The Experiment
Luna Silvereyes
A/N: If I told too much about this story here, then it'll give everything away. I'll just let you read it and see for yourselves what you think.
It was late in the afternoon when she arrived. The village had been expecting them. She'd been summoned the past week by the chief in response to the five vicious and gory attacks by Yoma living in the village somewhere. Two old men, a woman and two children had lost their lives to this monster all in a week. The chief knew that Yoma didn't usually feed this much and for some odd reason, four of the five corpses had barely been touched. They'd simply been torn to shreds in the usual manner; entrails torn and lifeless lying beside the body and mangled almost beyond recognition.
The village had never seen a Claymore warrior before. They weren't sure what to expect. So when the tall, unnaturally slim, platinum-haired woman appeared at their entrance gates, they were speechless with wariness. Many villagers took to their heels screaming, especially when they saw her companion who walked calmly beside her, not looking at any of them. Her companion focused straight ahead toward the opposite side of town.
As she slowly made her way in, there was a sharp metallic clank as something came undone from her armor and her sword clattered to the ground. She hissed.
"Damn it, what on earth is wrong with that thing?" she grumbled.
A teenage boy from the crowd crept out and cautiously reached down for it. She eyed him warily, but made no move to stop him as he grasped the handle and attempted to hoist it up. Her companion's eyes narrowed.
Immediately, the boy grunted and strained as he realized the sword was immensely heavy. He succeeded in merely lifting the hilt and literally dragging it over to her, offering it back.
"H-Here." He growled, obviously straining. She nodded to him and grasped the sword with her right hand, lifting it effortlessly.
"Thank you," she said blandly, "I must remember to get my scabbard fixed. In the meantime, where may I find your chief?"
But the boy didn't answer. He was staring at her companion who watched him with a mix of curiosity and malice, resulting in the most eerie look imaginable. She glanced from her companion to the boy and attempted a reassuring smile.
"Relax. He's harmless. I don't, however, appreciate repeating myself."
The boy gulped and bowed.
"R-Right this w-way!" he stammered. He scampered ahead, putting distance between himself and her companion.
He led them to the hut of their chief, an elderly, wizened man deep in age. He was nearly blind and relied on his wife for descriptive details.
"It's the Claymore we sent for, dear," she said in a hoarse voice, trembling behind her husband. The old man looked up, squinting as though he could truly see.
"The Claymore, is it?" he wheezed. "There was no need to tell me, Tessa, for I felt the black essence. Tell me your name, Claymore, as well as your rank, that I may be assured they sent us a true savior and not a blundering buffoon."
"I am Winona, number 10 in the organization. I may be the weakest of the ten best fighters, but rest assured, old man, I will slay the Yoma. I trust you have my pay prepared?"
Tessa handed her husband the bag of money. Winona could see that there was less than enough for the Yoma she was to kill, but she decided not to say anything. The organization owed her a favor; they could sort out the financial mess later.
"Kill this Yoma as soon as you are able." The chief told her.
"I will kill it whenever circumstance allows, old man." Winona retorted. As she turned, she saw that several people were staring fearfully at her companion. Her companion kept watching them and then looking at her for guidance.
"Just keep your head low." She said.
Her companion just grumbled.
Winona wandered outside and closed her eyes, pretending to be taking a few seconds to readjust her eyes from the darkened chieftain's hut, but really scenting the air for the Yoma aura.
"Do you sense it?" her companion asked.
"Yes," she replied. "It's very close. And there are two auras. They must be in competition over this village. Kill two birds with one stone, right?"
Her companion nodded.
"Shall I take out the second one?"
Winona hummed. "The second aura is dawdling on the rooftops. This Yoma seems cowardly. It's waiting for its rival to strike first so it can measure our power from a safe distance. I wonder if it knows I could take it out with no trouble whatsoever?"
"Are their intentions going to cancel one another out? Damn." Her companion snarled. Winona smirked.
"Not necessarily," she said as a crowd began to gather around them, "I can tell."
"Tell what?"
"That one," she whispered so quietly only her companion proved capable of hearing, "Is mere feet away from us."
Her companion's eyes narrowed.
"What would you have me do?"
"Keep watch. It may take a hostage if threatened in such a tight crowd. We must be silent, now. The villagers will hear us."
She turned and scanned the faces of the crowd. Then she started forward, following the aura and looking at each and every person, staring him or her down and then ultimately moving on to the next.
"What do you think you're doing?" a man in the crowd cried out. "Do you believe that one of us is the Yoma?"
Winona snorted. "Honestly, do you mean to tell me that this is the first time this village has seen a Yoma?" she yelled.
No one moved to reply so she sighed irritably.
"I get it." She muttered. "This village has remained untouched by Yoma for so long, been the envy of so many victimized towns for so long that when an attack finally does happen, you're too proud to say anything until you've already lost over five people. I'll bet some of you here didn't even know what Yoma are."
Several people, mostly women, pulled children away and didn't face her. Winona felt queasy at their idiocy. They believed that by ignoring the Yoma's existence they could somehow protect their children from them. Pathetic.
As she approached an elderly man, what appeared to be his son and a small girl holding their hands, she realized that she was about to prove to them how impartial the Yoma really were.
"Well," she mumbled. She reached back and drew her sword, brandishing it before them.
First the old man.
And then the young man.
The little girl followed the sword's movements. Her eyes wide with fear. The two men also seemed terrified. Winona frowned.
"Everyone back away now." She ordered. Most of the townspeople did and her companion saw to it that stragglers did too by giving them a glare that would freeze hell over.
It was perplexing. All three individuals carried the scent of Yoma, but the aura was exceptionally weak and she couldn't tell which one possessed it. The aura seemed the strongest around the young man and she aimed the blade at his face.
"Wait!" the little girl exclaimed. "Don't kill my daddy! He can't be the Yoma!"
Winona glanced down at the child and felt a slight tug in her heart at the girl's face. But she refused to let it show on hers.
"Forgive me, child." She said quietly. But as she prepared to strike, she stopped. The aura had suddenly become unbearably strong, the scent overpowering. It occurred to her then that the Yoma she sought had possessed neither man and that she'd almost made a grave mistake.
She scowled and then with a lash of her arm, smashed the flat side of the blade against the child's head, sending her flying back into the dirt street, stunned.
Several women began to scream and the man yelled, horrified as he tried to run to his daughter's side.
"Tamara! Tamara!" he cried. Winona blocked his path with her sword as she stared at the girl getting to her feet and sobbing.
"Daddy!" she wailed, tears streaming down her face. But now, it was over. Through the tears, Winona could see the glimmer of gold showing in the child's eyes. The tears were indeed coming from the girl, but only from what little remained of her psyche. Everything else had been taken by the Yoma. The child, Tamara, no longer existed in this world.
"Stay back," Winona told the stricken father. "That is no longer your daughter."
"No!" he cried. "No, it can't be! She can't be a Yoma! I'd know! I'd know if she was a Yoma!" he insisted, bordering hysterics.
"No, you wouldn't. A Yoma in disguise can fool family, friends and villagers alike. Your daughter was merely a victim in cruel circumstance."
And with that, she strode forward toward the little girl who had fallen back down and stared up at her with a demonic grin, sharp serrated teeth and fierce gold eyes glowering up at her.
"Silver-eyed witch." The Yoma growled sadistically. Winona ignored her and with one slash, sliced the head from the slender neck, ending it. The body slumped to the ground, crackling as the Yoma energy escaped through the killing wound. Instantly, the child's body turned black, something Winona found quite interesting as she'd never seen it happen before.
The man, sobbing hysterically, charged forward and enveloped the girl in his arms.
"No. No. No. No." he kept saying, stroking her hair and shaking uncontrollably. "Tamara! Tamara!"
Winona turned to her companion and whispered, "Go after the other one yourself. I will stay and collect our pay."
"All right. But remember to get me something to eat this time."
"I will. Don't worry."
"Don't forget like you did last time."
With that, she was alone, despite being in a large crowd. She turned suddenly as a man approached carrying the bag containing her pay.
"I don't need it." She snapped.
"H-Huh?" he stuttered.
"A strange man in black will come to collect my fee. Make sure you give it to him only. If the organization doesn't receive what's due them, we won't come to assist you next time."
She sheathed her sword. "I'll rest here for a day or so. I only require one thing that should be simple to provide."
"What would that be?" the man asked, shaking.
"A pig. Make sure it's alive and squealing. Understood?"
The man appeared dumbfounded, but nodded once. As she turned to walk toward the inn, he stopped her.
"I simply have a question, miss." He said.
"Yes?"
"You kill the Yoma as a Claymore. But may I ask, why do you travel with a Yoma?"
//ooo//
Winona sat by the window of her room gazing out into the street below. The man whose daughter had been taken by the Yoma was still down there, unmovable and grieving. She'd probably just killed the last of his family. Judging by how he'd reacted, he probably lost everyone he ever loved to Yoma save for his child, Tamara. In a way, it was upsetting. But it was none of her business.
She glanced at her companion, remembering the man's words toward her.
"You kill the Yoma as a Claymore. But may I ask, who do you travel with a Yoma?"
It was a question she'd been asking herself ever since that first day. Why did she travel with a Yoma?
But then she remembered the first day. And she always found the answer she was searching for, replacing the doubt brought on by the people she protected.
She watched as the Yoma devoured the pig a few feet away. The thing had only just stopped squealing, as he'd decided to play with it a few minutes before killing it.
She watched with little expression as he ripped it open and tore it apart from the inside out.
"You're such a messy eater." She complained. "You're getting blood all over this nice wooden floor. I'll bet the people here are suspicious enough of me as it is."
The Yoma glared at her in irritation.
"Oh, like you're any better. When you do eat, you're even worse than I am. Don't be harping on me while I'm eating."
He resumed his business and Winona sighed.
"You never change, do you Gannon?" she muttered.
"Blah." He grumbled, his mouth stuffed.
Winona ignored him and stared out into the horizon over the town. Thinking about what that man said, she closed her eyes, trying to block out the doubts about what she was doing…again.