon.' Diane sounded worried. 'I've never seen him do that.'

'Guess it's twice for me now,' said Meliodas. His voice was more muffled that usual and you had to strain to hear him. 'It's really something to see.'

'Is it really?' Elizabeth whispered to you.

'Oh yeah.' You nodded. 'He's super weak.'

You could hear laughter from the crowd. Guess they just learnt that too.

'What a letdown,' said Love Helm. 'This battle is the opposite of epic.'

You looked at Elizabeth over your shoulder. 'Once he fought a cat that took a snack from him. The cat won.'

Elizabeth blinked. 'Seriously?'

You nodded and went to say something else but a strange feeling came over you. Was King really going to do that? But then, just a quickly, the feeling went away. You shrugged. Guess not.

'Old Fart's out of the ring. Cain wins!' Love Helm shouted and the crowd cheered. You sighed. Poor King.

King's voice wobbled into your ears. 'That was so mean! All I was trying to do was use my Disaster power to make his rheumatism a little worse.'

'Next up is the last match in this round of the finals. It's Ba'an versus Meliodith!'

Meliodas's anticipation flooded your body and you shivered. Here we go. But then you shivered again. What was going on?

'Is everything okay?' Elizabeth put her hand on your shoulder. You went to smile at her but gasped. Pins and needles were creeping up your legs. This wasn't good.

'Diane!' you shouted and the giant's face appeared in front of you. 'Get Elizabeth's shirt and put me down. Quick!'

Next thing you knew, you were on the ground, swamped in Elizabeth's pink shirt. Just in time. The pins and needles got worse. You winced and screwed up your eyes. When you opened them again, you came up to Diane's knee.

Diane and King stared at you.

'Thanks, Diane.' You smiled at her. 'Now let's watch the match.'

Meliodas and Ban walked into the ring.

'Hold on,' said Love Helm (You could see him now and, boy, was the referee a strange creature). Meliodas stopped. 'Having a weapon's against the rules.'

You tensed. There was no way Meliodas would put that sword down.

'Oh, this thing?' Meliodas unsheathed it to show the blade was broken. 'It's only for show.'

'Oh. In that case, I'll allow it.'

You relaxed.

'Standing five feet tall and weighing a hundred and ten pounds -Meliodith!'

The crowd cheered. Meliodas stretched. You rolled your eyes again. At least no one would let Ban choose their undercover names ever again after this.

'Standing six feet eleven inches tall and weighing a hundred and seventy pounds - Ba'an!'

The crowd cheered again.

Ban rubbed his neck. 'It's about time, huh? Guess we should get down to it.'

Meliodas cracked his knuckles. 'Then let's go.'