Claymore Fan Fiction

Silver-Eyed Warlock

By Kraven Ergeist

Pained. That's the first impression she got when she saw the Awakened Being. He didn't look angry, bloodthirsty, or even all that scary. He just looked pained. He looked at her with eyes that spoke of torment and hardships, his whole malformed body shaking, trembling.

Clare held her ground, not sure what to do. This was clearly an Awakened Being, and a male at that. He must have been ancient – older than the earliest days of the organization. Yet he wasn't ranked among the Abyssal Ones – how could that be? An Awakened Being, having lived for so long, the only way to have survived without being hunted and killed, if not by Claymores than by fellow Yoma…was to go into hiding.

Her sword felt heavy. Should she attack? It could be a trick. Perhaps that mask of grief and pain was just a shroud to lure in the unresolved. Such as herself, it seemed. Clare stood her ground, poised to strike, but still refrained from approaching, whether out of fear, uncertainty, or pity, she was unsure.

She wished Miria were here. She wished Helen and Deneve and the others hadn't been out, settling old scores, taking care of unfinished business. As she herself was doing. Clare cursed. There was a reason Claymore's stuck together. In situations like these, anything could happen, and Clare just didn't know what to do.

She took a step back as the Awakened Being let out a primal roar, a roar that shook the surrounding trees, its mouth agape. It wasn't all that large, but it was loud. And its voice carried more of that pained feeling. It collapsed onto its knees (or what accounted for knees), closed fists pounding the earthen road beneath it.

Clare frowned. What was it doing? Could it even see her? Why was it acting so…so…

Human?

Then she saw, strapped to the Awakened Being's back, a sword. Not a claymore, like the one's she and her fellow warriors carried. It was smaller, lighter, easier for scrawny human to carry with relative ease.

Clare felt her blood run cold.

"You…"

Her eyes went gold without thinking, her sword in hand coming to the beast's neck in a blink as she lunged the creature, throwing it onto its back, her sword pinning its neck to the ground.

"What have you done with him!?" Clare demanded. "Tell me what you did to the owner of that sword!"

If the Awakened Being hadn't seen her before, it saw her now. And to her surprise, it didn't thrash or try to bat her away. In fact, its muscles were slack and unmoving, eyes fixated on her with something akin to shock.

Clare closed her eyes. She didn't want to see the proof of the reality that was before her. She couldn't. Not after seven years of searching, could she possibly live with herself, knowing this was the result.

"Raki…"

Taking her hand off her sword, she touched the side of the Awakened Being's face. There, just above its left eyes, was a diagonal scar that marred his suddenly familiar face.

"Raki…"

The Awakened Being seem to tremble, before his face began to take a more natural color, slowly regaining the appearance of the human he had once been.

"C…Clare…"

Whether the truth had truly sunk in, or she assumed it was all a dream, Clare wasn't ready to dwell on just yet. What she did next, whether logic or reason entered the equation, she did out of sheer panic.

Their lips touched and parted, and Raki felt her tongue slide into his mouth. It was such a jolt, such a shock to the part of him that had nearly forgotten, that he barely felt the Yoki suppressant pill that she forced down his throat.

Then consciousness slipped away as Raki's body erupted into shockwaves as power released from his body. Clare was thrown back, gasping in horror, as she realize what she might have just done. The chemicals within the Yoki suppressant pills had never been tested on an actual Yoma, and in all likelihood, weren't meant to be used on one. Whether or not there existed any remaining scrap of humanity within Raki, she had probably just killed him.

"Raki!"

The scream of torment echoed across the horizon as the aura around the Awakened Being blazed red and then blue, and then finally began to wither and die down. As the blinding light subsided, Clare gasped in surprise.

It couldn't have actually worked…could it?

But dressed in rags, sword clinging pathetically to his back, Raki fell to his knees, before tumbling forward onto the dirt road.

"Raki!"

Clare got to her feet and rushed over to the fallen form, checking for signs of life. Satisfied that the human boy had somehow survived, she slung him over her shoulder, made her way down the pathway, and began to think.

How? How had Raki become an Awakened Being? The answer, of course, was glaringly obvious. His hair was ghost white, just like hers. And his eyes, while lidded, she was sure were silver. He had somehow become half Yoma. The first male half Yoma in years.

But how? The organization would never allow that. Never mind how he had found the organization to begin with, they would never make a male Claymore.

Unless…had they decided to try again? Perhaps they thought they could suppress the drive that arose within males to awaken – which, if that were the case, they were obviously wrong, as Raki had clearly awakened…

Which gave Clare a startling realization. Yoki suppressant pills had the power to make Awakened Beings regress. The organization must have known about this. Why hadn't they capitalized on it? Made it into a weapon, either an aerosol, or a liquid to coat their swords? Why?

So many questions flooded Clare's mind. And none of them would be answered by asking herself. She had to get back to the others. But first, she had to find shelter. Raki may have survived the transformation, but out here, he could very easily die of exposure.

Raki…

She looked back at his unconscious face. He had changed over the years – grown, matured. And his hair now shone a silvery blond, much like her own. She fought down the bile rising in her gut. Why had he done something so foolish? No, maybe it hadn't even been his choice. But no matter whose fault it was, the fact of the matter was, she now had a male half human, half Yoma on her hands, who could very well awaken at any given moment in time. She would have to be careful. She only had so many pills left, with no immediate means of obtaining more…

Clare let out a sigh. Nothing could be decided until Raki woke up.

xxxxx

Clare found a suitable cave just as it began to rain. Unable to make a fire, she held the unconscious boy in her arms to keep him warm, her cape draped over his shoulders. Holding him like this, she could almost forget what was happening, how she had found him, how he had changed. She could remember the times they'd shared, the way he'd stood up for her, the devotion he'd showed her, the smile he always gave her…

Then she saw the changes, and she suddenly felt bitter cold. Holding onto him tighter, she tried to forget, tried to go back to those simpler times, when she hadn't been on the run, and Raki had been at her side…

"Clare…"

The boy trembled in her arms, and Clare remained still, watching his eyes flicker open.

Her heart sank – but really, she shouldn't have been surprised – when she saw the silver of his eyes. Had the pill she had given him not been enough to suppress his powers beyond that of a Claymore? Perhaps a second was in order. But first, answers.

"Are you awake?"

Raki blinked, looking around, before his eyes finally came to Clare's.

"Clare…" his voice was a whisper, his mouth curving into a trembling smile. "I…finally…found you…"

"Raki…" Clare stroked his hair out of his eyes, before her smile slowly subsided. "What happened to you?"

Raki's expression fell as he slowly guessed what she meant.

"I'm sorry…" Raki closed his eyes. "It was the only way."

"What was?" Clare asked fiercely. "What's happened to you?"

Raki breathing hitched, his voice still a whisper. "You were right, Clare…you were right all along… No human would ever be able to protect you. No human could help you or keep you safe. But a Claymore…"

"Idiot!" Clare seized his shoulders, slamming him violently against the ground, causing him to wince in pain. "How could you do something like this!? You idiot!"

Raki looked up at her in shock. "Clare…"

"Don't you realize what you've done?" Clare sobbed, shaking her head, eyes clenched. "Don't you realize what you're risking? Don't you realize that at this very moment, you run the risk of awakening!? If that happens, I'm going to have to kill you! Do you think I'd want that!?"

Raki couldn't say anything. He couldn't move. He could barely breath.

"This isn't what I wanted…" Clare felt tears build around her eyes. "Not this…"

Raki was crying now too. "I'm…I'm sorry Clare…but I just didn't see any other way…"

Clare wiped her eyes. "Who did this to you? Was it the organization?"

Raki shook his head. "No…it was Isley."

Clare felt her heart stop. "Isley?"

Of course! It made perfect sense now. Who else would want a male half Yoma who would almost certainly awaken? But if this were true…it also meant that the Abyssal Ones had the power to create Claymores too, a power though only to belong to the organization. Did the organization know about this?

"You…you kept your promise…" Raki said, breaking her concentration. "You stayed alive."

Clare stared at him, scowling. He had technically kept his too, but not under the conditions she was expecting.

"You idiot…" she shuddered, looking away. "You stupid idiot…"

She felt Raki's arms wrap around her, and as angry as she was, she couldn't push him away, nor deny the feeling the arose deep within her abdomen.

"I missed you so much…" Raki sobbed, embracing her tightly.

Clare's eyes closed. "Damn you…" she shuddered again, holding onto his arms. "Why'd you have to do this? This isn't what I wanted…"

"I'm sorry…" Raki breathed. "But I promised you…one day…that I'd be strong enough to protect you…"

Clare felt her tears flow freely now. "Damn you… God damn you…"

"Please…don't cry, Clare…" Raki embraced her, pulling her close to him, and Clare had to fight to keep her sanity.

"Raki…" she gasped as her body suddenly felt warm. "Damn it…why?"

"Because…" the boy trembled in her arms, staring into her eyes, too many emotions to keep track of. "I…you…Clare…"

He didn't get a chance to finish the thought as Clare brought her lips to his. He didn't need to finish it. She knew. She knew, since the moment of their first kiss, and she knew at the same instant, that she would never forgive him for making her feel this way about him.

"Damn you, Raki…" she sobbed once again, tears in her eyes and a smile on her face. "What took you so long?"