A/N Sorry it's taken so long to update these stories. What with my grandfather's cancer, medical issues with a broken leg and air force medical eligibility, and life's general overwhelming obstacles, I haven't had much time to work on my writing. BUT, now that I have time again, my brain chose this moment to give me massive writers block on this story (thanks a lot brain!), so to get the ideas stirring and to share something else with my readers, I've decided to write this special for Rise of the Claymores. Hopefully it will give you a better idea of how my versions of the characters are going to act in this fic, and though it's mostly for fun (though I guess this whole story is), it will have a small effect on what happens in the rest of the story. If anyone notices any OOC-ness or has concerns on how any of the other characters are acting, just post me a PM and I'll figure out what went wrong. So without further ado, here is Rise of the Claymores: Raki's Birthday special.
Warning, this chapter contains complete randomness, writer self insertion and blatant violations of the rules of a sensible storyline due to misuse of the almighty powers of the writer. You have been warned.
4 days until Raki's birthday
Raki was sometimes very self conscious about certain things, most notably anything that drew a lot of attention to himself. So it was understandable that he 'forgot' to mention that in a couple of days, he was going to turn 16 (A/N I have no idea what age he is in the anime and I'm to lazy to find out right now). So far, he was planning on doing some more training with Raven, along with Claire, and that would last until his birthday anyway so he didn't really see any point in bringing it up.
He had been thinking about this topic for a while now, as he and Claire were traveling towards Irene's cabin to start training again. "I'm just glad to be back with Claire again, not to mention that I might be able to use energy similar to Claire and the others. If I can, then it'll be my turn to protect Claire this time, I'm done being the helpless little kid. My birthday's nowhere near as important as that." he whispered to himself. "What was that?" Claire said from beside him. "Ahh, nothing, nothing at all really." 'I forgot how powerful a Claymore's senses are.' Claire stopped and looked at him with a thoughtful expression. "You said something about a birthday, is your's coming up soon? Come to think of it, how old are you anyway?" Raki sweat-dropped at that. 'She doesn't even know how old I am? Oh well, I guess I am always the one asking her questions, like what it's like to be a Claymore, I guess I can understand why she might not know that much about me. Still, I'd rather keep ti to myself.' Turning to her, he move behind her a starts to push her down the path again. "Yeah, my birthday's in a few days, I'll tell you all about it when we get to Irene's though." "Alright Raki, we are running a little late after all, we don't want to keep them waiting for long." Relieved at that, he begins walking beside her again. 'God I hope she forgets about this by the time we get there, we are still about a day from getting there after all.'
3 days left
"HEY EVERYONE, RAKI'S BIRTHDAY IS COMING IN A FEW DAY'S, HE SAID HE'LL TELL US ALL ABOUT IT!" Clair shouted the instant they were inside the cabin. 'Well, so much for her forgetting about it.' Raki thought to himself as the sound of footsteps were heard from upstairs. 'At least it'll just be Claire, Raven, and Irene.'
Suddenly the front door burst in as a very excited purple girl ran in and tackled Raki in a fierce hug. "WAAAAH, MY BIG BOTHER RAKI'S BIRTHDAY. WHAT SHOULD I GET YOU? WHEN IS IT? HOW OLD WILL YOU BE? WHAT KIND OF CAKE DO YOU WANT? WHAT ABOUT-" She suddenly stopped when she was pulled off of the struggling Raki by an irritated Claire. "He'll tell us when everyone gets here, try not to kill him until then." Priscilla then looked to Raki with a saddened expression. "I'm sorry Raki, I just got a little excited." "That's alright, Priscilla, just be careful next time, and no tackling please."
Another figure, this one being a young man with jet black hair, walked in through the newly demolished doorway. "I'm sorry, she heard what you said from where we were training by the river, I just couldn't keep up with her when she got that excited. I had hoped that the hard work might have calmed her down a little, but I guess not." He said. "Don't worry about it Angelo, every thing's fine now. I wasn't really planning on doing anything for my birthday though." "WHAT?! You HAVE to celebrate your birthday, it's the day you were born after all. I've celebrated every birthday I've had so far, all 956 of them, even if most of them were while I was on my own stuck inside of that infernal machine!" 'Well, that seemed pretty enthusiastic, he must take birthdays pretty seriously then. I guess it'll be more than just the four of us then.' Raki thought.
Irene and Raven came down from the stairway, Raven with a wide, mischievous grin on her face, Irene with a more gentle smile. "Well well well, your birthday huh? This should be exciting." Raven said with a near crazed look in her eyes. "We'll have to celebrate of course, I'll get started planning right away." Irene said, pulling Raven along behind her.
She stopped and turned back to Raki. "Oh yeah, what day is your birthday?" Raki then looked around at all the faces looking at him with everything from happiness to crazed excitement on their faces and realized something about everyone here. "Alright, it's three days from now, I'll be turning 16." Irene's grin widened at this, "We'll get right to work then." She said as her and Raven left to begin preparing.
Smiling to himself, he sat down on one of the chairs in the living room of the cabin as he thought to himself about his new realization. 'Everyone here has gone through so much, we're fighting the Organization, trying to find a mysterious opponent who we know nothing about, trying to train in new ways that basically ends up changing the very fabric of our being. We're all working so hard and, most importantly, we're becoming a family. I guess, if it's for those I care about, Claire and the others, I can put up with a birthday party.'
Only 2 days now
"Hey, I heard about Raki's birthday, I thought I'd come by and see how my old student was doing." Came the voice of someone who had just entered the cabin. Everyone in the house recognized the voice and came rushing towards it, weapons drawn towards the invading Abyssal One. "ISLEY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" A crazed looking Priscilla said as she started digging her fingernails into Isley's arm. Backing away with his hands up, he responded "Hey, like I said, I heard about Raki's birthday, so I thought I'd stop by and say hi." " How did you even find out about my birthday anyway? I haven't told anyone else." Raki said with a confused look. "The writer of this story used his almighty power as writer to implant himself into the story, he then found me and told me that he was planning on having Raki's birthday be two days from now. That's him, right behind me" he motioned towards the door where a skinny dark haired teenager was standing with worn jeans and a green t-shirt. "Hi, my name's Mike, but you can just call me by my screen name, Angelo." I said. "Hey, that's my name." Said a confused Angelo. "Well yeah, you were my first character in fictionpress, so even though we're nothing alike, I named you after my nickname in high school, Michael Angelo." I said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Riiight, and this guy didn't seem weird to you at all?" Claire asked. "Not really, he included that I would need to trust him since it was required for this part of his story to work." Replied Isley.
Everyone in the room was now looking at the two like they were crazy. "Uuuummm, yeah, I think you should probably go now." Irene said, now almost looking scared at the two, as if fearful that the insanity that had befallen them could be contagious. "Alright, I just wanted to drop this off." Isley said, pulling out a long present wrapped in colorful silver wrapping paper. "See ya later." He said as he turned and left with the dark haired teen. "I thought wrapping paper didn't exist in this world Mike? I thought you said it needed plastic, dyes and, something called 'tape'?" He said as they walked off. "Don't worry, I made an exception with my almighty powers as writer." "Oh, right. While we're at it, can I be made king of this island, you know, since you're already making so many exceptions with your fancy writer powers?" "Ha ha, nice try."
Everyone was standing by the door for at least an hour after that, trying to process what just happened and what kind of insanity had befallen Isley.
Tomorrow's the day!
Everyone had finally recovered from the insanity of the previous day, and was working on last minute preparations for the party.
"Damn it, you can only bake a cake the day before the party, since it'll be freshest that way, but now that it's time to start, I realized I don't know how to bake a cake." Raven nearly screamed in frustration as her and Irene were working in the kitchen. "Well I don't know anything about making cakes, what should we do?" Irene responded. "We'll just have to ask everyone else if they know how to bake a cake."
"Sorry, but cakes never really helped me with fighting yoma, so I never had a need to learn." Claire said when they asked her.
"Nope, remember, I was in stasis most of my life and was trapped by the original Organization before that, I never had any cake, even though I always wanted one. We'll need to find something that'll work." Said Angelo after they asked him.
"Cake? No, sorry but I can't help you there. I think big brother Raki's the only one who would know how to make one, he is the best cook out of all of us. After all, wasn't that the excuse Claire used to get him to travel with her?" The whole group then went to find Raki, Claire making a larger and larger bruise on Priscilla's head the entire time.
"Nope, my uncle had an allergy to eggs, so I never had the chance to make a cake for anyone." Raki said thoughtfully.
Suddenly, a knocking sound came from the front door. "I wonder who that could be?" Claire said as she opened the door, only to freeze with a shocked expression on her face.
"Hello Claire, how have you been?" Said a smiling Teresa as she stood next to the same dark haired teen from the day before. "The writer of this story, the all powerful Michael, gave me a chance to meet my little girl's new boyfriend and to wish him a happy birthday." She said while placing a large white and blue box just inside the doorway. "TERESA! How could you say something like that!?" Claire said, her cheeks a bright red.
Ignoring the embarrassed young woman, Teresa moved into the house in front of Raki. Looking him up and down with an appraising glint in her eye, she suddenly opened her mouth in a big toothy grin. 'So much for having a faint smile' Claire thought to herself. "He's soooo CUUUUUUUTTTTEEEE!" Teresa squealed in delight, hugging the surprised boy to her chest. "AHHH GET HER OFF." Raki screamed in fright.
Turning back towards the door, she said "Well, I must be on my way. Good bye Raki, take good care of my little girl for me." "I will, goodbye." Raki said, waving towards the retreating form of Teresa before she vanished.
"I should be on my way too, take care Raki and have a happy birthday. If you don't, then I'll use my powers as writer to show all of your embarrassing baby pictures to Claire." I said as I left the cabin. "Wait, camera's don't exist in this world, how could I have embarrassing baby pictures?" Raki yelled back at my retreating form. "Did you forget who you're talking to? I could force you to wear a pink tutu for the rest of the entire story if I wanted to." "Oh, right, because you're this magical writer, who has this fancy power over EVERYTHING in this world, right?" Claire said sarcastically. "Hey Raki, here's an early birthday present." I said over my shoulder.
Suddenly the wind started to blow really hard and lifted up Claire's armored skirt right as Raki glanced towards her. "WAAAHHHH I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" Claire yelled as she started chasing after me, leaving a dazed Raki still standing in the same place by the door to the cabin.
Happy Birthday Raki!
The entire cabin was covered in bright streamers, the living room had a huge banner on it saying "Happy Birthday Raki" and the whole group was sitting in a circle around Raki, along with a big pile of presents that they were waiting for him to open. "Thank you all for doing this for me. Even with Isley showing up, and that crazy guy who keeps calling himself this 'almighty writer' (A/N Hey, I'm not crazy!) this'll be my best birthday yet." Raki said to everyone around him. Each of them grinned at that, thinking of how much work they put into this occasion. "Well, everyone's waiting big brother, why don't you start opening your presents?" Said an excited Priscilla as she tried to hold in her enthusiasm. "Alright, first, I'll open Isley's, just to get that one out of the way."
As he reached for the long, silver box, he noticed a silver (of course) card attached to the front of the box. As he opened it, a small smile graced his features. "Dear Raki, though I may be an Abyssal One and awakened being, I still remember what it was like being human. Working hard, training to be stronger, and protecting those you care about. I think, if I ever had a son, I would have like him to be like you Raki. I hope you like this gift and use it well. Thank you for traveling with me in Pieta, and have a wonderful birthday. Isley" Raki finished reading the card out loud and began opening the box. Inside was a large claymore. It had a blue hilt and a note attached. "This was mine back when I was training to be a Claymore. Use it well my friend."
"Mine next, mine next!" Said Priscilla, nearly bursting out of her skin with excitement as she pushed a bright pink box towards Raki. "Alright Priscilla, I'll open it." he said. Inside of the box was a wooden picture frame, on the paper inside was a pencil drawing of the entire group in near lifelike detail. Raki was standing in front of Irene's cabin with Claire next to him. They were both holding hands and had cheerful smiles on their faces. To their right was Angelo, standing tall with his hand on the shoulder of Priscilla in her child form. Next to Angelo was Raven, with one arm around Angelo's shoulders and the other resting on Priscilla's other shoulder. To the left of Claire and Raki, Irene finished off the picture, sitting calmly in a chair with a kind smile on her face as she looked towards Claire. "This is beautiful Priscilla, thank you so much." Raki said as he carefully placed the picture on the table next to him.
"I think I'll open Teresa's next." He said as he reached for the blue and white box. After lifting the lid off of the box, his face was blasted with a rush of cold air. Inside was a clear plastic container and a note saying "Happy Birthday Raki! I hope you enjoy this ice cream cake, nobody should have to go without cake on their birthday. Teresa" Raki then handed out the cake to everyone. "Wow, this is really good." Raki said, "What's ice cream though? Well, whatever it is, it tastes great."
"Time to open mine, I promise you'll enjoy it." Said Raven, a mischievous glint in her eye. Cautiously reaching for the large box she handed him, Raki was wondering what she could have planned on giving him. Opening the lid of the box, he gasped in surprise as he pulled out a full set of body armor. The torso had layers of steel plate set together like the scales of a dragon, while the leg and arm pieces were effectively solid other than similar layering on each joint. Overall, the armor seemed equally built for aesthetics as it was for bodily protection, the entire suit being stained a deep blue and green. "Wow, thank you Raven, I hope this will help with our upcoming fights against the Organization. Thank you so much." Raven had a big grin on her face as she watched Raki admire her gift. "It's made from a similar steel to your claymore swords and Angelo's katanas, it's almost indestructible and is imbibed with an energy that will help you channel your own internal energies during battle, though it'll probably only help you enhance your physical strength when you use it with your current skill level. I hope it serves you well." "Thanks again Raven."
"Time for mine I guess." Said Angelo, handing a smaller box to Raki. The box itself was ornately carved with intricate designs and painted with bright colors, the intricate filigree and design making the box itself seem just as important as the gift it held. Opening the lid of the box, Raki pulled out a necklace just as intricate as the box, a braided gold string attached to a small gold medallion with a small sapphire in the center. "I made that based off of the one I got when I was working for the original Organization. It will help you channel you energy and enhance it as well, amplifying it to nearly double what it is now. Using more energy, enhanced with armor or medallions, should help you get used to the idea of using your energy and will help you become stronger faster. Eventually, you'll be able to use your energy for far more than just increasing your physical strength, but as to how long that will take, well, that's up to you. Use it well."
After the party was over and Raki tried out all of the gifts he had been given, he put everything in the room he was staying in while training. He was sitting on his bed, thinking about how amazing it was to have friends who were willing to go so far for him, just for his birthday. 'I never did celebrate my birthday that much when I was staying with my uncle, I really enjoy doing this though, I'm really glad I met everyone.' He thought to himself as he sat there, gazing at the gifts he had been given. The armor allowed him enough room to wear the medallion underneath it without it being uncomfortable and had a clasp on the back that could be used to hold a sword, as well as being adjustable to hold almost any sized blade, from a tiny pen knife to a broadsword twice the size of the claymores used by Claire and the others. Isley's claymore fit the armor perfectly, the blue hilt perfectly matching the armor with the blade feeling very natural in his hands whenever he held it. He had practiced a little with all of the items and found that while wearing the armor, medallion, an using the claymore, he was able to perfectly slice through a solid granite boulder almost twice as thick at he was tall, a massive achievement for him, and he already felt the effects of becoming used to using more of his energy after he removed the items as his energy drain didn't tire him out as much as it usually did whenever he trained. He was busy contemplating how all of this would be able to help him fight alongside the others, as well as protect Claire, when the very person he was thinking about quietly slipped through his door and sat on the bed next to him. As deep in thought as he was, he didn't notice until he felt the bed shift under the extra weight, and was understandably surprised as he turned to find Claire sitting next to him, her bright silver eyes boring deep into his own.
"Oh, hi Claire. Sorry, I didn't notice you at first." She continued gazing into his eyes, her face betraying no emotion as she spoke next. "It's alright. I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable when I brought up your birthday to everyone, I didn't think about how you would have felt about it." she spoke in her usual expressionless tone, her voice even and fluid, one of the many thing about her that drew Raki to her. "That's alright, I really enjoyed it, I hope you and everyone else did too." "I did, thank you." She spoke, though this time her eyes flashed a hint of sadness, so briefly that Raki questioned whether he had imagined it or not, until she spoke again. "I never asked anything about you, never bothered to find out. You were always asking me about myself, what it was like to be a Claymore, and always trying to make sure I was safe, even though I never did anything for you." Raki was stunned to hear this, and even more surprised when a single tear slowly rolled down her face from one of her shining silver eyes. "That's not true at all Claire, you've done so much for me. You saved me from my own town when they threw me out, you allowed me to travel with you, you've protected me, and you even set my brother free. I can never thank you enough for everything you've done for me." He said, his voice filled with determination and sincerity. "Thank you, Raki." Claire said, tears now flowing freely. "You've also helped me far more than I should ever ask, you've helped me to open my heart once again, you returned my humanity, and you've stayed with me no matter what happened. Even when Ophelia was trying to hurt us, when I was fighting Priscilla, every fight we had, you've always been there. Thank you so much." As she spoke, she was slowly moving closer and closer to him, bringing her face closer and closer to his. "Claire, thank you for letting me stay by your side." Raki spoke softly, his eyes slowly closing. "Raki, thank you for being there for me." She responded, closing her eyes as their lips met once again. Unlike when Ophelia was following them, they didn't rush, there was no panic, no hesitation, they poured all of their feeling, their love, and their hearts into that one, single expression of love. As they slowly fell back onto the bed, Raki realized that no number of birthdays or gifts could ever come close to Claire's gift to him that day, and nothing, no amount of yoma or organizations or claymore warriors, would ever be able to separate him from the woman he loved with all of his heart.
A/N Wow, that was quite a bit longer than I expected, this was my first attempt at any comedic or romancy content so I hope I did well. Raki will still have his birthday presents when I get back to writing my other chapters, though this one is out of place chronologically so I hope I don't confuse anyone. Not to beg for reviews, but they do help me figure out what I need to write and hopefully I'll get over my writers block for my other chapters soon.
