Reunion
Disclaimer: I don't own Claymore or any of the characters used or anything affiliated with them that would go to Norihiro Yagi of course. This is purely a fan fiction with no intent at profit and created solely for the enjoyment of fellow fans of the series. With that said I like Galatea the most and this story will focus on her as it progresses. She does not get enough exposure as evidenced by the few amounts of fan fictions she appears in. And there will not be anything gratuitous here so hopefully more people will decide to give this a look through. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I had in creating this and go Galatea!
A special thanks goes to Supreme Distraction for being a superb beta reader.
Reviews would be appreciated if you have the time.
Spoiler: If you haven't read past chapter 82 in the manga the spoilers can be heavy from the beginning.
Chapter 1 Return
Seven figures dashed through the rain; the naked eye barely able to keep pace with them. All of them were wearing cloaks that kept their faces hidden, but even a human would be able to identify they had a powerful aura.
"You're sure she's there Tabitha?" Clare said as she looked back at the ponytailed blonde.
"Yes, although it's faint I'm sure it's her" she answered back. Clare increased her pace as Helen shot her an annoyed look.
"There goes Clare the barbarian rushing into battle again," chided the mischievous, shorthaired woman.
"Give her a break Helen. I'm curious to see if she is still alive after all these years as well" countered the leader of the group, Miria.
They continued their torrid pace through the forest towards one of the few links they had left from the past.
It had been seven years since the disastrous northern campaign had left only seven survivors that reappeared in Rabona. The weather was foul as if crying at the presence of an Awakened Being, accentuating the destruction caused by Agatha. Clare and the others had quickly dispatched the Awakened Being and prevented Galatea from being killed—the very same Galatea that had not been part of the northern campaign and had not been heard from by the other members since she had promised to Clare and Jean that they would meet again someday.
Clare knew that Galatea had failed to bring her back to the Organization after their encounter with Riful of the West and the warrior had been worried that the beautiful woman had been killed for her disobedience. On the other hand, she had met the current number three of the Organization who had replaced Galatea and had been told that the woman was probably alive—deserted from the chaos created seven years ago.
Clare had experience with Galatea's Yoki sensing abilities, but she had still doubted whether or not the warrior was still alive.
Nonetheless, Galatea was in front of her—injured from the battle, but alive. Her regal figure and beautiful hair were the same as always, but there was a terrible scar covering the entirety of where the silver eyes that their kind were known for should have been. Clare considered her a big sister in a way since she had caused so much trouble for her and hadn't really thanked the woman. She was still bleeding from the wounds Agatha and Miata had given her, but considering she was a defensive type, Clare thought she would be alright.
As Cynthia helped Galatea heal with her Yoki, Clare had the urge to ask why the now-unranked warrior had lost her sight, but thought it was rather rude of her to do so. Galatea soon answered her question, however, as a result of questioning from Miria:
"I got hurt because I wanted to live in secrecy in this town. If I wanted to heal it, it would have happened long ago"
"You seem to… not regret it," Miria commented.
"Why should I? To me, this is a place that is more important than light."
While Miria convinced Miata and Clarice—who were chasing Galatea—to desert the organization Clare was left alone to her thoughts. She wondered why the long-haired female would be in Rabona of all places as a nun and using herself as bait to fight an Awakened Being that she had no chance of defeating.
Her thoughts were interrupted by Miria, who began explaining how she believed that the organization was fighting a war outside of their known continent and that they were using this area as a testing ground for Awakened Beings. Galatea seemed as surprised as anyone else, but when Miria was explaining that the organization created male Awakened Beings first as weapons Clare saw a sad smile cross the woman's face.
"Is there something wrong number forty-seven? Or should I say Clare?" Galatea asked suddenly, her face turning towards Clare as Miria finished speaking. Everyone turned to look at the two.
"Uh, no, it's nothing... nothing really, Galatea," Clare said, distracted. She wondered if Galatea had somehow sensed her gaze.
"I thought you looked in my direction that's all" Galatea said. She stood up, healed of her more significant injuries and thanked Cynthia for her help.
"Well, it's about time that we start negotiations with the city. The rest of you should try to relax for a while" The sixth ranked warrior announced, flicking some of the gore off of her claymore.
They dispersed: Tabitha, and Cynthia went with Miria to aid in her negotiating with the city; Deneve, Helen, Uma, and Clare went to the local tavern for some drinks. Clare had wanted to catch up with Galatea, but the woman was already gone by the time she started looking for her.
Helen was making a raucous scene in the tavern, seeming drunk though she could easily filter out the alcohol. For once, Deneve didn't chastise her for her actions. Uma asked Deneve why Helen was in such a happy mood but the slayer knew better—Helen was trying to drown out the revelations that Miria had revealed to them only a couple of hours ago.
At the tavern, Clare met with Sid and Galk, two soldiers from one of her earlier missions in Rabona, and discovered that Raki was still alive looking for her. She couldn't believe her ears—apparently Raki had been in Rabona a mere year or so ago. With a renewed sense of hope Clare felt that her search had not been in vain. Sid told her that Raki appeared to be retracing their footsteps from their original journey to find Clare, therefore, the lowest ranking warrior made up her mind: it was time for her to have a reunion with the boy who had, by now, grown up to be a man.
The other three claymores watched as Clare glided away and Uma was the first to break the silence:
"I think that she may go try and search for him?"
"Yeah, that's what she'll do and Miria isn't going to be too happy about it" Deneve said softly, shaking her head at Clare's tenacity.
"I better go find Raki and see for myself how much he has changed." Clare thought to herself.
"Do you intend to search for that boy and disregard your mission to get revenge on the organization, Clare?" Galatea's voice rang in Clare's ears on her way out of the tavern.
"Ga-Galatea! I was—how did you hear about this?" Clare stammered, looking away from Galatea; She had appeared suddenly and Clare had almost jumped out of her greaves.
"It's alright if you're going to go on your own for a while to search for that boy. Actually, I encourage you to do so," Galatea stated bluntly.
"… Why would you encourage me to disregard the main mission and search for Raki?" Clare inquired, struggling to keep the incredulity from her tone and face.
"Let me tell you the reason why I voluntarily lost my light. Would you be willing to listen? And you should, considering you cut my hair earlier in the day" Galatea said in a rather sarcastic tone that gave her little choice.
Clare had wanted to talk to the blind woman, so she put her pursuit of Raki on hold for the time being. Besides, the only thing she knew was that Raki was somewhere in the west and wasn't really sure of his exact location.
"I'll listen to you, Galatea."
"Good. Let's go back inside, shall we?" Galatea motioned with her left hand. They reentered the tavern with Galatea in the lead.
"Huh? Galatea shouldn't a nun not be in a tavern?" Helen asked, her voice louder than usual. Her face went red, "Hmm… I think I drank too much Deneve."
"Even though Helen is drunk I have to agree," Deneve muttered, annoyed, as she supported Helen.
"I usually wouldn't come here, but I want a place to talk to Clare. Would you mind not listening in on us?" Galatea said as she strode to the back and sat at a table far from the others.
"Sure, Galatea," Deneve mumbled as she helped Helen walk out of the tavern. Uma followed too, sensing a flare of yoki from Galatea that told her to get lost. Clare took a seat in the chair across from Galatea, propping her head on her hands, elbows on the wooden surface before her. Truthfully, she wondered what Galatea could possibly have to say to her. They were the only two people in the tavern besides the owner who looked warily at the Claymore and wondered why she would be with a nun.
"What I am about to tell you is my own story of why I abandoned the Organization and why you see me as a blind nun in this holy city. You will see in the end why I decided to tell you this story before you start to search for that boy," Galatea began, her tone that of someone with painful memories.