Hello there, Berserk Archive :)

I'm still fairly new to this series, but after catching up with the manga online, I had to write this little ficlet. It picks up shortly after where chapter 318 leaves off. I had an idea for not much more than a scene, and somehow, I managed to stretch it to over 3000 words.

I must offer many thanks to Silverspider, and Kipper898 for being my eyes on this piece. Kipper, without you, I never would have known about this series in the first place (Really, I can never thank you enough for all you've done for me my friend), and Silver, without your own amazing fics, I might never have found my own sanity again after episode 25 (If you have not checked out Silver's Berserk series; they're all in my favorites. Stop reading mine, and go read hers ;) ).

Without further adieu, I do not own Berserk or any of its characters...if I did, Casca would be awake by now :(

I Know You

When Guts and Schierke returned to the Sea Horse, they were greeted by several dozen gaping jaws. No one among Guts' party or among the hands of the Sea Horse had ever seen a sight so blood-drenched as that of Guts and the little witch on his back. Though the viscous teal liquid that saturated them could only just be called blood, it was near as didn't matter, a sign that Guts and Schierke were victorious against the so-called Sea God.

"Teacher!" Farnese called over the silent din, the first to run towards Guts, leaving Casca and the little boy she'd found, with Isidro and Serpico.

As Farnese came upon them, she noticed Guts holding both of Schierke's small hands in just one of his. "She's out," he calmly stated of the young witch who had once again managed to keep the monster in Guts at bay. He knelt to allow Schierke down easier, while the rest of his friends came over to them. As Farnese took Schierke's small frame into her arms, Guts glanced behind Serpico and Isidro, to find Casca and the little boy every bit as safe and sound as he had left them. He sighed lightly in relief and commented of Schierke, "Best I can tell, she's just unconscious…" He looked to Farnese and continued, "…but I can't get to her the way you can. I can't tell if-"

Farnese smiled slightly, her relief evident in her tone as she felt the OD of her mentor. "She's here," she interrupted. Ivarella appeared seconds later, resting on Schierke's hat as usual, taking in the sight of her mistress' calm face.

Guts again released a breath, the slightest of smiles on his lips. Everyone around him was amazed, simply to see that he was able to remain conscious. Whatever Schierke had done to keep him present during the battle, it had worked better than she ever might have imagined. He harbored few to no injuries, save perhaps for a broken rib or two, and a dislocated finger that he had already snapped right on his own. He had used the Berserk armor nearly to its fullest potential, never losing out to the rabid dog within.

"Yeah!" Isidro called, his fist pumped high in the air. "You kicked its ass! Right, Guts?"

Guts grinned, and upon reaching beneath his cloak, withdrew another Behelit. At the sight of the egg shaped face, Serpico commented, "An apostle?"

"All shapes and sizes," Guts replied. His eye fell shut and he waivered just slightly, immediately bringing Serpico to lend a hand, stabilizing their leader.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

"I'm beat, but I'm alive," Guts replied. He turned to Schierke's unconscious form and commented, "Right now, she's the one I'm worried about."

"I'll see to her, Guts," Farnese replied.

"Thank you," he warmly replied. He got to his feet, not entirely without Serpico's help and called to Roderick, "Has the ship been repaired?"

"Aye, we're ready to set off," Roderick confidently replied.

As the ship drifted away from the coast moments later, Guts couldn't help but feel an ominous trepidation. Perhaps just one too many things had gone right these past few hours. He was alright, Schierke was going to be alright, and while Casca was still far from alright, having that strange little boy at her side seemed to keep her out of any mischief.

As he lay awake in his bunk, Guts remembered being pulled out of the Berserk armor in the village earlier, but not by Schierke. It was a feeling not entirely dissimilar from how he himself behaved. Strong, persistent, and unfailing in its pursuit of Guts' humanity, physically stopping him from blindly swinging his sword at the woman he loved. Then there was that little boy at her side. They had seen him once before on the beach outside Vritannis, but how did he end up on that island?

"Did he stow away on the ship?" Guts questioned in his thoughts. "He couldn't have. Somebody would have seen him, and besides; he never would have made it to that part of the village on his own." He felt around the back of his neck to the brand as he wondered, "Both times he's appeared now, this thing hasn't sent up any warning signs. He's not a demon, or maybe he's just not a malicious demon? Can that be?"

His curiosity was far too great, and he pushed himself upright, dropping his legs over the edge of his bunk. His sleeveless black T-shirt allowed what remained of his bandaged left arm to be seen as he made his way through the halls of the ship. He came upon Farnese's room to see if Schierke were awake yet, but when he quietly opened the door, neither Farnese nor Schierke were there. Casca and the little boy however; they were.

His once-lover, sat with her back to the door, not alerted to his presence, or perhaps not thinking it were anyone but Farnese. Her robe hung just off of her left shoulder, and at her right, the little boy's feet hung over her lap. At the sight of her exposed flesh, and how the boy appeared to lay in her lap, it seemed obvious what she was doing, and Guts gasped lightly, quietly losing control of his tongue, "What the…"

Immediately, Casca's head snapped around at the sound of his voice. Her eyes pointedly took Guts in their view as she pulled her robe back over her shoulder. Though he didn't appear threatening in any way, she still jerked herself further away from him and wrapped her arms tightly around the boy. Her scowl alone hurt him far more than any of his wounds. Just the sight of her clutching that child as though it were her own, he remembered that day on the hill, the day she had birthed their own contaminated child.

As the thoughts pieced themselves together, he wondered for a moment, "I haven't seen 'it' for some time now, but this boy…he couldn't possibly be-"

Just as the question entered his mind, the child in Casca's arms turned towards Guts without the slightest hint of fear in its eyes. In fact, the boy's large dark eyes were virtually blank altogether. The child began to twist in her arms. Never violently, never whining or downright fighting, but clearly he was looking for a way out of her grasp. Her scowl faded as she gently tried to keep hold of the boy, though not wanting to hurt the child, she eventually let him loose.

The boy just stood there, staring Guts in the eye; unblinking, unafraid. He slowly stepped over to the towering man, and without control for his own actions, Guts knelt down ever so slowly as to upset neither the boy, nor Casca.

"Aaauuu?" Casca concernedly cooed, her hands outstretched towards the child.

"What am I doing?" Guts wondered. He bent one of his fingers, just to test whether or not his actions were his own. "This is me. I'm doing this, but…why? What the hell is this kid?"

As the boy grew closer still, he raised his arms, and perfectly on cue, Guts raised his. As he took the little boy into his arm, Casca yelped slightly in fear, but as the little boy placed his tiny hands on Guts' good arm, as well as what was left of his other, her cries were silenced. Her fear was replaced with confusion, not entirely dissimilar from the expression she wore on a near constant basis these unfortunate days.

Guts' hand slid up the boy's spine, delicately wrapping the back of the child's head in his massive palm. The boy was warm as human, the brand offered no blood, and he himself feeling warm throughout, Guts smiled. His eyes slowly lifted towards Casca, and her confusion was replaced with trepidation. She seemed uncomfortable simply having his eyes on her, and pressed herself up against the ship's hull even tighter still. Guts let out a light sigh of disappointment, and lowered his eyes back to the boy. "You got a name?" He asked as softly as he could through his coarse lips.

The little boy's eyes met his, and without pulling away from him, he turned in Guts' grasp back to Casca. Immediately she was disarmed somewhat, accepting the boy's eyes with hers. The child pulled his right hand from what remained of Guts' left arm, and reached out towards Casca. She wasn't capable of much in the way of expressing her mind these days, but the actions of 'yes' and 'no' were things all human beings inherently possessed. She tightly closed her eyes, and swung her face from side-to-side, the vaguest hint of a word escaping her lips, "Naaa!"

Guts looked up to her cowering form as she settled herself and opened her eyes once more. When those dark globes met Guts', she would find his eyes glazed over. Almost incapable of pushing out the tears in his eyes, he held her in his gaze, "Just a little longer, Casca. I will find you again."

Her eyes turned to the little boy in Guts' grasp, and finally she pushed away from the wall, slowly crawling along the planks towards Guts and the child. Guts' expression became one of disbelief as he watched her close in on them. She was still so guarded in her gaze, but she advanced nonetheless. Within just a few inches of them, she sat back on her heels and extended her arms to the child. She wore the brightest smile Guts had seen on her face in recent times, but the boy didn't accept her offer.

"Auuauu?" She cooed in disappointment.

The boy opened and closed his fist repeatedly, grabbing at the air between them, silently asking her to join them, though her apprehension appeared on her face as clear as day. She lowered her hands and again shook her head 'no', albeit less wildly than she had a moment ago. Then, within her fractured mind, she heard a voice. Young and masculine, yet warm and gentle, the voice beckoned of her, "Come."

Her eyes widened at what she'd heard, though she didn't succumb to panic or madness. She simply extended her arms, and continued clawing her way the remainder of the distance towards Guts and the child.

As Guts looked on her uneasy form, he could only think over and over again, "So close, after all these years…"

Casca sat back on her heels once again and reached her quivering arms up. Her fearful gaze bounced back and forth between Guts and the little boy; she knew she couldn't offer her embrace to one, without touching the other. Hesitantly and cautiously, she placed her arms around the child, and at feeling nothing more than her breath on his forearm, Guts closed his eye. He wouldn't attempt to touch her, but was grateful to feel even the warmth of her breath once again. As she gently held the boy, Casca's eyes closed as well. Her fear still present, but fading slowly as the seconds passed. Having brought this man and woman together once again, the boy's eyes closed as he stood within their embrace.

Seconds soon became minutes, minutes became an hour, and soon the sun was ready to break the horizon. The child's eyes opened; the towering man to his left and the frail woman at his right both fast asleep. A wisp of white light enveloped the boy, and as his body vanished into thin air, the slightest hint of a smile could be seen on his lips. Just like that, the child was gone. Exhausted from his battle with the Sea God, and exhausted from her time spent caring for the boy, neither Guts nor Casca woke as they fell into each other's arms.

The hours went on through the day, Isidro and Puck had found their way into the Sea Horse's crow's nest. Isidro felt mighty important staring through Roderick's brass telescope from up there, though Puck was sure to knock him down a few pegs. The little elf made a contorted face through the lens at the other end, bringing Isidro to jump over the edge of the crow's nest and get caught up in the rigging.

While an upside-down Isidro roared at Puck who was endlessly laughing, Farnese was still tending to the unconscious Schierke. She had given thought to attempting to contact her mentor's astral form, but should she get lost in the astral plane, she'd have no way of finding her way back without Schierke's guidance. Just as Farnese looked away to release a quiet sigh, Schierke's eyes flickered open and she weakly asked, "Where am I?"

Ivarella and Farnese turned to their friend simultaneously and shouted, "Mistress!" "Teacher!"

"Did we make it?" Schierke asked. "Is Guts okay?"

Farnese's smile was wide as ever as she replied, "He brought you back with him last night. He was hardly wounded thanks to you."

Schierke smiled and looked around the room briefly. Taking notice that it was just the three of them, she asked, "Where's Serpico?"

"He's on the deck with-"

Farnese was interrupted as a more serious look appeared on her mentor's face, "Where's Casca?"

Immediately Farnese was back in panic mode, "Oh no..."

She bolted from the room as quickly as she could and ran down the hall towards her room. "Please be okay," she prayed in her thoughts. She came to the door to her room and luckily remembered all at once that Casca frightened all too easily. She couldn't just kick the door in; she had to be quiet and composed as to not frighten her. She slowly opened the door, and at first glance found her room to be completely empty. "No…" she immediately imagined the worst, when suddenly, the sound of a shuffle emanated from behind the door.

She closed the door slightly, peering behind it only to find a sight she'd never quite put together till that moment. Guts sat with his back against the wall behind the door, Casca's black locks resting on his chest, her whole body nestled tightly to his right side. The mirror image of that night in the cave so many years ago, the night he first pulled her from a body of water.

She gasped in amazement at the sight, her fingertips rushing to her lips to hold back her voice. She thought to call out to Schierke via thought transference, but at the last second, decided against it. Farnese's feelings for Guts were more than that of friends, but this sight only served to remind her that Casca was everything to him. She wanted to hate the olive skinned woman at his side. The woman who up until this very moment appeared appalled by the very sight of the man whose arm she rested in.

But seeing them together as they were, she couldn't help but be overwhelmed with the feeling that what she was seeing was right; that they belonged in each others arms. It was almost as though the world would have been an even more disturbed place if he hadn't held her in that very moment. She pushed her own feelings aside, feeling just a hint of happiness, knowing that what Guts held most important in his life was once again in his grasp.

She slipped back through the door, closed it behind her, and rested her back against it for a moment. A single tear slid down her cheek, though she still smiled.

In Farnese' room, the stir of the air brought Guts to slowly wake. He blinked his eye, and in an instant felt Casca's warmth beside him. He found his arm wrapped around her, and took in a short silent breath, not entirely sure how they had ended up this way. Furthermore, when he scanned the room with his good eye, the little boy was nowhere to be seen. Casca slowly came-to a few moments later, stirring slightly in his gentle grasp. Feeling the heat emanating from the body beside her, she slowly tilted her head back to see just who or what she was up against. Seeing her move so fearfully, Guts could almost feel what was to come. Any second now, she'd jump from his side screaming in terror, run off in search of Farnese, and possibly even end up in the sea once again. "At least we had this, no matter how brief," He thought.

Finally taking her into his view, her long black locks covered half her face, leaving her left eye to take in the sight of his scarred face. He raised his hand from her side and her eyes instantly widened in fear. She shivered slightly, too terrified to move, but for all her fear, he simply brushed the strands from her face. Now with both eyes gazing upon him, she remained still while Guts merely continued to wait. Surely any minute now his prediction would come to be and she would be gone in a fit of panic. He turned away from her beautiful eyes; not wanting to make the coming wound any deeper than need be.

He lowered his hand, allowing her to escape with ease, and closed his eye. If he could have covered his ears he would have, but in his case, covering just one ear would serve nearly no purpose at all with the set of pipes Casca had. However, while he waited and waited for her to run, for that warmth to fade away, it never did. She remained at his side, her unblinking eyes having followed his face.

Then, as if woken from a dream, he felt her fingers on his cheek; so soft, delicate and magical on his mangled flesh. It may have just been her hand, but to him, it was the first sign of caring for him she'd displayed since that horrid moment in hell. Carefully, she coaxed his face to the side so that his eye may meet hers once again. Her eyes were so boundlessly beautiful, her lips, her skin; every bit of her was nothing short of magnificent.

"How is she still-"

Just as he wondered, Casca timidly slid her fingertips along his face, gently tracing his lips. Her fingers may have been trembling ever-so-slightly, but her eyes bore no fear, and she showed no hint of wanting to run away. Her expression shifted, her fingers slowly steadying themselves. She felt no pain in her brand and for just a second, as Guts peered into her big dark eyes, she was as she had been that night so many years ago.

"Aauuuu."

Guts could only offer a warm smile at the innocent sound she'd made. He might never understand the workings of her stained mind, but in that moment, as she gazed at him with eyes made of glass, he wanted to believe that somewhere, even if just for a second; Casca, his Casca, was closer than she'd ever been these past years.

And that's that. If you made it this far, I hope you enjoyed it :)

I have plans for another Berserk fic, a crossover to be exact, but it may be a while before I get to it. It's not that I want to prolong it (It's actually screaming to be written), but I still don't feel like I've breathed these characters enough. Maybe after finishing my current re-read of the manga, I'll see about starting that up.

Thanks for reading,
-jm