Chapter 4 - Yoki

The wind howled loudly outside and blew a small shower of snowflakes through the small hole on the wooden door. Lazily the flakes drifted down to settle atop their kin, which had been blown in from previous gusts. The door itself was rattling dangerously on its hinges, but held for the moment.

The rest of the room was just as derelict, only a broken bed frame and the half rotten bed stand indicated that anyone had ever actually lived here.

Still, the walls did a good job of keeping the wind out and the ceiling looked solid enough to survive the weight of the snow piled upon it. It was the best the two of them could get under the circumstances. Helen and Raki had left their hideout early that morning in search of something to eat. As the only human in the group Raki ate the most of everyone by far and Helen tended to gorge herself even though she did not really need it. In addition both of them liked to eat things that actually tasted good and had taken up the task of finding food for the group almost from day one.

Normally it was not much of a chore, but Helen had wanted something special for her birthday and a deer had been her choice of food for the occasion. That had required them to make the trek out from the mountains and to the woods south of Pieta. Coupled with the time it took to actually catch something, it was enough for sunset to arrive when they made their way back.

It got worse though, because a few minutes before they arrived in Pieta, a storm the likes of which Raki had never seen broke out. The thick curtain of snow had been enough to make navigation impossible for Raki, who had not even been able to see Helen when she stood 2 feet from him in the darkness.

In light of that, and the fact that Raki was starting to get cold from being outside in such weather for so long, they had camped out in one of the remaining intact buildings.

"Dammit, if this keeps up I'll turn into a popsicle" Raki managed to say through his chattering teeth.

Unfortunately, the small room was only marginally warmer.

"I could always warm you right up, you know?" Helen said casually from her perch on the wall, her sword leaning next to her.

Raki shook his head forcefully. "No thanks. It's been three years already, I need to learn how to deal with this by myself eventually."

It was a good enough reason, but judging from the slight frown on Helen's face she realized it was not his true motivation. "What's wrong with you lately?"

"What do you mean?" Raki asked. "I'm just trying to become a little more independent. Not being an annoyance to all of you _was_ my original intent after all."

"Cut the crap, will ya?" Helen said annoyed. "I've asked the others. When you go out with them, you don't have any problem asking for a little warmth. You got a problem with me or what?"

The increasing volume Helen used made Raki shrink slightly. "It isn't like that." He mumbled into his thick coat, hoping the warrior would leave it at that.

"Then please explain to me how it is?!" Helen said loudly. By now she had taken to standing. "You've been actively trying to avoid me for a few months now and you even stopped joking around with me. If you want to train, you never seek me anymore. Tell me; how I can interpret that as anything but you hating my guts?"

Raki mumbled the answer into his coat, which caused Helen to jerk him upright from his sitting position by his lapels. "Goddammit, speak up. What the hell did I do wrong?"

All of a sudden, he found himself almost nose to nose with her, their bodies only separated by a few centimetres of air. This close, he could see the tears of frustration the older woman tried to keep at bay, and for the first time Raki realized that he had not been the only one the forced distance he had maintained had hurt.

"You didn't do anything." He forced himself to say. "It's just that…I can't help myself anymore."

Feeling that she was getting somewhere Helen released him so he could stand under his own power. "You can't help yourself?" She asked, not understanding.

"Ever since we first met" Raki managed to get out with obvious difficulty. "you touched me a lot more than necessary and flirted around jokingly… I really like that about you. You always felt warm and friendly once I got to know you." He fell silent for a moment, and looked away from her eyes, staring at the ground instead.

"But?" Helen prodded gently

"Lately, whenever we are close and whenever you flirt with me….I want us to do… what Claudia wanted to do with me."

Helen stared at Raki's head for several seconds. She knew only one Claudia they both knew and that one…

Her eyes flew open and a slight gasp escaped her, when she made the connection. Ever since they had started their exile, Helen had basked in Raki's presence. Having a human male as a friend _willingly_ was more than other half-youma could ever hope to claim, so she had been content. She had known from day one that Claire would ultimately be the one to claim Raki as her lover and she had never entertained thoughts about it.

Yet, here and now the young man had told her he had the hots for her ….and badly. After getting that thought through her head, Helen grinned at the implications. Gripping his chin, she lifted his head so she could look directly into his eyes.

"We can, if you want to."

Raki stared at her, hardly believing his ears."...but…I haven't even…about Claire…" he mumbled, his heart in turmoil.

Recognizing the reason for the distance Raki had kept over the months and his conflict right now, Helen pressed on. "It's all right Raki. Claire isn't here now. Claire isn't the one who makes you blood boil, is she? I am...and you can have me…_right now_"

It was an unfair tactic to use against an adolescent boy, who was in the company of 7 beautiful women 24/7. Raki tried his best, but ultimately, his will lost out to hormones and instinct.

When he moved closer, and pressed his lips to hers in a first feather light kiss, Helen knew she had won.

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*knock knock*

Raki woke from his dream with a start. "Come in please." He said groggily, while rubbing his face in his hands. I just can't forget it He thought ruefully while pushing the memory he had relieved to the back of his mind.

A boy with short cropped brown hair, who looked to be in his late teens, entered with a pail of water and several pieces of cloth clutched in his left hand. "I'm sorry, did I wake you?"

"Yeah, but don't worry about it Yoshua. I don't want to sleep my life away." Raki eyed the bundle in Yoshua's hand. "Do you really have to change the dressing that often?"

Yoshua nodded seriously, while he took a seat at Raki's bedside. "Of course; if we don't keep the wound clean it might get infected. I'm kind of surprised you don't know that. From the way you fight I would have thought you had injuries like these more often in the past."

Raki considered that, while lifting his shirt so Yoshua could treat his wound. In hindsight, it truly was surprising that he had never had a serious injury in the seven years he had spent in the north. It made him wonder just how careful Claire and the rest had been while training him.

"That's the first time I've fought a youma. I'm not nearly as reckless when training, you know." Raki said, making sure to keep any mention of Claymores out of his answer, just like he had done since he had woken up. Explaining the Claymore he carried away by saying he had stolen it, was bad enough.

"Won't your wife be worried about you, knowing that you are doing something so dangerous?" Yoshua asked out of the blue while taking off the old dressing.

The question startled Raki, but Yoshua merely pointed to his right ring finger…or more specifically the simple silver band adorning it. It seemed the young man was more observant than his sunny personality indicated.

"Don't worry. If anyone has the right to worry it would be me. She's doing something far more dangerous after all."

Yushua arched his brows. "More dangerous than trying to find out how youma are reproducing? I find that hard to believe."

Raki shrugged. "It's not like I want to fight youma or something like that. That I stumbled over the one in your town was pure luck." Raki winced when his caretaker touched one of the more tender wounds. "Or misfortune…depending on who you ask." He finished awkwardly.

Yoshua laughed. "I suppose so. Still, killing a youma all alone sure is awesome; if everyone was that strong, these beasts would be wiped out pretty fast."

Raki grimaced, not from the pain, but from annoyance. It had been 3 days since he had awoken inside Yoshua's home. The young man had taken care of him to the best of his ability. It seemed his father was the town chief and in thanks for his killing of the youma they let him stay there free of charge as long as he wanted.

Unfortunately, everyone seemed to forget that he had _not_ killed the damned Youma alone. It seemed the towns guard had peppered its side with a salvo of arrows, which had allowed Raki the time needed to finish it off.

Sure, the praise he received on waking had been great, but as time wore on it got more and more annoying.

"For gods' sake, Yoshua, will you shut up about that youma?! I didn't kill it alone and even then I only survived because one of its arms was useless from the start."

Yoshua gaped at him for a moment, surprised at the outburst and Raki immediately felt guilty.

"Sorry…I didn't want to yell at you." He said softly "but I want you to understand that a human is simply a human, no matter how you look at it. If everyone could be strong enough to defend themselves against youma that would be great, but in the end a human will never attain even half the speed and power even average youma are capable of."

"But you managed to fight it to a standstill!" Yoshua pointed out, causing Raki to sigh

"I can't deny that, but you have to understand that my whole sword style is geared towards fighting someone stronger and faster than me. It relies heavily on surprise and unconventional attacks to bridge that gap of power. When it comes to speed and strength alone, I was in way over my head. Humans can't do superhuman feats; it's as simple as that."

Yoshua stayed silent for a few moments, and Raki thought he had finaly gotten through to him, when the younger man gave him a challenging look. "If what you say is true, then why are you healing so fast?"

Raki could only gape uncomprehending. 'Eh?'

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3 days later Raki stepped out of the Inn, quickly shielding his eyes from the glare of the sun. After a week inside his eyes weren't used to the bright light.

Yoshua's claim of his superhuman healing ability had proven true and the stitches, that should have taken at least 2 more weeks to heal properly, had already been taken out. Unfortunately, the young man had told everyone and his dog about this 'amazing ability' as well.

That included Yoshua's father, who had already been a little uneasy about Raki's presence thanks to the Claymore he had used to slay the youma. It seemed even the weapons the half-youma used to fight were enough to give normal humans the jitters.

Once the town chief had gotten wind of his miraculous healing, whatever goodwill Raki had garnered vanished, to be replaced by mistrust and fear.

And so Raki found himself outside, even though his stomach was still giving off a twinge of pain every now and then. The pain was nothing, though, compared to the pain he felt when the citizens around him looked at him like he was a rabid animal. He had more or less saved the town, and yet they treated him no better than the thing he had protected them from.

'This is what Claire and the others must have felt like, every time they finished an assignment' Raki thought dismally as he started the trek towards the eastern town gate. The people on the street parted before him like the red sea for Moses.

While walking, he heard them whispering. 'Strange' and 'Freaky' were two of the friendlier things people used to describe him. When a young mother grasped her little daughters hand and told her not to get close to the 'monster', Raki clenched his fist to keep from exploding.

How Claymores could take this kind of abuse without going on a rampage was a complete mystery to him.

Raki had almost reached the town border, when Yoshua came running down the street. "Raki!!Wait!"

Raki turned to face the younger male, while absently noting that the other townsfolk were looking at Yoshua like he was crazy. "Did I forget something at the inn?" Raki asked, while Yoshua tried to catch his breath from the run.

"No….nothing…like that." Yoshua huffed out between breaths. "I just want you to know, that I'm still grateful to you for saving us from the youma. You did a great thing for this town…I didn't want you to leave here thinking _everyone_ thought ill of you."

Despite the scared and mistrusting eyes he could feel on his person, Raki could not help but smile. "Thanks, I really needed that Yoshua. I know this may be a lot to ask, but can I ask you a favour?"

"Sure! You saved our town a lot of trouble, after all." Yoshua said enthusiastically.

Raki clapped his right hand on Yoshua's shoulder and looked him straight into the eyes. "I know this may be a lot to ask, but if you ever meet a Claymore, please treat her like you treated me. Even if she is only passing through, try to talk with her. They are suffering so much for our sake, a little warmth and company is the least they deserve. "

Yoshua stared at him, stunned either by Raki's request or the passion in his voice. "That Claymore you carry…you didn't steal it like you told us, did you?" The boy asked, and Raki could tell Yoshua was piecing together at least some of the puzzle he represented to others.

"Yeah, I didn't."

Yoshua was obviously conflicted about that revelation, and Raki reluctantly pulled his hand away. "I've spent time with them, Yoshua," He said in a low voice. "and they are more human than some of our species could ever hope to be. What you are does not matter, only what you do. I wish more people would understand that."

Having said all he could, Raki once again turned from the town and started walking.

He was almost 30 meters away, when he heard the shouting behind him. "I'll try, Raki! I'll make them understand!"

Raki walked on, a satisfied smile on his lips.

As long as people like Yoshua were around, there was still hope for humanity as a whole.

Once Raki had left the village behind him, he drew his Claymore and gingerly traced the edge, which was still sharp, even after the years of abuse he had pushed it through.

"What am I going to do now, Claudia?" He asked his blade.

The sword did not answer of course, but Raki needed to feel like someone was around and he had always felt that some part of Claudia was indeed resting within the sword, as insane as it sounded. Regarding the sword silently, Raki thought back to his parting with Claire, Helen and the rest.

After Raki had told them that it was bugging him that no one knew just where the hell youma really came from and he intended to find out more, the Claymores had made it clear that he was not supposed to do anything dangerous, which included contacting the organisation or trying to find a youma to fight. That made getting information pretty damn hard and Raki suspected he could ask all over the place without finding out anything in the next 3 months.

He had already fought a youma though, even if he had not looked for it. That meant he would catch hell from them one way or another.

"Guess that means we will make a trip to the organisation, ne?" Raki asked his sword impishly, determined to proof worthy of the sword he carried, even if it meant defying his wife's wishes.

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As usual on a sunny day, the market place was filled with people. Local merchants tried to sell their everyday goods, like meat and fruits, while travelling traders offered more exotic goods like rare fabrics or gems. People were haggling left and right.

It was an utterly human scene.

7 years ago, when she had first come here, the smell and noise had made her very uncomfortable.

Now, she delighted in her ability to experience what had been but a distant dream once upon a time.

To prove her point she promptly bought some fruits from her usual vendor, receiving a bright smile for her money.

'Life is good' Galatea thought, just like she had thought the last few years.

A slight twinge on her senses made her pause, though.

All morning her senses had been itching, giving her several such twinges over the past few hours. With her Yoki suppressed as it was, to the point that her eyes had returned to their natural blue color even without suppressant-pills, it was very hard to sense yoki, even for her.

Yet, the continued sense of wrongness she had felt all through the morning left no doubt in her mind:

A Youma had finally come into her hiding place.

Her good mood soured instantly.

She could kill it without being seen, but the sudden death of a Youma would still get the organization onto the plan. In addition, to kill it, she had to find it and for that she had to dispel her disguise. 'Casting' it anew would take a good two weeks and was therefore not an option.

If she did nothing about it, it would kill a few humans. The town was moderately rich though, and a member of the organization would soon come to dispatch it.

No matter what she did, unless a miracle happened she would have to search for a new hideout.

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3 days later the second human was killed in town. Galatea was once again walking around town. By now the knowledge that a Youma was near had dimmed the normally jovial spirit of the townspeople considerably.

The streets were only sparsely populated and everyone looked around nervously. Even the weather seemed to reflect the general mood: grey rain-laden clouds were slowly rolling over the town.

The stranger caught her eye almost right away. Walking upright without a care in the world he was in stark contrast to the people around him. He looked young, no older than 25, but the thick cloak he wore obscured further features, so she only had his face to go by.

Her attention did not go unnoticed and before she knew it, Galatea found herself standing in front of the man.

"Excuse me miss. Could you tell me why everyone is so down around here?"

A strange question to ask, Galatea thought, but answered without hesitation…she did not need any kind of attention right now. "Two people were killed the past 3 days. It seems a youma has taken up residence in our town."

The man pursed his lips slightly, almost like he expected her answer.

"Would you mind showing me where the murders happened?"

"I do not mind, but what do you want there? The corpses have already been brought away. Aside from some left over blood there isn't much to see."

"Frankly, I don't know myself. I'm simply curios I suppose."

There was more to his intentions, Galatea could tell, but decided not to pry. "Follow me please. We will have to walk a few minutes to get there."

"Lead the way, miss…?"

"Galatea."

"Galatea. An elegant name for an elegant woman." He said easily. "My own name is not quite that impressive. I am Raki."

"Do you always compliment women you have only known for a few minutes?" She asked a little put off by his forward manner, but nonetheless moving towards their destination.

Raki winced noticeably. "Ah…sorry about that. I've been living with some very taciturn companions these last few years. I may have gotten a little too used to filling the silence. It was not my intention to make you uncomfortable."

"I suppose I can overlook it, if you tell me why you really want to see the place of murder."

Raki chuckled in response, confirming that he had really lied about his motives. "Either I'm not as good a liar as I thought, or you have a phenomenal sense when it comes to such things."

"How much do you know about Claymores and youma?" He asked, after a short pause.

"Youma eat humans. Claymores are half-youma used to hunt them down. That's about it" Galatea said, omitting just how much she really knew

"Mmh…I guess normal people really don't know a lot about them, eh? Claymore are so good at hunting youma not only because of their incredible strength, but because they can sense them. From what I understand that is only made possible because both are using Yoki to make themselves stronger."

"That makes sense, but it does not explain your motives." Galatea remarked, more or less bored by being told information she already knew.

"Wow, now you're just being unfriendly." He responded, not the least bit insulted. "I was just getting to that. I stumbled over a youma a few days from here. It was fighting me in a competition in its human guise. It looked like a really nice guy too. Imagine my surprise when the guy suddenly turned into an ugly monster. Frankly, that's an experience I don't need again. I want to take a look so I can find a way to recognize them; there has to be a way to do that."

Galatea was a very good observer and she could tell that, while telling the truth, Raki was still withholding something. Not that it mattered much, because what he intended to do was doomed to failure anyway.

In the history of the organization there had never been mention of a human being able to detect yoki or youma in over a thousand years. Put simply, what he claimed was impossible. Not only would it have been impossible for him to sense yoki, it was also impossible for a human to survive a fight with a youma when he was the first to engage its true form.

Galatea suppressed a sigh. 'He seemed nice enough, but I guess he is just a crazy idiot. Time to play my part I guess.'

"That sounds really incredible! You survived a fight with a youma and you think there is a way to sense them?" She asked, injecting some awe into her voice for good measure.

Raki was just about to answer, when they reached the alley in which the first kill had happened. Galatea, not wishing to hear more nonsense, gestured towards the dried puddle of blood on the ground. "Anyway, this is the first place, why don't you try your luck?"

This close Galatea could sense the residual yoki that was saturating the place, even with her aura sealed as it was.

Raki closed his eyes and stepped right into the middle of the largest residue, most likely the place the Youma had crouched while eating its meal.

It was quite a coincidence, Galatea had to admit.

"There isn't anything here. I should have known it wouldn't be that easy. Thanks for your help, though. I'm sure I can find my way without you now." Raki finally said after looking the whole scene over for a few minutes.

For a guy who had made friendly small talk on the way over, the sudden dismissal was awfully sudden and after bidding Raki farewell Galatea decided to follow the human on a hunch. 'Not like I have anything better to do.'

Over the next 50 minutes they trekked all over the city, Raki stopping at random intervals and even backtracking a few times. As a Claymore it was easy enough for Galatea to stay undetected, which made the whole thing so boring that she was just about to go her own way when she saw where Raki had led them.

In front of them stood a small rundown building, its door and one of the small windows smashed to pieces. A thick trail of blood covered the entrance. Almost like a bleeding man had dragged his body over the ground.

Raki had found the place of the second murder.

Galatea watched silently while Raki took a closer look at the house, vanishing inside after a short look at the remains of the door.

Her thoughts were racing at the speed of light.

The town was not that big, so the chances of stumbling over the place of the second murder weren't that low, but Galatea wasn't the eye of her generation for nothing. She had seen the way Raki had navigated the streets. He hadn't been walking around randomly, no, he had clearly followed a trail and there was only one trail that ended at a place like this.

Yoki.

How many beings in existence could sense yoki while suppressing their own yoki to the point that Galatea, the Eye of her generation, could not even sense it standing right next to them?

Raki came out of the house again and smiled at her when he found her standing on the street. "Hey Galatea! Seems I found the second place on my own. Luck is really on my side today. Thanks again for showing me the first. Finding that would have been impossible alone."

Galatea shivered.

A very old and most likely very strong awakened with a smile that looked so genuine it made her skin crawl stood in front of her and her sword was gathering dust under the floorboards of her house. It was the first time since she had settled here that she felt naked without it.

"It was my pleasure" She forced out her voice sounding like a cracked record to herself. "Now if you will excuse me, I have some urgent business to attend to."

She did not even hear whatever answer he gave over the thundering in her ears, but managed a friendly wave while her mind was already busy thinking up a plan to kill him.

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End Chapter 4

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Author's notes:

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For those wondering what's happening with Claire and the others, fear not, all will be answered in due time.

Provided I keep posting new stuff, that is.