*𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐯*

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"It's the Vaizel Fighting Festival elimination round! The referee will be yours truly; Love Helm! The rules of this round are simple in the extreme!" Twirling around in a cutesy manner (Y/n) gawked at him boredly, her fierce eyes searching beyond his metal helmet as (Y/n) immediately knew something was wrong. Too wrong.

'He smells like the dead.'

"Knock your opponents out of the ring! Throw them out—Okay! Push them out—Okay! Punch them into the air—Also okay! If it's barehanded, it's okay! The eight contestants still standing will move on to the finals! Without further ado—let the elimination round begin!" Raising his tiny hands high, Love Helm carried out an enormous smile.

Hollers of excitement spread throughout the massive rock base as everyone lifted their hands high, thrilled to finally begin the Fighting Festival's competition.

˜"*°•.˜"*°• ---- •°*"˜.•°*"˜

As (Y/n) watched dozens of grown men tackle one another to the ground in attempts to disqualify them from the starting round (Y/n) remained to stare on blankly, the other three already have been detached from her and were now somewhere inside of the ring, and to her judgment, they were already getting their asses handed to them in a silver platter.

Capturing the wrist of an aged man (Y/n) turned her head and peered behind her shoulder, catching the sight of the astonished and somewhat intimidated male behind her as he stared down at her with bewilderment. "Aw... you two kiddos should probably tap out will you still can, and while you're at it, you should also let go of me." Without saying a word (Y/n) flung him towards a crowd of men as they all fell out of the arena like a group of bowling pins being toppled over by the rolling ball.

"Good job, (Y/n)."

(Y/n) nodded. "Thank you for your praise, Meliodas."

Continuing observing Ban yawn as he sidestepped and punched dozens of individuals, King running around as hastily and swiftly as he could without being detected while also clinging to his leopard-green pillow, and the other three having trouble getting out of the clutches of ten men—with Shinso's demonic appearance being concealed behind a hood—(Y/n) could only bask in anxiety as she lingered by her master's side, not daring to move for any reason other than to defeat an incoming opponent.

Sighing as (Y/n) watched another guy being transported towards the village doctor because of severe injuries (Y/n) dragged Ban over to her side, tugging him down as to whisper into his ear. "Ban, watch your strength. You don't know who can be here, watching us." Letting go of the towering male, Ban only chortled as he disheveled (Y/n) hair with fond eyes looking down at her figure.

"Don't worry 'bout nothing, (Y/n)—no one is going to hurt you. Not as long as I'm alive." Retracting his hand away from her hair, (Y/n) only groaned in displeasure. "Well, while you're at it, at least make sure that no one damages any more bones-" Sweat dropping as she watched Ban dash away cheerfully (Y/n) turned her body as she saw an exhausted King rushing to them.

"Come on, Captain! I know you're doing this for fun!"

"Nonsense! Do I look like I'm having a good time?" Nodding his head in accord with his statement, (Y/n) also silently agreed. 'I have known Master for as long as I can remember, and this is like some kind of contest to see how long his blows can be withstood against a healthy human.'

"Listen, King. If we win, we get Diane's sacred treasure, Gideon. Don't you want to see the smile on her face?"

Hearing this reason, King thought for a moment. While he wished to make Diane delighted, he didn't think that this would be much worth practically getting beaten to a pulp by a multitude of hulking men. The abuses for just a simple thing? Ludicrous and a waste of energy.

Catching the fairies reluctance (Y/n) inclined her head to the side, slightly perplexed. 'He should have agreed to win first place with valor by now. In fact—he should have already commenced taking part in the contest. Is he perhaps... sick? Now, what in the nine realms would ever make him sick enough to not think about Diane? Brain damage? Yeah... but even then-'

"(Y/n)! Come and join me! You and I can win first prize together!" Shifting her attention over towards King, (Y/n) swayed her head. "I'm afraid I must stay by Meliodas' side, King. I can, however, cheer for you on the side—if you don't mind, of course." Slightly disheartened by her rejection, King instantly perked up as he discovered she would cheer for him.

Fantasies of her applauding for him vehemently and lovingly as she jumped up and down with a magnificent smile infested his mind, and soon enough he was jogging around the arena, as a suppressed strength everyone never knew he had appeared.

Humming at the sight, (Y/n) tuned around only to realize that Meliodas was gone from her side. In a moment of hysteria (Y/n) twisted and turned here and there, seeking to find him with her eyes only for both his trail and scent to be gone from her range of detection. With creeping worry gnawing her mind (Y/n) pushed men after men out of the arena as she sprinted around, pursuing to locate Meliodas not even knowing that she had single-handedly taken out the irrelevant players leaving the right amount of people to be in the next round.

"Meliodas? Meliodas! Where are you-!"

"I'm underneath you!" Quickly looking under her dress (Y/n) sighed in relief, the worry that plagued her mind now waning as she massaged his soft locks in contentedness. "Captain, you had me quite worried. Are you alright?"

"Yes. Actually, I'm more than okay!"

While (Y/n) was blissfully cooling down her nerves Ban shot up to them and snatched Meliodas away from her, traveling back towards the edge as he sought to throw him out of the ring only for Meliodas to force his feet on the ground, pressing his feet down as he glared up at Ban. A silent conflict for power ensued as the two grappled to catch one of them off balance. Any way to make the other fail.

Watching as the two clashed silently (Y/n) knew not to bother her Master, she wandered away and took care of more relevant matters. Like the fact that there was one person who was continually trying to tug down Shinso's hood; someone who made it to the final round, she believed.

"Come on, I just wanna take a peek!"

"I told you no. How many times does your puny brain have to comprehend this-"

"How can he comprehend it if he doesn't have a brain? Please, allow me." Gripping the male from the hair, (Y/n) packed her hands with his locks as she whirled him around for a few seconds, neglecting the buoying crowd before she let go of him, the man landing on top of a cluster of people in a stupor.

Looking away from the scene (Y/n) glanced back to Shinso and dusted off any dust that showed on his cloak. "Next time make sure to take care of pigs, alright? Not being able to protect yourself is the deadliest mistake you can ever commit in this reality." With that being said (Y/n) strode away as Shinso's eyes trailed to her figure, his orbs dim.

"She's a badass, or just emotionless? Probably both." Jabbing Denki on the ribs, Izuku looked up at Shinso and smiled, his freckles kindling up like dozes of little stars as he did so. "(Y/n) is kind when you think about it, but alas—we haven't been able to hang out with her as we would like to. She's always by Meliodas' side, looking after him." Explaining their dilemma, Shinso nodded his head, no longer gawking at (Y/n) but down at Izuku.

"I'm sure she has a proper reason, Izuku. I promise you that."

˜"*°•.˜"*°• ---- •°*"˜.•°*"˜

"So, who is still in the ring?"

Scanning around the ring, (Y/n) estimated in her head as she noted that there were only eleven people there. Definitely not enough for an even match, that's for sure. 'I'm pretty sure that King was eliminated.'

"What do we do? That's not enough for the tournament!"

"There's one more who hasn't fallen out of the ring!" Pointing at the floating figure of King, (Y/n) agreed. 'Thought he was out for the count.'

"That was close..."

"No fair! He's floating!"

"He's disqualified!"

Suddenly, Love Helm intercepted their disputes, his iconic smile still plastered on his small, circular face. "I admit that it's playing dirty, but no weapons are being used! Therefore, I'll allow it!" Sounds of protest soon followed as everyone already shunned King, clearly not rooting for his win in future events.

"Good for him, winning by playing dirty." Hiding his growing smirk behind his smile, Ban stood behind (Y/n) as he calmly braided her hair. "Way to cheat!" Giving King a thumb's up, Meliodas gave him a smile of approval. "Smart."

"Is it really cheating?"

"Cheat or no cheat, people have to do anything to win. So whatever goes, I suppose."

"Alright, now we will hold the lottery for the finals! The twelve finalists, please come to the waiting room!"

Stepping inside the hut per Love Helm's directions, (Y/n) walked beside Meliodas, quietly examining the hut from where they were in. "Now, draw lots! The first round will be fought between contestants who draw the same letter!" With a cup supplied with twelve straws placed on top of his head, the first one to go up was the slightly familiar—but mysterious—girl that (Y/n) bumped into one time when she was attempting to avoid a crying topless man.

"I'm looking forward to showing you my skills, (Y/n). You'll swoon for me and soon, will fall deeply in love with me!" Enclosing his arms around her neck, (Y/n) ignored his comment and nudged him away. "The only love I hold now is the love to defeat you in our future match." Chuckling at her words, Ban went to say more only for Meliodas to place her in front of him, separating them further from one another.

"I think I will enjoy that as well, Ban."

"Ouch... all of his stress is killing my stomach."

"I will now announce the fight cards!"

Standing beside King as (Y/n) helped soothe his aching stomach, (Y/n) halted for a moment as she caught the worlds of the referee. 'Ah, yes, I came here to blow off some steam.'

"The first pairing is Grimoire vs. Matrona!"

"That's the girl from earlier!"

"I've never heard of her, but it's a big world out there!"

"She seems quite familiar..."

Noticing that the mysterious woman reacted to her statement, (Y/n) interest became piqued.

"The second pairing is Howzer vs. Don't ask!"

(Y/n) chuckled silently, her eyes amused. "What kind of ridiculous nickname is that?"

"Yours."

"What?"

"Howzer..." Flinching in recognizing the person before him, King's eyes enlarged as he stared at the buff figure of the passionate male. 'Now I remember. That man is a Holy Knight! I saw him with Gilthunder on several occasions. What's a Holy Knight doing at a festival like this? Things will get complicated f he recognizes us.' Upon this awareness, King gasped and shuffled his body over to Ban, his expression urgent.

"Ban! You signed us up for this, right? Tell me you didn't use our real names!"

"Relax, I got that covered."

"Next, the fourth pairing! Cain vs.-"

"Who, me?"

"-Old Fart!"

Laughing at the nickname sung, King didn't notice the dead expression on (Y/n) face. " "Old Fart"? Who has such a terrible name?"

"You do."

He was done.

"Give me a proper name! Curse you!"

"Fifth paring is Mido vs. Taizoo!"

"Sixth pairing is Highlighter vs. Doggy!"

"Okay, you just did him too dirty."

"My name hasn't been called yet?"

"Mine either."

"Then the final paring... Meliodaf vs. Baaaan!"

"Yeah... don't know them."

(ɢᴏᴏᴅ ᴅᴀʏ/ɴɪɢʜᴛ ᴍʏ ʟᴏᴠᴇꜱ!)