Authors note: Sorry that this is starting off so slow, I promise it gets more interesting, and before any of you ask or get the wrong idea, No, Raki and The Girl will not have any form of romantic relationship whatsoever, because he is a grown man and she is a little girl, and that is just a big no... anyways hope y'all like it. Please review, it's free, and I like reading the reviews.
Forward…
I must keep moving forward…
These were the words that Raki repeated to himself every night as he searched for Clare…
He had been told numerous times that she was dead, that she had fallen to Isley's army in the north. But nevertheless he continued to search for her ghost everyday, because nothing else mattered.
It had been seven years, seven long years since he last saw her. In the span of those seven years he had been captured by slavers and taken to the north, where he eventually found Priscilla and Isley.
Raki didn't know it at the time, but those two people who had taken him in were actually awakened beings, and for five long years he stayed with them, not knowing what they really were.
For five years Raki trained with Isley and in those five years Raki mastered over thirty different sword techniques, making him a powerful warrior, all because of Isley's training and Raki's own passion for becoming the very best that he could be.
Over time Raki gradually discovered the truth about them, but for whatever reason it didn't seem like such a huge deal.
Five long years after meeting them, Raki left, Isley told him that he had taught him all he could, and he told him that he should begin his search for Clare. So that night Raki packed his things and left.
For two years he wandered around the world, going back and forth through each town and city that he and Clare visited. Whenever he ran into a claymore he would ask them information about the battle of Pieta and if there were any survivors. Each time he asked he received the same answer, that there were no survivors, and if anyone did survive then the Organization would have eliminated them.
Raki thought about his parting with Clare, how they promised to find each other, he had faith in Clare and her promise… But part of him knew… part of him knew that Clare couldn't have survived, and maybe that was why he never journeyed to the north, he didn't want to find her grave, the burden of proof that she was indeed dead.
Seven years after their parting, and Raki was once again wandering around the world, heading to Rabona for his third time.
The sun was setting and the ground was soaked from the pouring rain. It was indeed a miserable day. But to Raki it didn't matter, for the past few years he had been miserable every day, it didn't matter if it rained, it was all the same to him.
He was pissed off and angry at the world…
He hated the world for what it did to him, he hated it because it took everything he cared about away. And he never did anything to deserve the pain life threw at him. First he lost his parents, then his uncle, then his brother, and finally it took the last thing he cared about, it took her and killed her in the north.
"No… I can't think that way. She is alive, I know she is…" he thought to himself. "She has to be… because I don't know how I am going to survive if she isn't…"
Raki droned on, putting one foot in front of the other. Left, Right, Left, Right, Left. And so it was for the past two years, just one foot in front of the other, with only one purpose, to find Clare.
Raki's rhythmic footsteps were stopped when he heard a scream off to his left, just behind a small hill.
It sounded like a little girl…
"Maybe I should check it out…" thought Raki. So Raki turned left and began walking up the hill, clearly in no rush.
When Raki reached the top of the hill, he looked down to the bottom of the hill and found the source of the scream.
It was a little blonde girl, she was facing away from him with her back pressed up against a boulder at the base of the hill, from this angle he could just make out the top of her head. Standing in front of her, he saw three large yoma approaching the girl. One of them was holding a sword… no not just any sword, a Claymore!
Standing at the top of the hill, Raki was filled with a rage, there was only one thing in existence that he hated to this extent, and that was yoma. They took everything away from him and left him cold and empty in a cruel world.
He ran down that hill as fast as his legs could take him, he reached the boulder that the girl was pressed up against. By the time he got there one of the Yoma had hit the poor girl, knocking her unconscious.
With a roar he jumped off of the boulder and plunged his sword into the head of the closest Yoma, the one holding the Claymore sword, killing it instantly.
He turned around and faced his remaining two opponents head on.
He charged at the one on the left.
It lifted it's hand and extended it's sharp fingers at Raki.
Raki slid under the attack and lifted his sword.
From the ground, he used the combined strength of his legs and one arm to jump at the Yoma.
He sliced his sword through the air and cut off it's arm.
He spun around and quickly cut the monster in half.
As he did this the third Yoma charged at him. He sent a powerful kick towards Raki's back, knocking him off his feet.
Raki spun in the air and preformed a small flip, landing crouched down, but on his feet.
With incredible speed and dexterity, Raki pounced at the yoma, sending his sword straight through the beasts heart.
Raki stepped back, with all threats eliminated he let out a small smile. He had one other passion in life besides finding Clare, and it was eliminating all evil from the world, and he was damn good at it too.
"Now that that's taken care of, I can move on…" he began to walk away.
Suddenly he remembered the original reason he came to fight these yoma. They were attacking that little girl. "Oh yea… I almost forgot…" he said to himself. "Now what to do with you…" he turned around to face the little girl, but when he saw her he immediately gasped in shock.
He looked at "little girl" he just saved, she had blonde spikey hair that went down half of her neck, she had pale skin and she was wearing the uniform of a warrior. This was no ordinary girl, it was a Claymore.
He walked over to her, she had been hit hard and was knocked unconscious, she had a lot of cuts on her body and was bleeding, she also had a small cut on her forehead which was likely due to the yoma hitting her so hard. She likely had a concussion. The cuts alone wouldn't have killed her, and Raki knew that Claymores couldn't really die of exposure either... He could have left her, afterall, she wasn't his problem, but he wouldn't allow himself to leave her on the side of the road, something about her face reminded him of Clare.
"Fuck it…" he said out loud. He picked up the Claymore sword that the Yoma was holding and noticed that the edges weren't sharpened, they were blunt. And the sword had no emblem. "That's weird, do you not have an emblem…" he said looking at the girl's neck, finding no emblem there either…
He remembered what Clare said all those years ago when he asked about her emblem. She told him that when they graduated and became full Claymore's then they received their emblem.
"Are you just a trainee? What are you doing all the way out here" he said to the passed out girl. "It doesn't matter… I won't know you for very long anyway…" he said.
He sheathed his own sword. And with one hand he then threw the small girl over his shoulder, still holding on to her sword with the other.
Raki knew that there was a town about three miles west from his current location. It was out of the way, but Raki felt like he needed some rest anyway. He began marching west towards the small town.
The Inn was quiet tonight like most lights, it was located on the edge of a small town known as Galeta. Occasionally a few strangers would pass through and not bother anyone, but other than that the town rarely received visitors, to adapt to this, the Inn was renovated and turned into a half inn, half bar structure, this allowed the Inn to stay in business.
The town has never had a yoma incident, they still heard and knew about them through travelling strangers.
But they also heard about those that hunt the yoma…
The dreaded silver eyed witches. Half human, Half monster hybrids that showed up to fight off yoma when there was enough money involved. They had only ever heard bad things about them, and the head of the town decided that even if there was a yoma, they wouldn't call for a Claymore.
No one in the town had ever seen a Claymore… until tonight that is…
The Inn/bar was mostly quiet, there was only one man inside other than the inn/bar keeper, but neither of them were talking. The only noise in the room was the constant drum of rain hitting the rooftop.
Suddenly a strange man burst through the entrance of the inn, carrying two massive swords and an unconscious little girl on his shoulder. The strange man approached the innkeeper.
"How much for two rooms?" he asked wearily.
"Two? Oh… umm… 20 pieces." he said in surprise. "Is she alright? Are you her father? Why is she dressed like that?" he asked.
Raki didn't respond, he just dumped 20 gold pieces onto the innkeepers counter. "Thank you for your concern, but she should be alright, and no I am not her father, I found her on the side of the road a few miles east of here…" he said coldly.
"And you want two rooms?" asked the innkeeper.
"Yes, she herself and other people might get the wrong idea if I, a full grown man, spend the night with her, an unconscious little girl." Said Raki.
"Oh… I see…" said the innkeeper, handing Raki two keys, "Your rooms are at the top of the stairs on the far left…"
"Thank you." said Raki, turning around. As he began walking up the stairs he heard a voice.
"That ain't no little girl…" said the other man in the bar. "That there is one of them silver eyed witches!" he said bitterly. "We don't want none of their kind around here!"
The innkeeper looked up at Raki, "Wait? That girl is a Claymore?"
Raki stopped moving, he turned his head slightly towards the innkeeper. "Yes she is, you got rules against Claymore's or something?" asked Raki.
"Well, no but… you know she gave up her humanity to be half monster right?" said the innkeeper.
"Maybe… or maybe she's just little girl, a scared little girl who is just a victim of circumstance…" Said Raki turning away from the innkeeper. He continued up the stairs and towards the two rooms he got.
He opened the first room, he walked in and layed the little girl down on the bed, her wounds were already mostly healed up. "Huh, thats weird… even Clare's wounds didn't heal THAT fast..." said Raki to himself. "Whatever, I'm sure it's nothing…" he said. He laid her Claymore sword by her bed. "Perhaps, I will see you tomorrow…" said Raki.
Raki was sympathetic towards Claymores, throughout his life he had been thrown out and treated poorly by most humans, but he felt a kinship with Claymores, because the majority of them, just like him, had everything they loved stripped away from them and much like him, were just victims of circumstance and fate.
Raki left for his own room, he opened the door, locked it, and threw himself into bed.
"Where am I?" these were the first words that entered the young Claymores mind as she sat up in her bed.
The last thing she remembered was being scared and alone, running like hell from a pack of yoma, suddenly she was cornered against a rock, one of them attacked her and then… she was here…
She looked around, she was surrounded by rather nice looking furniture. "Am I dead?" she asked herself, panicking a little, "I don't want to be dead!" she said becoming a little teary eyed.
Suddenly she heard a knock come from the door to her room. "I'm coming in…" said a deep male voice.
The door opened and a tall and strong man walked in. "I see you are awake…" he said approaching her.
"Where am I, am I dead?" she asked the man.
The man stared at her. "No, but you would be if I didn't come and save you at the last moment." he said.
"You… saved me?" she asked the man in amazement.
"Yes…" he said coldly. "I see that you don't have an emblem, tell me, what is a claymore trainee doing all the way out here?" he asked.
She looked down, she felt a stinging sensation on the back of her eyes.
"Hmm… Well I can't leave you here alone like this I suppose. So I guess I could just bring you to the next Claymore I find and-" he was cut off.
"NO!" said the little girl, looking up with fear in her eyes. "No… please… I can't go back there!" she pleaded.
The man looked at her strangely. "Well… I can't just leave you alone… do you have any family?" he asked.
She paused for a moment. "My grandparents! They are still alive!" she said with hope in her eyes. "They are wealthy and they live in Mirstone! They can pay you if you take me to them" she said.
Mirstone was on the way to Rabona, it wouldn't be too much of a hassle to bring her there.
"Okay girl." he said coldly. "I guess I can deliver you to your grandparents." he said. "Be ready to leave in 15 minutes. Do NOT keep me waiting…" said the man walking out of the room.
"Thank you so much mister!" She said Warmly. "Ermm… Mister?" she asked.
"Yes?" he said over his shoulder.
"If we're going to be travelling together than we should learn each other's names." she said with as smile. "My name is-" he cut her off.
"I'm going to stop you right there…" he said turning to face her, looking at her silver eyes. "We aren't going to do this whole name thing. Although I am bringing you with me that does not mean it will be for very long. It's best for both of us if we don't get attached and we just move on with our lives and forget this ever happened." he said coldly.
"But you saved my life! How can I about forget you?" she asked.
Raki stared at her for a long time. Something about her last sentence reminded him of something he said to Clare a long time ago.
"I will never forget you!" he remembered crying to Clare.
"Fine…" he said looking down at her. "My name is Raki… what about you?" he said slightly annoyed.
"My name is Clara!" Beamed the little claymore.
Raki stared at her in bewilderment. The universe indeed seemed to be messing with him. Forcing him to remember Clare.
Raki scowled and turned his back towards Clara, her smile died down as he did this. "What's wrong Raki?" she asked.
"Nothing, Just be ready to go in 15 minutes…" he said walking away.
"Okay. And thank you again!" She said with hope in her voice.
Raki didn't respond, he just continued into his room. "I better bring her to her grandparents fast, the sooner I get this over with the sooner I can continue my search for Clare…" he thought to himself.
"I hope her grandparents are still alive… because I can't take her with me, I need to find Clare..."
"He's not here either…"
It had been seven years, seven years since she made her promise to stay alive so that she might one day reunite with Raki.
For seven years Clare searched all over the north for her lost companion, and for seven years she found nothing.
"Clare… I think it's time you let this go…" said Yuma.
"No. I promised that I would look for him, he just hasn't gone this far north yet… But he's alive. I know he is!" she said hopefully.
"Clare, it's been seven years, he would have come to the north by now if he were still...you know…"
"Don't say that… I know he is still alive…" she said gloomily.
She looked up at the moon. "Raki, where are you?" she thought in her head.
"So you killed those three yoma? And You aren't inured at all?" asked a cheery Clara with wonder in her voice, walking beside Raki.
"Yes…" grumbled Raki.
"Where did you get that huge sword?" she asked.
"I took it from some bandit I killed…" he said sounding a bit more annoyed.
Clara stepped up on a fallen log and walked forward on it, beside Raki, holding her hands out to her sides to keep balance. "Why did you kill him?" she asked.
"Because I didn't like him…" he said coldly.
"Why didn't you like him?" she said stepping off the log.
"Because he kept asking me a bunch of stupid questions…" he said sounding annoyed.
There was a pause.
"That's it?" she asked. "That's the only reason?"
She clearly wasn't getting the message...
Raki gave up, he sighed. "AND, he killed a few people… well, a LOT of people."
"So he was a bad guy?" she asked.
"Yes…"
"And that's what you do? You kill the bad guys?" she said looking up at him with gleeful eyes.
"God I hope I wasn't this annoying to Clare…" he thought to himself.
"Yes, and yoma…" he said.
"That's amazi-"
"SHH." he said cutting her off. "We're walking into an ambush…" he drew his sword.
Suddenly Raki heard rustling all around him. Then out of nowhere six large armed men surrounded him with their weapons pointed at him.
Raki grabbed Clara and pulled her to his side. "Stay behind me!" he said.
Raki heard footsteps slowly come up behind him. He turned around and faced the man who was approaching him.
"Well, well, well… long time no see…" said the man smugly.
"You…" growled Raki.
The man began to speak. "It's good to see you…"
"Old friend…"
