*A barren wasteland stretched out as far as the eye could see. The wind blew at the sand, sending specks of it into the air and sweeping it far away. A small hole appears and my head pops out* Hello folks! What's up? *Silence* Oh, your probably glaring at me with vicious hate and wondering, well asking….okay! "Demanding": Where the hell have you been for almost a year?! Well I've been avoiding a serious and lethal virus called senioritis. I'm pretty sure most of you know what it is and if you don't then ask around. Most of the seniors at my school had been infected with it and it took every drop of my school skills, patience, intelligence and a certain someone I know to not get infected.. Anyway, I've been underground longer then I planned and I've been rather lazy again. I really need to get my butt back into gear. But I haven't been entirely lazy, I wrote this chapter bit by bit when I had the time and now that summers here I can focus more on the one thing I love doing and what I'm good at: Writing this fic for every single one of you to enjoy. I'm sorry for staying out of commission for so long but enough of that for now. Carry on my readers! Enjoy!
"You did what to us?!" Noel yelled as she swung her sword which Omega dodged
A day after all the fights with Omega, Irene had approached him and asked on how she and Teresa didn't awaken. Omega had told them that he had searched their minds and found the part that made them awaken. He had suppressed and restrained it so that the Claymores could use more yoki then any warrior alive and dead could use. He had been about to apologize for doing that without permission when Noel, who digested the information silently, attacked the angel.
"I said I suppressed the yomi part of your mind that made you awaken." Omega said calmly as he dodged a side cut. "All of you could use more yoki then before making you stronger."
"And you did that without asking us?!" Noel yelled attacking again
Omega caught the blade between his middle and index finger just like he had when he first fought Noel. Noel growled and yanked at her weapon but it didn't budge.
"If I did ask would you really have allowed me?" He asked rhetorically
Noel lowered her eyes. Everyone knew the answer to that question.
"Besides" Omega continued, releasing Noel's sword "None of you awakened and you managed to use more yoki then anyone else alive or dead." He sighed "But I still shouldn't have done that without asking you first. I'm sorry."
Teresa sighed and ran her hand through her hair. While Omega did tamper with their minds without asking, he didn't mean any harm by it. He had helped ease their fear of awakening immensely and he did say he was sorry. He had asked for her trust but did something this serious without their knowing, it felt almost ironic and hypocritical in a sense.
Teresa saw the look in Omega's eyes and knew that he was thinking the same thing.
But he was right: If he had asked them then all of them would have refused. They would have been too terrified to allow him to do such a serious thing.
She sighed again and looked at Omega dead in the eye, flaring her yoki a little so her eyes turned gold.
"Never…. ever…do that again." Teresa told him threateningly but it was a bit marred by the forgiving look in her eyes.
"Yeah!" Sophia said but with a slight grin "Next time you do that tell me! Me and Noel missed out on the whole non-awakening thing!"
Noel snorted but leveled her sword at Omega "Do that again and I'll cut you to pieces."
Omega felt a flicker of amusement but nodded
Irene, who had remained quiet throughout the entire conversation, stepped forward until she was standing in front of Omega. "Was it really necessary and wise of you to have me feel that fear? The fear of awakening?"
Omega looked at her and merely said "Where would you be if I didn't?"
Irene thought about it and decided that the angel had a point. Her fear of awakening wouldn't be as soothed as it was now if Omega hadn't done what he did.
Irene nodded, conceding his point.
Omega sighed "I may have stopped you from awakening yesterday but I don't think I'll be doing it again. At least not for awhile."
Teresa frowned along with the others "What do you mean?"
"Tampering with the mind is tricky even for angels." Omega explained "I had suppressed the part of your mind where you would awaken when you went over your limit. However I had to stay focused at keeping it suppressed, I couldn't lose my concentration for even a second."
The four claymores were amazed that he could keep his concentration during so many fights, considering all the heavy hits that had been thrown at him.
"There might be a way to prevent you from awakening but still allow you to use your yoki." He said "But I'm not sure how to do that just yet. If you'll allow me, I can examine your minds, see how they work and figure out a way to allow you to use more yoki without awakening. It'll take me years but by that time I could come up with a solution."
"Why would it take years?" Irene asked
"I want to be very thorough Irene." The angel explained "If I try to take out the part that makes you awaken but damage something else by mistake then we could have a problem. Even the smallest mistake could make you go insane or put you in a coma for the rest of your lives."
"But you're an angel." Noel protested "Couldn't you just….heal us?"
"You're different." Omega said simply "It's simple with humans because we know how to help them, heal them. No angel has ever tried to do the same thing with claymores before. I'm not sure if it'll be as easy with you as it is with a human."
"But were still half human." Sophia pointed out "Why wouldn't it be the same?"
Omega chuckled humorlessly "Because, as my brethren say, you have yoma blood in you. They consider yoma as demons and since your half yoma well…"
"They consider us monsters." Teresa said quietly
"But your not monsters." Omega said gently
"And why don't you think that?" She asked
"Because I've seen real monsters up close." He replied "And from what I've seen, none of you are monsters. You're still human and can still feel. Could a monster care and love a little girl as much as you do Teresa?
At the thought of Clare, Teresa gently smiled
"And Irene." Omega turned to her "You care for your comrades and want everyone one of them to come back alive right? A monster wouldn't care and would dispose of them when they become a burden without a second thought. All in all, you are not a monster."
Irene nodded her head but a glint of gratitude could be seen in her eyes.
"And of course there's Sophia and Noel." Omega said turning to face them "There…" He faltered for a moment.
Noel looked at him "There?"
"Um…" Omega seemed to have trouble finding the right words "Well…"
Both number's three and four glared at him "What?"
Finally Omega shrugged "I don't know what to say."
The moment those words left his mouth, both Sophia and Noel rushed toward him, murder clear in their eyes! Fortunately, the angel had enough time to dodge both their sword strikes. Sophia slid to a stop on Omega's right while Noel jumped back and stood where she was on Omega's left.
"Well think of something to say!" Noel yelled furiously
At the same time, both claymores ran forward, swords ready! Just as they reached Omega, a big cloud of dust suddenly appeared and both their swords where knocked out of their hands! Noel and Sophia collided with each other and fell to the ground. When Noel came back to her senses, she became aware of three things.
One, Sophia was on top of her…..again
Two, Sophia's hands were on her breasts
And three, Sophia's lips were locked with hers
It took Noel, who could be a bit slow at times, fifteen seconds for her to process all this.
The moment it had sunk in, Noel eyes widened and she blushed so hard, she was sure she put a tomato to shame. Her heart began to thunder at a hundred miles an hour in her chest. She felt Sophia's lips curve into a smirk, no doubt feeling her heart pounding thanks to her hands on her chest. And speaking of her hands, Noel felt them squeeze her breasts gently and couldn't help but gasp. With her lips parted, Sophia took the chance to slip her tongue into Noel's mouth and begin to explore it. Noel, if possible, blushed even harder but always they cocky one, pushed her tongue to meet Sophia's, who in turn moaned. Just as they were about to engage in a long hot tongue duel, someone cleared his throat rather loudly.
Instantly, Sophia got off of Noel and onto her feet. Noel, surprisingly disappointed yet embarrassed, followed suit.
The dust cloud was still up but both women could see Omega, just a few feet away.
"I don't think any words will be necessary." Omega said calmly but there was a hint of laughter in his eyes.
Noel wanted to grab her sword and run the angel through with it for what he did but she was too embarrassed to do it. Looking at Sophia, Noel could tell she was just as embarrassed as she was. A deep blush was coloring her cheeks and she wouldn't look directly at Noel. Noel almost wanted to laugh. Throughout her life as a claymore, she's never seen Sophia look as shy as she is now.
Thankfully, Omega spoke up "Now that that's taken care let's talk with the others."
The dust cloud faded away and Omega, who had Noel and Sophia's swords in his hands, gave them back. Then he walked back to Teresa and Irene with Noel and Sophia trailing behind him, looking like a pair of flustered school girls. Both number's one and two raised their eyebrows but didn't comment.
Once they were back together as a group, Omega spoke
"Now's the time to talk about Clare's dream training. She's not a claymore yet so we can't do anything. For certain newcomers, the operation can take awhile."
All four claymores shivered as they remembered their own….operations.
"Not will only Teresa be training her but the rest of you will as well." Omega said "You will train her in specific areas so pay attention.
"Noel." The flustered claymore's head snapped up "You'll be training her in speed. You're the fastest in the group so I want you to train her hard. Teach her what you can and show how a real claymore can move."
Noel nodded and, in a rare show of seriousness, said firmly "I will."
"Sophia." Having recovered faster then Noel, Sophia looked at Omega." You'll be training Clare in strength. You're the strongest physically so I want Clare to be able to ward off your attacks when you're done with her. Show her a true claymore's strength.
Sophia nodded and said "Leave it to me."
"Irene." The calm claymore waited for Omega to continue. "I want you to train and teach Clare your Quicksword."
Irene stiffened in surprise
"I know she'll have Teresa's sensing ability thanks to her blood and flesh and that's good. But we'll need to have Clare keep her cool and have another ability up her sleeve. Not to mention she'll need more discipline then what the organization can teach. If you don't want to teach her that then I can have something else for you to do."
Irene carefully thought over what Omega had said. From what Irene had seen, Clare could be reckless and it could be costly on the battlefield if she still had that as a claymore. And if her sensing abilites couldn't save her in a fight then the Quicksword might. Irene felt slightly reluctant but that quickly faded when Omega quietly spoke.
"Priscilla is still out there Irene. She might need something a little extra in case if they cross paths when were not with her."
Irene could see Omega's logic. If Clare and Priscilla did cross paths then Irene's Quicksword might help her out. Maybe not defeat or kill Priscilla but giver her enough time to get away.
After thinking it over, Irene came to decision "Alright but I can't guarantee she'll be able to completely learn it."
Omega nodded "Just do your best." He then turned to our number one claymore
"Teresa." Teresa waited patiently, giving Omega her full attention "You'll be training Clare in yoki sensing. Teach her how to properly sense yoki and we'll see if Clare can follow in your footsteps."
Teresa nodded "I will."
"Good." Taking a few steps back, he faced all four claymore's "You were right when you said that Clare will be weaker then the average claymore. However, with the four of you teaching her in these aspects and traits, she'll be a force to reckon with."
"But what about you?" Teresa asked "Won't you teach her too?"
"In time I'll teach her a thing or two but for the time being you four will be the ones to teaching her, not me. Besides-"Omega smiled "I'll be helping you guys out in the meantime."
"How are you going to do that?" Noel asked
"I'll help train you of course." Omega said like it was the most obvious thing "Noel, you and Sophia will be working together."
"Why?" Noel asked suddenly feeling nervous
Omega raised an eyebrow and looked at her like she was missing something very obvious.
Sophia, having thought it out, realized the reason "Oh." She said
"Noel, you'll be helping Sophia with her speed and reaction time. Sophia, you'll be helping Noel in strength. You two are opposites so it would make sense."
Noel opened her mouth to protest but then thought better of it and closed it.
"Teresa, Irene, let's give these two some space. I'll explain how I'll help you while we walk." With that said the angel turned around and began to walk away to a further part of the field with Teresa and Irene following behind him.
Noel faced Sophia but then remembered her kissing experience with her. Her head whipped to the side to glare at Omega's retreating back.
"You did that on purpose didn't you!" She yelled mentally, knowing Omega could hear her.
Omega lazily raised one arm into the air as if he was silently saying "You're welcome!"
Noel growled mentally before turning back to face Sophia. Her thoughts must have been similar to Noel's because a faint blush colored her face and she was staring at the ground. Noel could feel the awkward tension in the air and quickly spoke.
"So, want to get started?" She asked
"Sure." Sophia mumbled still staring at the ground
Noel sighed before her usual smirk graced her lips. As fast but as silently as she could, Noel ran past Sophia but smacked the flat side of her claymore on her ass!
Sophia let out a surprised yelp and stumbled forward before retaining her balance and spun around to face Noel.
Sophia's mouth was hanging open like she couldn't believe Noel had the guts to do that. "You did not just do that." She said glaring at the number four
Noel raised her eyebrows "I believe I just did." She said smugly but was secretly happy that Sophia was back to her usual self, if only for the moment.
"You are so dead!" Sophia yelled running toward Noel
"You'll have to catch me first!" Noel yelled back running away from the number four's furious swings.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Teresa shook her head as she watched Sophia chase Noel all across the field.
"How do you put up with those two?" She asked looking at Irene "I'm surprised you can even travel with them much less endure all-all…" Teresa fumbled with her words for a moment then decided to keep it simple "This" She swept her hand across the field where Noel and Sophia were as the two fought each other and insult after insult was rapid fired at each other.
It was Irene's turn to shake her head. "I sometimes even surprise myself."
"How do you do it?" Teresa asked
Irene looked at her best friend and plainly said "Practice. Lots and lots of practice.
Teresa laughed and said "I can tell."
Irene lips twitched but she didn't smile. Both claymores turned there attention back to Omega.
Omega spoke up "Are you two ready?"
"What will we do exactly?" Irene asked curiously
"Like I said, I'm going to help you swing your sword as fast as you can while your using your Quicksword. Without using it of course."
"And how are we going to do that exactly?" Irene asked.
"A little simple really." He gestured Irene to follow him and they stopped in front of two trees. "Please use your Quicksword on the first tree."
Irene did what Omega asked. The tree was reduced to firewood.
"Now all you have to do is do the same with the second one." Omega said simply
Irene quirked an eyebrow "But-"
"I don't expect you to get it on the first try. This is training. You can take as long as you have to to get the job done. Okay?"
"Alright." Irene replied
"But before you start put these on." Omega reached into his pockets and held the items out for Irene to take. In his hand were bracers pure white in color but had a golden cross insignia in the center.
Irene stabbed her sword into the ground and took the bracers from Omega. They almost weighed nothing in her hands. She was confused as to how this would help her but Omega told her to put them on. When she had the bracers on correctly Irene held her hands out, palms down, so she could look at the cross insignia.
"As you may have guessed these are angel made." Omega said "These are my own bracers and they've helped me train. Observe."
Omega reached out and tapped both bracers on the insignia. Both of them glowed and Irene almost collapsed onto the ground as the weight of the bracers suddenly grew heavier. With some difficulty she righted herself up.
"These are designed to weigh you down while you sword fight or merely swing your sword." Omega explained "Once you get used to the weight then it'll increase even more. It's worth it in the end. This training has saved my life more then once."
Irene grunted and grabbed the hilt of her sword. With slightly more difficulty she yanked it free. She stumbled over to stand in front of the second tree. The number two warrior raised her weapon into a guard stance.
"I better get started then." She said a little breathlessly
"Oh, before I forget." Omega stared at Irene's claymore and his eyes flickered.
Irene almost yelped when her sword suddenly grew heavier in her grasp. Not as prepared this time, the top half of the blade sunk into the earth but Irene managed to stay on her feet. Now panting slightly, Irene lifted the sword back into the guard stance she had done only a second ago. Her arms trembled slightly, an outward appearance on how hard it seemed Irene was having to keep it that way. Irene was never a complainer when it came to training but she really had to resist the urge to throw Omega a dirty look.
For some peculiar but "sure" reason, she knew that Omega was having fun. Watching her struggle with something she never had experienced before.
"Have fun Irene." Omega said brightly as she began to slice at the tree as fast as she could, mentally groaning at each swing.
"Come on Irene!" Teresa said encouraging her friend. Irene smiled and felt warmth at her best friends support and encouragement.
But the next set of words completely obliterated that feeling.
"You can do better then this! Come on! It can't be that hard!"
Irene's smile faded and she almost wished that she could be freed of her training and shows Teresa how hard this actually was.
But Omega decided to do that for her.
Teresa's sword suddenly grew much heavier and she had to catch herself on her hands to keep from kissing the grass. Her arms trembled as she did her best to support the sudden weight increase. Then her arms gave out and her face was buried in the grass.
Omega looked down at Teresa's fallen form with one eyebrow raised.
"Still thing it's "not that hard" Teresa?"
A muffled "sorry" could be heard.
"I'm sorry." Omega said puzzled, he cupped his ear with his hand "What was that?"
Teresa's head trembled and she looked up at Omega.
"I said I was sorry."
"Okay." Omega said and he felt Irene's satisfaction even though she was continuously hacking at the tree silently. "Please get up Teresa."
Grunting, Teresa's form trembled as she got onto her hand and knees. She forced herself onto her feet, wobbling slightly and the extra weight suddenly vanished.
"Nice job." Omega said nodding "But let's get started on your training Teresa."
"Which is….?"
"Fighting me without your yoki sensing."
The last word barely left Omega's mouth when Teresa drew her sword and blocked a sudden diagonal slash! Her metal boots dug into the ground at the assault.
"Try and keep up Teresa!"
And thus Teresa's own torture, ahem, training began.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Noel sighed and ran a hand through her short hair.
Nightfall had fallen when Omega decided to that they were done training for the day. Irene stayed up for a little before going to bed, her arms likely sore from all that extra weight and swinging. Sophia and herself had sparred for the day, each of them trying to improve in the areas Omega had pointed out and Teresa had gotten an intense workout with Omega. She could fight incredibly even without her yoki sensing but it hadn't made that much of a difference against Omega.
So everyone was in bed. Well, besides herself and likely Omega.
While her comrades were getting ready to sleep, Noel had walked off to the lake and stood on its shore. The moon was out tonight and it made the water sparkle but Noel's attention wasn't on the beautiful scene.
Her mind was on a certain someone she had the surprisingly and shockingly pleasure of almost tongue dueling with much earlier. Noel felt her face warm as she remembered Sophia being on top of her and her hands squeezing her breasts. How she had kissed her.
Noel pressed her fingers to her lips.
How soft and warm her lips had been against hers.
But why had Sophia done that?
Did Sophia-
"No!" Noel thought shaking her head "She can't have those type of feelings for me. I mean…she was probably teasing him like she usually does! That has to be it! She's my rival! My comrade! My…my friend."
"Do you really think that?"
Son of a bitch.
Noel had been so consumed in her thoughts that she hadn't heard Omega approaching. She jumped so violently she fell onto her side. Scrambling to her feet, Noel turned to glare at Omega, her cheeks burning.
"Why are you out here?!" Noel asked angrily
"Take it easy." Omega said calmly "I noticed how distracted and in conflict you were earlier. That's my fault after all I did have you and Sophia-"
"Shut up!" Noel hissed
"I'd say I was sorry but I'm not." Omega admitted "Well, I am a little sorry but I wouldn't have done it if I had known you didn't like Sophia in that way."
"I don't!" Noel yelled
"Yes you do." Omega replied
"No! Sophia's my rival! I don't have feelings for her that way!"
"How long are you going to keep lying to yourself Noel? It's okay to admit that you like Sophia."
Tinges of red clouded Noel's sight and she screamed
"FOR THE LAST TIME: I DON'T LOVER HER!"
The moment she realized what she said Noel's temper immediately deflated.
Omega smiled but it wasn't a mocking smile or a smug one. It was a gentle one
"You said love Noel. I've been saying like."
Noel turned her back on Omega and crossed her arms, her face burning. She had a feeling Omega had done this on purpose, to get her to slip up.
"You would be right about that."
That angelic son of a fuckin' bitch.
Noel was now wondering why at the time she had been thinking about such embarrassing thoughts when she was only a short distance away from a mind reader of all things.
"You're not the first one to think that."
Noel turned to face Omega "Will you stop doing that?" She mumbled still embarrassed
"Sorry." Omega apologized "But getting back to our original topic: you love Sophia don't you?"
"No." Noel said weakly trying desperately to backpedal from the direction the conversation was going.
"Noel?" Omega asked "How stupid do you think I am?"
"What?" Noel asked in return, confused.
"I have lived for a very long time." Omega told her "And I've seen a lot of things. Most of all I've seen love. All different types of it. I know it when I see it.
Noel bit her lip but said nothing.
Omega sighed "Alright." He said "I'm sorry for pushing you but I know the truth Noel. I'll let you come to terms with it on your own. There's nothing to be embarrassed about in loving someone. It's okay to love Noel. When you love someone, your life will be filled with happiness and contentment."
With that said Omega turned around and walked away.
Noel watched him go and sighed.
Did she really love Sophia? Her friend, rival and comrade for most of her Claymore life. Noel remembered how she felt when Sophia had pinned her down and how it seemed she would kiss her. Then remembered Sophia actually doing so. Noel hadn't wanted to throw her off or push her away.
She had wanted Sophia to continue and get closer to her.
By the twin goddesses….
"I do love her." Noel whispered but she was sure Omega could still hear her "But I'm terrified of what might happen if I'm that close to her and I…lose her."
Ugh, she sounded so pathetic.
But pathetic or not, it was the truth.
And the truth wasn't always a nice thing to know.
Well I finally finished my latest chapter. Now that that is out of the way I can continue from where I left off earlier. Let's see….where was I?
...
Oh, right.
I want to apologize to all my viewers and readers of this story for such a long wait. I'm sorry for keeping you waiting for so long. If some of you have stopped reading and given up on this story then I understand. I will do my best to update much sooner but college is fast approaching and I need to prepare myself. Good night my reviewers..