HUMANITY

This is a fan-based fiction story inspired by the manga/anime Claymore which belongs to Norihiro Yagi. I, Gothic Rain, do not profit from the making of this fiction in any way, shape or form but the simple entertainment of my fellow readers, writers, and fans of Claymore. I do NOT own Claymore, believe me, I do not want my story deleted for copy-write. That's not on my bucket list, thank you very much. This disclaimer goes for the entire progression of the story.

Now that the disclaimer is out of the way, I would like to acknowledge the fans and readers of the original Humanity which was rewritten into what stands as this story today. The reason for this was because no matter how many ideas my brainstorm conjured I could NOT place a plot with the idea and so I have rewritten Humanity into a new story which I believe should be more interesting in ways soon to be seen.

Note that this story is AU

Chapter One

Tragedy Falls

No one has ever asked her of her past and for Clare as a warrior her background is often to be believed like everyone else's. A yoma destroyed the town or a family and a little girl was taken by the Organization to become a weapon to fight the same creatures that had taken everything from them. Others like the legendary number One, Teresa of the Faint Smile were sold by the people she trusted into the Organization.

Unfortunately, for Clare, her history is unlike any other warrior's story. A past that caused her to shut her emotions off as well as hide the real warrior from the world in fear of losing another part of her soul to the world.

Her life had begun in a little town called the Village of Ame where it rained five days a week and never saw the light of the sun directly. Her home was a little cabin close to the sea only protected from the vast waters by the large boulders that pushed the green waters back. Like most families she had a mother and a father whom she loved like any child would naturally love their parent.

The person Clare was closest to at the time had been her older brother Hotaru however. The Village of Ame was no special case when it came to the actions of the villagers. There will still thugs and drunken men that haunted the night and the few nights where Clare got a little too caught up in fun when she was walking home her brother would be there to protect her from the desires of the other men.

At the time Clare had been given a different name from her parents, as she was their little Amaya which meant "night rain". Most of the children at the Village of Ame had been given names in relation to the village itself, and in Clare's case she had been born during a rainy day like most children but at night hence the translation. Her brother however was "firefly" for the little torch bugs that flew around the two remaining days that hardly ever rained and gave the tiny bugs an opportunity to come out and light the night in yellow, green, and orange lights.

To Clare's father, Hotaru made the day's a little brighter because her brother never let anything get to him. She's never seen her brother be anything but happy and Clare had always had her older brother watching out for her no matter what mess she had gotten herself into. Her well-known reckless nature had been as much apart as Clare from when she lived a normal, human, and happy life to a warrior of the Organization.

Like all warriors however that happy life would quickly be lost and come to an end. Tragedy struck on a day that nearly flooded the entire village. Lightning and thunder struck relentlessly throughout the day and by the end of the storm five bodies had been found torn apart in the streets. The storm had given the intruder, a yoma, the advantage and was able to kill without worry that the screams would identify its attacks.

Suddenly the carefree town was rendered terrified and doors were locked, windows boarded, and children were hardly allowed outside. Wife's were left in constant worry for their husbands whom went out to work throughout the town. Jobs had become scarce in fear that they might accidentally hire the yoma in disguise but of course the humans were not well versed in the lore of yomas.

The yoma could've been disguised as anyone at that point.

But the Village of Ame was naïve and unaware of the great danger that had invaded their town. No one was any wiser than the next villager. In Clare's case however, she was left unbothered by the tragedy that had fallen over the village when it had come to her going out to play in the village. She did worry for her father somewhat but didn't see why she should wait like a sitting duck inside the cabin of her home.

And so, Clare could be seen as the only child skipping through the village and playing hopscotch. She never got to play with the other children anyways because her older brother always scared them off with his over-protectiveness but that never bothered Clare. She liked playing alone because it allowed her to take her imagination beyond heights.

She would imagine that she was steed running through the village as fast as the lightning of the storms with her hoofs hitting the dirt as loud as thunder. She would be strong enough to jump over building or knock houses over (preferably the Hayashi family, she wasn't too fond of the twins).

She would be able to run through forests and see the world like she's never seen it before. She-

"Hey, it's the loser! Midori come check this out!" Clare suddenly stopped from where she was running and turned around to see the twin devils themselves. Midori and Misaki Hayashi, the black haired and green eyed girls. The reason these girls were always after her and making fun of Clare was because of her unusual hair color. Most of the citizens of the village have black hair, tan skin, and green eyes. The Hayashi family were perfect examples of these traits. Almost all of the citizens in Ame were also rather tall but they were not the tallest in the land.

Clare had been told of a village not to far from Ame that had pointed ears like the mythical elves and were very tall as well. Her mother constantly tried to get her to drink milk whilst saying her famous words of "milk makes you tall and strong" but when she looked at her brother who always had a bad reaction to drinking milk and thus never could drink it, grew bigger than most of the men in the village but was also covered in muscles from his work in construction.

As reckless as Clare was she was even more stubborn and instead of responding to Misaki's taunts as the girl wanted her to she merely stomped her foot and gave the girls an unimpressed look.

"What's with that look, tomato head?"

She smiled at the ridiculous nickname the twins had given her that was probably meant to be insulting but instead she had found it rather funny. When Midori finally caught on to her amusement she reacted rather like Clare had expected her to do.

"Saitei bitch! No big brother to save you now," Midori yelled before shoving Clare hard in the shoulder causing her to fall over.

"Haha, look Misaki! The stupid fool is trying to get back up!" Midori laughed before kicking Clare in the navel, knocking her back on the ground after she tried to get back up.

"As red as a tomato and easily stomped on like a tomato!" Midori taunted before pulling at Clare's auburn red hair.

"That's enough!" A deep voice shouted out causing Midori and Misaki to freeze in their bullying of Clare. When she looked up she found her brother quickly approaching and smiled despite the situation which made the twins clench their teeth in anger.

"Hotaru? Hotaru!" Clare said happily in sight of him. When he came to a stop beside the three, Clare expected him to give his usual fearsome speech by standing in front of her and advancing slowly on the twins as he would usually do. This time, instead he stood beside Clare and looked down at her with a look she had never seen in his eyes before.

"Go home," he told the twins with a fearsome glower causing the two to stumble backwards before running away without turning back. The twins had their fair share of talks from her brother to stay and put up a fight.

"Get up," Hotaru commanded after he turned back to her. Clare sent her older brother an odd look before moving to get up only to find a rough knee pushing her back down. "What-what are you doing Hotaru?" Clare asked as she tried to get back up again only to be thrown back to the ground this time.

"You can't always get knocked down all the time, you need to learn to stand your ground so others can't easily hit you while you're down."

"You're not making any sense Hotar- ow!" Clare yelped as she found herself on the ground again but this time with a bloodied lip.

"Get up!"

"Hotaru, what are you-"

"Stay on your feet!"

Clare grit her teeth in anger and when she saw Hotaru's leg lift from the ground to no doubt knock her over again Clare responded by dodging to the side with a roll and quickly got to her feet.

"What's your problem, Hotaru?"

Her older brother merely smirked at her before running at her. Clare watched his movement carefully and the moment her brother's kicking foot lift from the ground Clare leapt backwards but since she was no acrobat she fell on her backside rather clumsily. Fortunately Clare was quick to get back on her feet and rolled under her brother's feet to behind him where she threw a punch at her brother's back.

When nothing happened she froze in disbelief as she realized just how bad an idea her punch was.

"When you're opponent is stronger than you, instead of attacking head-on you need to evade their attacks until you can get close enough to land a fatal blow. My neck, stomach, or eyes would have been a better place to aim rather than my back, as my back is heavily muscled and unaffected by a mere punch. If you wielded a blade and were aiming to paralyze you would need great strength but it would do the trick."

Clare stared at her older brother and could hardly recognize the Hotaru she thought she knew so well.

"How do you know all of this?"

Hotaru smiled at Clare. Instead of answering her question he replied by swiftly turning around enough to lift his right knee up until it was suddenly in front of her face. Instead of hitting her this time he stopped mid-strike and stared at her expectantly. "Block," he commanded.

Slowly, hesitantly, Clare brought her arms in front of her so that her fists were in front of her eyes.

"You're blinding yourself and have too many openings like that. Cross your arms in front of each other to form an 'X' and make sure your palms are facing you. Ball your hands into fists but don't dig your fingers into your skin - you need to keep your fingers firm but relaxed. Make sure your thumbs are laying over your index, and middle finger. Keep your fists clenched enough to feel the skin of your knuckles press against the bones. You need to Keep yours arms extended but not all the way to protect your torso while spreading your elbow apart allowing your movements to be able to change positions more easily."

"When my foot presses against your block, you need to keep your posture straight - there, stay like that, make sure you inhale when I strike to keep your strength up and exhale to push some of the force off your body. Make sure your feet are planted firmly on the ground, the same way they were when you got to your feet after being knocked down."

"After I strike, you can either chose to jump back to plan quickly for your next move or attack immediately but you need to take the weak spots I had pointed out to you and you need to be confident in your strength. If I dodge or you didn't attack hard enough you need to get away from me as far as you can get because you'll be at disadvantage. Lift your feet off the ground and push yourself away from me by using my body as leverage. You need to move faster than me to do this, but after you've made your distance we'll be back on even grounds."

Before Clare could say anything she found Hotaru making his attack as his foot collided harshly against her block but her body did as he had told her even though she was pushed back a few feet, she took the dare and delivered an undercut to her brother's chin and neck before pushing her feet off of his chest to propel herself backwards although not as far as she would've liked and her landed was nothing to smile about but as she rose to her feet and met her brother's eyes she found herself suddenly thinking about Hotaru instead.

"Why are you doing this, brother?" Clare asked, taking large breaths after all her exertion.

"Because," she watched as he moved to stand directly in front of her, even though it appeared as though he was done with his attacks. She startled slightly when he placed his hand on her head and ruffled her hair somewhat. "I won't always be here to protect you, little sister." When Hotaru pulled away, Clare stared in surprise as her older brother walked away, completely confused as to what was going on with him.

He never ruffled her hair like that and never gave her that smile of friendliness, kindness, and longing.

Shaking her head she began to walk home, noticing that it was getting dark and her mother wouldn't be very forgiving if she didn't return home soon, and noticed the twins were staring at her through the window of their home. Clare wondered if they were watching her brother trained her but when she looked back she found that the curtains of the window were now closed and the twins had probably let go of their curiosity surrounding herself and her brother.

As she made her way home she noticed that the wind had picked up considerably and that the waves were building in size and force as they pushed against the rocks near her home. The weather only acted like this when a storm was nearing and it appeared as though it would arrive within the next few hours. As she opened the wooden door of the cabin and stepped inside her home she found her mother at the end of the room in front of the fireplace stirring what Clare was certain was lizard stew.

She had seen her father bring in the giant reptilian just yesterday and it only made sense that they would eat it the next day while it was still fresh. "Mother!" Clare yelled as she ran up to her mother and embraced her tightly once her mother turned away from her cooking. "Amaya dear, haven't I told you that I wish you wouldn't stay outside so long and so late, it's hard enough to see your father out and about with his work but I can't worry about you too."

Clare pulled away from the embrace and looked down at her feet with a frown. "I'm sorry mother but at least I had Hotaru with me!" Her mother looked over at Hotaru who was resting on the bench by the wall with a book in his hand and returned their mother's smile with a kind one of his own. "Yes dear, thank you."

"It's no trouble, mum." Hotaru replied before returning to the chapter of his book. Clare rolled her eyes at Hotaru before moving to the cupboard pull out what she needed to set the table for dinner.

"Hotaru, dear, would you mind heading out back to gather some firewood? I worry that this storm will be lasting all night, if not for a few days. Oh, I do hope your father returns before the storm arrives here."

"Yes, mum." Hotaru said, kissing their mother on the cheek before leaving to go fetch some firewood. Clare moved to sit at her seat at the dinner table having finished setting the table and placed her cheek in her hand after moving her elbows unto the table.

"Mother?"

"Yes, dear?"

"What's going to happen to the yoma in the village?" Clare asked suddenly causing her mother to halt in her ministrations for half a second before continuing as though her daughter's innocent question hadn't affected her.

Her mother sighed before replying, "Well dear, if the village's hunters don't kill the yoma or the yoma doesn't leave by the end of the week I worry we'll have to call in a.. Claymore." She said the end of the sentence with such heavy contempt Clare's eyebrows rose in surprise.

"What's a Claymore, mother?"

The woman put down the ladle before removing the pot of stew from the fireplace and set it on the table to begin pouring it into the bowls for dinner. "A Claymore is a half human, half monster-err yoma who was created by the Organization as they call it to slay yomas."

Clare looked up at her mother in curiosity at her mother's clear distain for these Claymores despite her description of them. "But mother, doesn't that mean that Claymores, even though half yoma.. well they slay yoma and their still human which means that they're good guys, doesn't it."

"I don't believe I would call the people who practically rob villages for their 'service' good," her mother said sourly.

Disheartened, Clare looked down at the table and said dejectedly, "Okay."

Her mother sighed and trailed a finger lovingly down her daughter's cheek. "I'm sorry Amaya, I'm just so stressed by what's happening right now and with your father out there.." she sighed. "I didn't mean to lash out at you like that, forgive me?"

Clare glanced up through her hair to look into her mother's jade green eyes (which she inherited) and found only honesty and love in those eyes and so she nodded with a smile before embracing her mother while whispering, "I forgive you," softly in her ear.

Standing up, Clare went to help her mother set all the filled dishes of food unto the table for four people and just as they finished the back door opened revealing her brother Hotaru carrying a tall pile of heavy firewood causing their mother to gasp. "Dear, isn't that heavy?"

Hotaru smiled at their mother as he set the firewood next to the fireplace and placed a few logs of firewood into the flames before replying. "It's nothing mum, don't worry."

Clare rolled her eyes at her brother while her mother smiled kindly at Hotaru. "Honestly dear, I forget sometimes how fast you've grown up."

"Grown up, please." Clare teased, causing all three to chuckle just as the door opened. "Father!" Clare cheered as she raced toward her father and physically threw herself into his arms. "Ah, my little warrior Amaya! Full of energy as always," he told her as he set her down. "Always have such a strong grip too, have you been helping Hotaru chopping firewood again?"

Clare giggled and pulled her father closer to the table where he was embraced by his wife and shook hands with Hotaru in greeting before they all settled down at the dinner table where the freshly cooked food still had steam rising towards the ceiling.

"Ah wonderful! The food looks amazing as always, and knowing red lizards it should be very flavored - even more so with spices."

Her mother smiled at her husband's chivalry before lighting the candles at the table to give the room more light. They ate in silence for a while after that but it wasn't long until her mother spoke, specifically eyeing Hotaru in worry. "Are you feeling ill, Hotaru? You've hardly touched your plate." Hotaru looked sheepish and scratched the back of his neck, something Clare was unfamiliar with. Usually he ducked his head and mumbled under his breath about their mother being overly concerned with him.

He had been acting strange all day though, maybe he was ill.

"I'm sorry, I suppose I might've worked too long in the rain," Hotaru explained.

Her father nodded. "Yes, that would do it."

Clare's mother sighed and got up to touch her brother's forehead. "Oh dear, you best head up to bed. I'll dry your food so you can have it later," she told him as she took his plate.

"Thanks mum."

As her brother left Clare turned towards her father. "What you do in work today, father?"

The rest of dinner went through with plenty of conversations that left all three of the diners breathless from laughter. As night fell entirely the storm had arrived where thick clouds hailed rain unto the Village of Ame but the villagers slept soundly despite this having been long used to the storm however the first strike of lightning awoke Clare from a restful sleep which was soon filled her with dread as thunder rolled over the lightning.

The yoma last attacked during a storm like this. She wondered if there was family out there being.. attacked by the yoma.

The sound of glass shattering downstairs caused her heart to leap in her chest and she suddenly felt terrified, so scared of what could be happening downstairs. Was the yoma attacking her family? Perhaps her mother or father had dropped a class after being startled by lightning or maybe a tree branch knocked through the window.

Yes, that was probably it. Still, she should probably head downstairs to help clean up the mess if the window was broken.

Slowly rising from her bed, Clare silently walked out of her room without making a sound on the floorboards and was suddenly grateful there was no door to her room. Quietly she slowly tiptoed down the stairs while crouched close to the ground to minimize the noise with her weight. When she finally left the stairs she crept towards the wall that blocked her sight of the dining room and fireplace before slowly peering around the corner, suddenly unsure of herself at that moment.

She was disappointed to see nothing but darkness but still she remained and tried to make any shapes in the room. The window appeared to be unbroken while the rain pelted heavily on its glass. Suddenly thunder roared followed by lightning and Clare opened her mouth in surprise but didn't make a sound as the familiar shape of her brother was revealed by the lightning flash.

She was about to call out to him, ask why he was up so late when he was feeling under the weather when she heard the oddest sound and also found a revolting smell sweep through the room that nearly made her gag. Curious as to what it was Clare decided to move closer and so she tiptoed down the left hallway that would lead her to the area by the fireplace separated by a wall.

Slowly she crept forwards with her arm barely brushing the wall before stopping at the corner that would allow her the perfect view to see what the heck her brother was doing while hiding her presence well enough behind the wall - although the stench worsened in her new location. Unfortunately, being closer to the window allowed her to see just exactly what the stench was coming from by the light of the moon that shone through the room at her angle.

The first thing she noticed was multiple white shards poking upwards in curves, the next thing she noticed was that the wooden floor was stained in puddles of crimson red, and lastly she saw her father's face staring blankly back at her as though he had thrown his head backwards as he screamed before his painful but sudden death.

Tears leaked from her eyes at the sight of carnage of what had become her father. Gone was his warmth and his love while in its place was the chilling touch of death and the pain that was left behind in what was once life.

Almost all of her father's flesh was removed from her father's legs and arms while his throat appeared to be.. gone. He was missing an eye and his hear was matted in his own blood but Clare could still recognize him as her father, even when his torso appeared to have exploded outward with his blood still pouring into the growing puddle of crimson.

She probably would've thrown up had she not been distracted by a muffled scream.

"Please, Hotar-u." Her mother gasped and as Clare crept next to the fireplace she was able to make out her mother on the ground with blood pooling beneath her arm that appeared to have been chewed on. The woman had tears cascading down her face and eyes were as red as freshly brewed wine. Her dress had been ripped down the middle revealing deep gashes through her flesh that were deep enough to cause pain but not enough to kill.

Her mother's mouth was covered by her brother's hand as he tore through the rest of her clothing and grinned, giving Clare clear view of his inhumanly sharp teeth. "So beautiful, I see where your little girl get's her inheritance." Hotaru chuckled and before Clare could so much as blink his claws dug deep through her mother's chest causing a muffled agonized scream before going silent and her body limp.

Clare's eyes were wide in disbelief and undeniable fear as this.. monster feasted on her mother's body like it was a deluxe gourmet dish. It wasn't until the next bolt of lightning that struck nearby that snapped Clare out of her shock and her endless shaking while her eyes narrowed. This wasn't her brother; this was a monster. This monster stole everything from her and she would return the trade by.. doing one of those Claymore's jobs.

She found herself annoyed that Claymores were only for hire, wouldn't it be better if they wondered around like mercenaries? That way they would at least be settled as a part of the village and ready for anything. Nevertheless Clare glanced up and found her brother's wood axe set on the counter top glinting at her as though calling to her.

It was too close to the monster though, and she felt herself growing anxious, and the fire next to her wasn't helping- the fire. Clare slowly crept towards the fireplace and picked up the heavy poker as silently as she could but it had happened to go unnoticed by the.. crunching of bones and digging of her mother's flesh. Her hand tightened on the poker in anger before she slowly crept behind the monster in her home, never hoping more before that it didn't know her approaching presence.

She made sure that her shadow merged with the monster's so it wouldn't give her away before moving the poker back and stared at the head of what should've been her brother. "Why so quiet, little sister?" A soft but deep voice questioned her. Startled, Clare nearly dropped the poker but she did lower it as she stumbled backwards when her brother turned to look at her, blood dripping down his chin.

The worse sight though was the eyes that looked back at her were not her brother Hotaru's.. they were gold and practically glowing in the darkness of the room.

"You.. you killed mother and father!" Clare couldn't help but shout although it didn't have the affect she wanted it to because a loud roar of thunder followed directly after her sentence. There was also the amused grunt from the monster that made her confidence plummet somewhat. "Ah yes, I tried to hold back you see, I really did but I just couldn't help myself any longer.. you all just smelled so good!"

Her hands were shaking, the poker was hardly even in her grip, and she found herself backed against the wall.

"But you, you were my favorite! So much spirit and recklessness inside of you, haha! You reminded me of myself when I was a warrior." The monster told her, smiling at her and Clare had never thought that something had look so wrong on the body of her brother until then.

"What are you-" Clare began only to find her mouth covered by its hand and recognized it as the same hand that had muffled her mother's screams before she died, screaming. "I'm sorry for deceiving you, Amaya. I should've killed you right away and saved you from this scenery, my mother always told me not to play with my food before my village was destroyed. I'm not your brother, he was the first one I killed when I arrived at this town. He was out chopping firewood and I was just so hungry.. I couldn't stop myself."

"Then you came and I didn't have the heart nor the appetite to let you see the remains of your brother and so I hid his body and made myself look like him. I suppose you reminded me of the sister I once had in a life long forgotten. It was cruel of me, I see that now. The selfish part of me wanted to feel human again and it was beginning to feel so real but I was reminded of what I was when I lay in your brother's room feigning sickness and an undying hunger enveloped me. I killed your father blindly and then your mother, because she saw everything. I was going to spare you and disappear that way you would look like the lucky one but then you just had to come down here and see me like this.." The monster explained, pulling away his clawed hand when he was finished explaining.

"What are you?" In truth, Clare had a hundred questions more to ask and none had related to the one that escaped her vocal cords. She wanted to know why he didn't just leave this night if we really meant little harm, why his eyes were gold or how he took over her brother Hotaru's body and had the nerve to strut around as though he were Hotaru after killing him just hours before.

But she also thought of how every little detail she sensed was off about her brother since the moment he scared Midori and Misaki away. He had a fearsome look in his eyes, didn't act quite as Hotaru did, hardly ate, was stronger than Hotaru, and lastly Hotaru never read books. He had too much energy to sit still and little patience for little work. He was so buff from being constantly at work and was always working because it was all her brother knew but also enjoyed.

"I was once a human much like yourself and lived with a mother, father, and my little sister. Then, a horde of yomas invaded our village and I lost everything.. I watched my little sister be eaten by a yoma from where I gazed through the cracks of the attic of where I slept. I only survived because of that crawlspace but my life was short lived in freedom as I found myself taken away by men and black. They turned me into a half human, half monster by forcing yoma flesh and blood inside my body and I trained as a warrior to fight the very thing that had taken everything from me. My home, village, and family."

"I had been ranked number seven by the time I completed the change and became known as 'Wind God Kaori' for my sword technique. In little time I had risen in the ranks and was soon ranked number three only to find myself on a hunting mission for the head of the most recent awakening of our number two. He was Rigardo, and a friend of mine. I though we could take him but he was stronger than anyone could've imagined and before I knew it myself and my team were down and Rigardo was gone. My team was dead and I was on the brink of death but I thought I could heal myself even as an offensive type. I was wrong and was quickly consumed by my own yoki power and had become the very thing I had hunted: an awakened being."

"I was no longer human and had become an entirely different class than humans. Humans were no longer something I protected but rather something I preyed on while killing the very warriors my Organization sent after me as though we hadn't previously been brothers in arms. I'll admit this life feels rather pointless even with this great power but after seeing you, someone that is quite like my little sister when I was human.. I-"

The awakened being sighed and moved away from her to give her a clear view of the destruction he had made of her home as well as the sight of her dined parents.

"This life had never bothered me before. I loved the power and the hunger, the killing and the chaos, or the fear and anger that I caused from those who caught sight of me. The Organization no longer controlled me and I was no longer limited by rules or oaths. People no longer feared that I would become a monster because I was a monster.. I shed my silver armor and my name to become something that was known to be unbeatable. But generations of warriors passed and men became too much a risk to be a warrior and so only females became warriors while newer generations proved to kill awakened beings easily when in hunting groups. Living the life of an awakened being had become much harder and while the abyssal ones began to build their armies I knew I would have little choice if they found me."

"And so, I went into hiding. Only feeding when my hunger became too great however I believe this is as far as I can go. I've become the very monster that took everything away from me.. and I can't bring myself to kill someone who reminds me of my little sister.. Saki."

Clare suddenly realized she was on her knees, sobbing like she never cried before, with her entire body shaking when the situation that she had everything taken from her by this awakened being. Her brother had long since been dead and now her father and mother is dead. She had seen this awakened being monster kill her mother and now it had the nerve to tell her his life story.. to tell her he lost his will to kill by the sight of her seeing him take everything away from her.

Why did he have to come to this village? Why did he have to see her brother as the first human to have as breakfast? Why did he have to become her brother for her sake and kill her parents after being reminded so much of his own family when he had been human. Why did he have to be so human when he was such a terrible monster?

The awakened being sighed in front of her from where he stood at the end of the room. She looked up when something thumped on the ground in front of her and saw her brother's axe lying innocently in front of her with the monster turned back at her.

"I can't end my own life but you can. I don't wish to live this life anymore. My body may no longer be human and perhaps even my mind is too far gone, but I like to believe that my soul is still as human as when I was born. Kill me, little sister so I may rejoin my family, please."

Clare stared at the monster in complete confusion and had never felt so lost before. The world no longer felt like reality, it had become a fantasy with everything so unreal. Her life had been turned around and everything she had ever known or loved was gone within the roar of the storm.

"When I take my true form I will have to use everything I have - all my willpower - to hold my instinct back. Like all awakened beings or yoma alike taking me head would leave me immobile but my body is as much alive even when my head is gone so you'll need to destroy my most vulnerable place in my body, my heart you could call it. Destroy my yoma heart and free my human soul, that is what I ask of you, little sister. You'll find my yoma heart as my spine, severing it in half with that axe and I'll be paralyzed. You'll need to take my head straight after because my awakened body regenerates quickly."

"I can't, I-"

Hotaru smiled at her before ruffling her hair causing her to still her sentence as she stared up at him. This wasn't Hotaru but she knew that this wasn't the monster that had killed her family either. This was Kaori: his human soul.

She swallowed before nodding at him causing him to step back after releasing her. She watched as his body turned grey as his body grew in muscle and depth, his size growing and transforming as a wind swept through the room that was his yoki aura. It was suffocating and heavy but Clare found herself standing strong, stubborn, and breathing.

The roof of her home was destroyed as well as the walls of her home as Kaori took on his true form as an awakened being, towering over her in size while his body had turned into a creature so far from human that Clare knew this was no longer a human at all. And yet, he did as he said and didn't attack her, holding himself back with his human soul.

He appeared to have an awakened form of a furless and heavily build fox with armored skin and claws so long and sharp that Clare couldn't imagine what would happen to her if those claws so much as touched her. His golden eyes stared back at her full of intellect and power, standing so tall that is spine was practically unreachable. Was she supposed to somehow climb up his body?

The awakened being then kneeled, allowing Clare to much more easily see his spine and suddenly filled with determination she reached down and picked up the heavy axe. Grateful that she often went out to help her brother chop wood with the axe now settled in her hands, she found herself carrying the wood and steel over her shoulder as she ran over towards Kaori as fast as she could before grabbing the armored flesh of his awakened being form.

She climbed up his body slowly, trying not to loose her grip or the axe as she held it close to her body, and clenched her teeth as she climbed. A part of her mind whispered if she was dreaming, wondering how her life had changed so drastically that she would find herself climbing up the body of an awakened being to kill it because it asked her to.

A voice stopped her musings though when she was halfway up his body. "Hurry, I can't hold on much.. longer."

Nodding, she hurried her pace up Kaori's body without much thought after that and soon found herself standing on his back. Vibrations went through her feet with every breath he took and Clare decided that Kaori was still human, right now. And if not human, a good person because he had the conscious to hold himself back and feel remorse: a classic human emotion.

"Do it," the awakened being growled.

"Arg!" Clare brought the axe down and hardly made a dent but continued to bring the wood axe down repeatedly despite the sweat growing on her forehead and her body suddenly covered in aching pain. She brought the axe down a final time and let out a sigh of relief when she heard the bone snap and the awakened being let out a roar of agony before his entire body went slack - paralyzed.

She looked down at her body and found it stained in purple blood before - as though in shock - walking towards the neck of this foxlike body. When she reached it, Clare found herself grateful to discover that rather than needing to chop through its entire neck there were three thick strands that connected its head to its body and by severing them Kaori would be beheaded.

As Clare pushed her body to its limits as she brought the axe down repeatedly she wondered what kind of weapon warriors used to slay yoma. Were they wielding Claymores? That would explain the name but then is that what they're called or do they just call themselves 'warriors' as Kaori explained. By the time the second strand was cut her body collapsed backwards and her chest heaved as she tried to catch her breath.

Her dress was now stained purple in his blood where no speck of pink could be seen as its original color. Sweat was stinging her eyes and her face was read from exertion. Clare remembered Kaori's words to her, his commands to get up and with a push on shaky arms and legs she found herself wobbling to stand, but she did succeed.

However when she went to pick up the axe she found all the strength in her arms gone, not even her shoulders could be felt under its strain. Turning back towards its neck after abandoning the axe as a lost cause she tried to tug at the strands with her hands but when that proved to be useless she fell to her knees and cried.

"I don't know what to do!" She sobbed having never felt so helpless in her entire life.

"Amaya," Kaori whispered in his soft, deep voice causing her to look up from her tears. "Don't cry," he said in his growling voice and yet despite this, Kaori came off as really kind to Clare. "When you had a human body, I imagine you were a nice guy, like Hotaru." Clare whispered as she wiped her tears away.

Clare couldn't see it but the awakening being smiled somewhat despite its paralyzed state and closed his eyes with a soft but pleasant sigh.

"Thank you, Kaori." She said, somehow knowing that the awakened human believed in her. She could do this, she knew she could.

Slowly she lowered her head down towards its neck and did something she never thought she would ever do.. she began to eat away at the awakened being's flesh in order to sever his head from his neck. His flesh tasted absolutely foul and she distantly wondered how Kaori or any living thing could crave the taste of flesh if it tasted like this but she prevailed her taste buds and dug in.

By the time she had finished the last strand the heat of the storm had passed and only a light rain remained. As the strand was severed his entire head fell to the ground with a quiet thud while a soft whispered went away with the wind of the sea, "Saki."

Clare slid from the body of the dead awakened being and landed softly on the wet grass. She wiped her mouth before looking at the face of Kaori's awakened form and placed her hand on his muzzle with mixed emotions flowing inside of her.

"I don't know if I should thank you or yell at you in anger and fear for what you've taken from me as an awakened being. You said you had been a warrior though who had fought against beings like you had become. You always had a good heart, and I know now that you did not mean to become this. A monster had stolen my family but that was the shell of who you really were and I'm happy I got to see the real Kaori before you died. Thank you," Clare softly said before moving away and walked towards the sea, not prepared to return to the ruins of her home just yet.

When she reached the rocks she practically threw herself into the water and washed the blood and pain from the recent even from her body before peeling away her blood-stained dress and attempted to wash it in the sea. Realizing that blood was a stain Clare gave up and released the dress where it sunk beneath the waves before ducking her head into the water to wash her hair and face.

Once clean, Clare lifted herself from the water and returned to her home, grateful to that night that cloaked her nudity. As she stood in front of what remained of her house she suddenly felt like a ghost and imagined the cabin that stood just the morning before alive and filled with warmth. The fantasy vanished as she stepped into her home and stared at the bodies of her parents and though of how she embraced her parents the night they died. The love, warmth and happiness had been lost to the memories and longing in her mind, soon to be buried as the night turned to day.

She tried her best not to look at the bodies of her parents as she went through the room but it proved to be difficult. When she reached the stairs she slowly made her way into her room and pulled on a red dress, some thick white socks, and her most comfortable shoes before leaving her room and entering her brother's. She held back tears as she saw his room's cleanness before picking up his jacket and pulled it on, to remind herself of the man her brother had been.

She questioned for a split second if she was in a dream before glancing out the window and finding the corpse of the awakened being and sighed. Her breath reeked of smell anyways, and she knew it wasn't from sleep. Sighing wistfully, Clare headed back down the stairs and barely gave the room a glance that held the bodies of her parents before leaving out the door that somehow remained intact when everything else fell in ruins.

As she walked through the streets of her hometown Clare wondered how far she would need to travel before she found herself in a new town. When she reached the border of the Village of Ame the young girl hardly gave the place a glance before taking the first step into her new life. She needed to move forward and stay on her feet.

That's all she had left to live for now: to keep moving forward.


A/N: I find myself writing this rewritten version of Humanity much easier. The story and life from this story comes to my mind like breathing and feels less like a chore and more like a hobby. I just finished watching the anime Claymore and found myself unable to finish it in disappointment. I know Claymore took years to finish but cutting the anime off short like that was just terrible. It was going perfectly and then the Battle of Pieta it all went down the drain. At least the manga was good, but that's how it usually goes. The book is better than the movie, the manga is better than the anime.

That's my opinion of it anyway. I'm a more traditional sort, you see.

Glad to find support!

Sincerely,

- Gothic Rain