Elena waved farewell to the group of Claymores as they departed the town. The four of them headed down the trail leading into the nearby forest. Before they all disappeared behind the treeline, the youngest of the group turned back and waved. Elena smiled at that, and waved again.
"Are they gone now?" A young boy walked beside Elena, looking nervously out at the forest. He was a few inches taller than Elena, with short, dark brown hair and matching hazel eyes.
"Yes they're gone now." Elena said, her shoulders slumping.
"My dad says that Claymore are monsters, just like Youma. He says they're all dangerous and we should keep away from them." The boy said. "I'm lucky they didn't try to eat me or something!" He shuddered.
"Claymore don't eat people, Brant! They only kill Youma; Claymores protect us." Elena defended.
"How would you know? Those were the only Claymores that you've ever met!" Brant said.
"That lady with the pointy ears was really nice to me. She even told me her name."
"Monsters shouldn't have names!" Brant yelled. "I'm going to tell my dad you were talking to the Claymores!" He ran away, back into the town.
"But...they all looked so lonely. I just wanted to be nice to them." Elena sat on the grass, hugging her knees to her chest. "The lady who I spoke to, Irene, I hope she'll be alright. I hope I'll see her again someday…"
Elena stared down into the puddle. Blue eyes stared back; strained by dust and tears. Her long black hair was matted with mud and her clothes were just as filthy.
It had been just two days after she had been thrown out of her village. Two days after her father had been slaughtered by a Youma posing as her mother. The Youma had been killed by a traveling Claymore before it could hide again. Due to her proximity to the Youma, Elena was suspect in the eyes of the town. Brant's family were the first to call for her exile. Near enough everyone else agreed, and Elena soon found herself out on the road, alone with no food, water or money.
"Elena. Nine years old. An only child." Elena looked up to see a suspicious looking man dressed all in black, with a black hat and a pair of black circular glasses. "The mother was replaced by a Youma, who then killed the father. By chance, one of our warriors was passing through and caught the Youma in the act. Her name isn't important, this wasn't a contracted kill." The man towered over Elena as she sat in the dirt. "I'm sure you're confused and afraid by all of this; though I suspect that above all else you are feeling very angry. I imagine you want revenge on the creature that killed your parents. Am I right?"
Elena stared at the man. Casting her eyes to the puddle once again, Elena thought about what this man was saying to her. She stared at her reflection. Blue eyes stared back. Elena hardened her gaze.
"I want to make them pay. I want to make each and every one of them suffer. I'd do anything to watch them die." She hissed through gritted teeth, clenching her fists in the dirt.
The man smiled.
Elena made her way through the forest, her steel boots stomping noisily down the trail. Stopping at the edge of the edge of the forest, Elena took deep breath. She could smell the familiar scent of wood and leaves; she heard the calls of birds as the flew back to their nests; she felt a light breeze filtering through the verdant forest. Elena savoured it all; she felt it was to be her last moment of peace for the day.
She stepped out onto the plain and made her way towards the town at the end of the trail.
Everything looked the same as last she had seen it, some ten years ago. It all felt smaller, though, thanks to how much she had grown. Walking through the streets, she easily found her way to the town hall. It was a modest building overlooking the central square. That is where her job for today would begin. Before she went inside, however, Elena glanced around. The streets seemed unusually empty, even for such a small town.
"I suppose they already know I'm here." She said to herself. Pushing open the doors to the hall, she stepped inside.
As she had guessed, most of the townsfolk had gathered inside. They all stared as Elena closed the door behind herself.
"A Silver-Eyed Witch!"
"Oh my gods, she's so pale!"
"What's wrong with her eyes? Do they have special vision or something?"
"I hope she doesn't go crazy and start killing us instead; I heard they're just as bad as the Youma!"
They muttered amongst themselves.
Elena scanned the room, the townsfolk averting their eyes as she did so, until she found a man sitting behind a desk at the back of the main hall they were in. The crowd parted as she walked forward. The man stood as she approached.
"Let me make this clear Witch; I don't trust your kind. I'm paying you to deal with this problem because we have no choice left." The man was a few inches shorter than Elena, with short brown hair and hazel eyes. "Just do your job and leave. We don't want any trouble from you."
"I'll try to make this brief, then. I wouldn't want to cause any undue stress to you all." Elena turned back to the crowd. They looked nervously between each other as Elena studied them. "I'll need to take a walk around the town first. I need to pinpoint the Youma's location so I can deal with it." Many in the crowd flinched at the mention of the beast. Once again they parted to make way for Elena as she left the hall.
"Are you sure about this, Chief?" One of the townsfolk spoke up. The Chief shook his head.
"We just need to stay out of her way until she's done. Then she'll leave." He sighed as he sat back down.
Elena quickly walked to her old home; she still knew her way around town perfectly. To her surprise it was not abandoned. It looked as though someone else was now living there, given that it seemed furnished and maintained. She stepped up and knocked on the door. No-one answered, and there didn't seem to be any in at the moment.
"Well, that explains it." Elena said to herself. "I suppose I'll have to wait a while." She returned to the town entrance, at the side of the trail that lead to the forest. Planting her sword into the ground and sitting back against it, she closed her eyes and rested, though did not sleep.
Little over an hour later, with the sun well past its zenith, Elena was joined by a young man.
"I assume you've found something related to our Youma problem." He said as he sat beside her.
"Yes, I have." Elena opened her eyes to look over at the man. "You're awfully young for a town chief, aren't you Brant?" The man was silent for several moments.
"My father was killed recently by the Youma. I needed to step up and take his place, at least for the time being." Brant responded eventually. Elena nodded. Silence returned for a while.
"I hoped you'd survive, Elena, back then. If I'd known you'd end up like this-" He gestured at her. "-I'd have hoped otherwise."
"I help people, Brant, I protect them when they can't protect themselves!" Elena said angrily.
"But only when you're paid to, of course." Brant said coldly.
"I'm not the one being paid." Elena answered. Once again, they were both silent. However, just as Brant made to speak again, Elena leapt to her feet and grabbed her blade. "There they are!" She ran back through town, with Brant following behind at a distance.
Elena ran back to her old home. The house next door, belonging to the village chief, had one of it's windows smashed, with blood trailing over to Elena's old house.
"They've made themselves very obvious. They must be nervous after sensing me." Kicking down her house's door, she rushed inside to find two Youma feeding upon a corpse in the middle of the main room.
"The Claymore!" One of the Youma yelled as it spotted Elena. Both Youma leapt up and charged at Elena. Reaching back for her blade, Elena released her Youki in a sudden burst.
Brant stared in horror at the half-eaten corpse of his mother. Falling to his knees, he sobbed and pounded the floor. Around him, the main room of the house had been destroyed by fighting. There were two mangled Youma corpses on the ground; both were missing all four limbs and their lower jaws. From the looks of it, their deaths had been long and painful.
"Brant, I'm sorry I wasn't able to-" Elena was cut off as Brant stood, facing away from her.
"Get out." He said, his voice like ice.
"The Organisation will send-"
"Leave me alone Claymore! Get the fuck out!" Brant yelled, not turning to look at Elena. He dropped to his knees again, grieving over his mother's corpse. With one last, sad look at her former friend, Elena left the house.
"A stranger in black will arrive in a few days. Please give the money to him." She addressed the crowd that had gathered outside. "My work here is finished." With that, Elena trudged through town, to the dirt road leading into the woods. As she reached the treeline, she looked back one last time. No-one in town was waiting for her. She turned and disappeared into the forest.
A/N: Could've been better; could've been a whole lot worse. I'm just glad I finally got this written down. I've had this idea for at least six months now, but never got around to it until now.
Thanks for reading!
