Tears streamed down the small girl's face as she curled up into a little ball. Sadness ate at her as she was forced to send the others away, for reasons that were of her own choosing. She didn't want to hurt them, knowing full well even though she was the youngest in the ranks that life was highly unpredictable and everything could change in the blink of an eye. She had only to look at what had happened to Kate to know that. As she curled up the wind howled, a storm was brewing and she was glad that she'd hidden in the cave. Mucha was several days away and she was a long way from Sutafu, though she would get there over the next three days, travelling as hard as she could to get there on time and most likely before her handler, Orsay.
The twins walked slowly through the forest, both thinking about the little warrior and the goodness in her heart. She was an oddity, a warrior that was forsaken by all that hated her, alone and afraid to feel anything. A mere child fighting monsters that they couldn't stand to face. The elder, blind sister counted the number of steps that the younger one made. Claire was moving quite far today. Perhaps Meg had known very well that they had much to do and power they needed to make do with while they could.
The storm raged and the little warrior was soon up, day break wasn't too far away and Chloey had to move swiftly. The forest was cold and wet, wood damped with the muggy air that refused to allow the rain to fall. She ran between the trees, Sutafu they wanted her to return and she would, in much less time than requested. Amour clanked as the little warrior almost ran forwards, the pace trying to out match the rain that was sure to come. A whole night passed and still the air was thick with moisture, clouds covering the stars as she ran on already two thirds of the way there. She'd covered more ground than any comrade could manage; the devil's pace some said. Perhaps they were right, but Chloey didn't care. She cared only to live; to do as Kate begged her to. Chloey would live, she had to live or else the memories that she carried would be forever lost and gone. It was as if Chloey was carrying the past everywhere like a burden on her broad shoulders. She was a strong warrior and yet, she was also the weakest. She had little to actually live for and as she walked on, she began to wonder what it was that she had to live for.
Wind blew across the plains as the little warrior made the three quarters mark towards Sutafu. She kept going until at last the rain fell, pouring down without end, her hair ran into her eyes just about and water ran down her small face. Chloey sighed and continued on without pause. Her pace was fast since she had a surprisingly long stride for one so small, covering a lot of ground with each step. She was lucky that her legs never screamed in protest, but if they had, she'd have ignored them completely. Her pain was nothing, her feelings were nothing and she was nothing. That was how the little witch saw herself. It was how she was, and it wasn't going to change at all no matter who said and did what. Chloey looked about her as the rain fell even harder than before, large droplets falling on her amour making tell-tale clinking sounds now that the rain's power had increased. Chloey had only one choice, she was going to have to take shelter for the night and hope like all hell that the rain faded away in the morning. She found a good cave, as luck would have it and soon set about making a fire and drying herself off. The spare wood she'd bought had dried enough to at least burn and she pulled out the one thing that no one could take from her, her journal. Chloey carefully pulled out the ink bottle that she kept with her and wrote in the pages her journey. She knew it was a bad and dangerous thing that she was doing, but it was the only way that she could find any piece, mostly to write how she was feeling and to remember clearer the good times, if that was ever possible. She wrote about Kate, Lisa and Misty. She found herself writing about Meg and Claire and about everything she'd learned through observation. It took her all night and when she was done, the rain had stopped and it was time for her to be off again. She stowed the book away as well as the ink and quill. She was well aware that if anyone knew that she could read and write there would be hell to pay. Once she had the journal tucked away she stopped. A yoki wasn't far from the mouth of the cave. It moved slowly and Chloey cautiously walked towards it. It wasn't a yoma, but another half-yoma. As she walked out, a tallish girl jumped out of her skin,
"How are you doing that?!" the girl cried, she had to be a trainee, Chloey sighed,
"Names are polite when you first meet someone. One day you will learn it," Chloey told her,
"Eh?" the girl wasn't just tall, her hair was wavy, bangs rested on her face and went down to her shoulders, while the rest of her hair was pulled back into a wavy ponytail, "Oh, who are you? I'm Teresa and I would really…"
"Teresa…I'm Chloey," the small warrior replied, interrupting the chirpy girl, "as to what I'm doing…" the little warrior chuckled without humour, "Well, we'll just say that the yoma-half is being suppressed,"
"Oh," Teresa said, eyes wide, there was something about the slightly smaller girl that made her think of someone she knew. She wondered if there was a warrior that was as tiny as this one. As she thought about it the warrior was setting off again, not even bothering about her. Teresa had wanted to get away from Sutafu as quickly as possible and yet the warrior was heading in the way that she was leaving. Being a curious child she followed the warrior. She decided that she was going to try to learn as much as she could about Chloey. The girl was clearly a different kettle of fish to anything that Teresa had ever known. Certainly the little warrior kept to herself a fair bit and was consistently ignoring her for the most part. Colder than most would believe, Teresa thought, if that was at all possible. She didn't realise that the training was going to do that to her. That being a warrior was going to do that to her more than any training that she would ever receive.
It was a regular day in Sutafu until it was found that one of the trainees, Teresa had gone missing. It wasn't the first time that the blond had gone missing, and it was really starting to become a problem. That girl was a problem child, while her classmates didn't dare to venture out, Teresa was out and gone before anyone could stop her. Orsay's head was to be had unless he could prove that she could be found. He was supposed to set out and find her but he wasn't told until midmorning. He complained that the sword master's job was to keep track of the trainees, not Orsay himself.
"I have enough trouble with keeping track of the Number 7!" he snapped, "She's obedient yes, but she really moves far swifter than most warriors, despite her small size."
"Very well," said Rimuto, "when the "Eyes" arrives we will task her with finding the escaped trainee which you Rubel seem inadequate to find,"
Rubel didn't look at Orsay, he didn't have to. He could see the smirk on Orsay's face. Teresa was a handful and Orsay was the fucking idiot that'd found the little bitch in the first place. Rubel thought that it was poor payment but said nothing. He was a spy and he couldn't be compromised, lest they find out about that and he be possibly killed before he stopped them.
Chloey kept walking aware that Teresa was following her. It was clear to Chloey that Teresa wanted to and the girl kept talking,
"So how is fighting the yoma…and what do you do when you have to stop your yoki? How do you know where to go? Is there really a region with snow and ice?"
Chloey kept walking, Teresa had so many questions. Too many questions. Chloey gave no answer, but the questions kept coming until she wanted to grab her hair and scream at Teresa to shut the fuck up. Chloey was only a child and her temper was really being tested,
"Listen and learn," Chloey growled, "observe what happens around you and don't fuck around,"
Teresa jumped in shock, but she went quiet. Clearly Chloey had been a warrior for a good length of time. Teresa noticed that when she was quiet Chloey seemed to be a little happier. It was a little better to learn. Teresa noticed that every so often the little warrior paused, seemingly focused and moved out again. Teresa learned that she was sensing out the yoki. Though none was actually nearby.
Three hours passed and Chloey had sensed enough, Teresa was strong; she'd make a good warrior if she made it through training. The forest that they travelled through had tall trees that made it impossible to see anything other than the path they were on. Chloey was well aware that much was moving in the forest and for the most part the little warrior didn't care. She was more than a match for the wild beasts that lived there. The creatures would however take a trainee if she was silly enough to try to face it without a blade. Chloey knew the forest like the back of her hand. She easily picked the quickest paths towards Sutafu, sensing other warriors and some faint yoma in the distance. None of it worried the little warrior, but for Teresa it was a whole new world. She kept on Chloey's trail, the warrior having adjusted her pace because she had a funny feeling that if she left the trainee behind, she would be sent to get her back.
Half a day later and they were half way towards Sutafu. Chloey had already found out a good deal about Teresa, more than she knew about herself. It was easy to see that the young girl was a close up reader of yoki and nothing more. Chloey thought that it was a shame, but secretly she was pleased. It meant that she was safe for a little while longer.
When they arrived at Sutafu, they arrived to an uproar. Orsay had been prepared to send the Number 7 out to fetch Teresa, but the little warrior had found her and bought her back. No one knew how in the world the little warrior had known to bring Teresa back, but she did. The child no worse for wear than before she left. Teresa was easily the most misbehaved child they had. Thankfully the witch hadn't discovered her powers yet, but the little warrior seemed to be finding hers more by the day. Rimuto would have to get the ball rolling and start pressing for new eyes soon…and yet Chloey was still so useful. Orsay said that to Rimuto and the Chief agreed that the little warrior would have to remain. Perhaps as an anti-warrior she was getting so useful.
After Teresa was returned, she was punished. The girl was tied down and beaten until blood was running down her back, just like last time, Teresa didn't even scream. There was nothing she could do. Her back hurt, but it was a small price to pay for the small freedom she had. She was then locked up in a cell for the rest of the day. It was hoped that she would never run away again.
Chloey stood in the centre of the room, as to why she was called here the little warrior didn't know. She had no desire to reveal anything and as she looked about the room it was clear that it wasn't just her handler and the Chief. The small warrior looked into each face that she could see, most of them were just plain disturbing and unnatural. The little warrior faced forward and looked at Rimuto. Clearly he was the reason she was here and she would listen to what he commanded.
Waiting was the hardest part, Chloey figured, her small body staying as still as she could make it without catching too much attention. The men had been eager to see the small warrior and whispers rung about the room. Chloey waited. The men commented on the size of the "Eyes" and asked how such a small warrior could take out yoma. Chloey made no move to reply, she didn't want to be there. Orsay spoke, "Number 7, where are the southern voracious eaters?"
Chloey tilted her head and spoke, her voice soft but it carried, "Two are towards the south west of Mucha, they are of average power, there are three powerful ones, two travelling together while one is on its own near the southern cape,"
Chloey was quiet again and the men gaped. If the little warrior was true then her range was far beyond what they knew, or had ever seen. Orsay had said she was good, clearly he meant it.
Rimuto gave the little warrior her marching orders and she left the room, having made an impression on to the men that were present. It was clear that she was by far the best at distance perception. As her amour lightly clanked, Chloey walked away, her sharp ears caught more than the men thought she would. They spoke of things that the little warrior knew better than to say she'd heard them.
As she came to one of the waiting rooms in which she was expected to sit and wait for her comrades, Chloey was sure that there was more going on than what they were talking about. She sighed and wrote in her journal, again for the sake of it, pausing every now and again to make sure she didn't get caught.
Three days later at Sutafu and a choppy haired warrior clanked in nervously. She was told that she was going to be working with the Number 7…the Organization's lapdog. She was told tales from some of her other comrades that the Number 7 sat in the shadows and waited to pounce on a warrior and kill her. Of course the warriors that had said that had never met the Number 7, nor did they even know who she was. It was rumours that were spread about the warrior that the Number 30 was going to get to the bottom of. Surely her judgemental comrades had to be wrong. Or at least that was what Jessica had been telling herself the entire way as the she arrived at Sutafu. She had to ask one of the handlers where the Number 7 was because she couldn't feel any yoki at all. Not from the warrior that she was looking for. She went to the room that they so kindly pointed out and opened the door. Inside was a child sitting down with her sword at her side, head bowed and Jessica did a double take. She was the Number 7, or the men were pulling Jessica's leg big time,
"Uh…I'm the Number 30…"
"If I had wanted to know your Number I would have asked for it," the Number 7 replied coldly, the small face snapped up and a cold expression was all that Jessica could see. A monster that was for sure, although for it to be a mere child was another matter altogether. The Number 7 was truly terrifying and Jessica couldn't wait to for the end of the mission.
Three more days, nearly a week of waiting for Chloey and the other two warriors arrived. One was the Number 13, Ashton; a warrior that Chloey knew of and had sensed doing hunts before. It was good to have at least two warriors who knew what they were doing. Chloey observed the new coming warrior. She had moderate yoki and as she looked at Chloey the small warrior could tell that she was a newbie, most likely out of training. She did have a reasonable about of strength though, and was much stronger than the useless chatter box that was Jessica. Chloey got to her feet, there wasn't time to waste as far as the little warrior was concerned, orders had to be obeyed at once the moment they were given and as far as Chloey knew, there wasn't more time to waste,
"We're leaving now, I am the Captain of this mission," Chloey shot at the two of them, "While we're moving I want your names, numbers and the amount of hunts that you have been on before. We do not have the luxury to waste time so I suggest that you follow me and don't dawdle,"
She walked out of the room and the three shorter haired warriors were trotting to keep up with her, clearly Chloey's pace was brutal just like every one of the rumours that they'd heard. The Number 7 was as fast paced as any warrior came despite her small size,
"I am the Number 13, Ashton and I've been on three other hunts," the strongest of the short haired warriors managed to pant out, her hair was the longest of the three at chin length, Jessica's was the shortest, a stubborn mop of hair that just looked ugly and made her look like a pig.
By the time night fell they were about halfway to the target awakened being, it was then that the new comer decided that she would speak, her short hair was quite short at the front gradually getting longer until the back of her hair where it rested near her amour and her bangs rested just level with her eyes. Chloey had expected that she would talk and as she did so, it was clear that she was very serious and composed, for the most part, "I am the Number 22, Rosemary," she said, having taken deep breaths so that she didn't sound at all as tired as what she'd felt since Chloey had pushed a demanding pace and most warriors could only stand short bursts of it at a time. Chloey looked at her, and she continued, "This is my first hunt,"
Jessica went to laugh at Rosemary and Chloey walked over to the talkative warrior, "Silence suits you quiet well I think," the small warrior said, her tone darkening.
Jessica jumped back and shook with fear. The single digit ruled over all of them, it was that simple.