Well guys here is chapter 14. I was going to do this in two parts, but that would lead to a big cliffhanger which I didn't want to subject you guys to.
It's a little long but for good reason… trust me.
Seriously… enjoy. =)
Sid and Galk escorted Teresa through the crowded streets of Rabona towards a secret entrance on the southern side of the city. As they approached the southern wall of the city, the crowds began to disappear until it was just the three of them remaining. They arrived at a small gate that was wide open as Teresa could see the southern lands off to the distance. Sid and Galk stopped at the entrance of the gate and eyed Teresa.
"Go and look for Clare" Sid admitted as he leant against the side of the opened gate.
"Best of luck" Galk added.
Teresa gave them a warm smile as she slowly turned to face the great empty land towards the south. It looked similar to the land she crossed on her way to this great city, covered with small wavy hills and beautiful flowers that made the scene look almost as colorful as a rainbow. She placed her right foot forward to begin her search for Clare. As soon as she left the safety of the wall, The sun shown brightly on her face and a sudden gust of wind blew at her cloak as she held it down tightly.
Teresa let just enough yoki flow through her body to remove the effects of the suppressant pills. If she wanted to find Clare, she would need her yoki sensing ability above all else. Her eyes returned back to their normal silver state as she continued on her journey.
Clare just a while longer… we will be together soon
Sid and Galk watched Teresa walk off towards the south into the distance until she disappeared from their view.
"You think she'll find her?" Sid questioned as he continued to lean against the wall.
"She will definitely find her" Galk replied as he stared in the direction Teresa disappeared off to.
"Why are you so sure?" He asked curiously.
Galk let out a smile as he turned to his friend and crossed his arms.
"Did you not see the devotion she had in her eyes? It is clear that Clare is very dear to her"
Sid faced away from Galk, looking rather surprised by what he said. He didn't know that a pair of eyes could tell someone so much.
Clare sat against the meeting tree that was rooted next to the small lake in the middle of the oasis. She was tired of this training, and she was tired of this life. The ghosts have been doing nothing but train for the past seven years in the north and it was getting to her. Miria's recent nervous breakdown only made things worst, as she made them work harder than ever before.
Clare could see her comrades fighting each other off to the distance. She saw Miria battling against Uma, Helen and Deneve at the same time near the other end of the oasis. While the others were battling a little further away in the trees along the outside of the oasis.
Clare suddenly heard footsteps coming from behind her. She knew who it was of course, it was always the same person. Galatea also loved this spot next to the lake as she sat on Clare's left side next to the tree.
"Clare why don't you train, you'll get rusty if you keep avoiding it" Galatea softly spoke.
Clare gave her a cold shoulder as she turned to face the crystal clear lake on her right. She loved the water, she loved the way it reflected the sun and the way if felt against her body. She particularly liked this lake because it contained clear blue water like no other lake she knew of.
A moment of silence passed as the two warriors took in the serenity of their surroundings. The gentle sound of a light breeze and the sound of the water splashing against the sides of the lake soothed their mind during troublesome times.
"I just like to think to my self sometimes" Clare added, breaking the silence as she began to stare at the clear blue sky.
"I know all to well what you mean Clare"
Both of them noticed Miata and Clarice heading towards them from the lake. Clarice has been trying to force Miata to rest, but the child never seems to be tired. Galatea often told Clare about how the child only stops fighting when her body physically cannot move anymore, which Clare found quite amusing and fascinating at the same time.
"No Miata leave Galatea alone, I'm sure that she's tired"
"But mama I'm bored" the child replied looking up at Clarice.
"How can you not be tired? You're a little girl, you're supposed to have plenty of rest" Clarice nagged.
"But I'm not tired" Miata replied childishly as she let out a slight tantrum.
"I give up… go fight Miria then" Clarice sighed as she sat on Clare's right side while the child continued to whine in front of her.
"Really? I can fight Miria?" Miata replied excitingly.
"Clarice…Miria is already fighting three other people…" Galatea informed.
"I know that… but I'm running out of options...just please think of something, Miata can really be a handful… "
The brunette warrior seemed as if she was pondering something as a cheeky smile developed across her face.
"Hey why don't you fight her Clare? You're rather strong."
"I'm fine" Clare coldly brushed off, as she made herself more comfortable leaning lower towards the ground as she leant against the tree.
"Miata, Clare will fight you!" Clarice announced mischievously.
What did I just hear? Clare thought as she turned to face a blade race towards her head.
In a split second Clare frantically rolled to her side as the blade impaled the tree right where she sat a moment before. Clare pulled her claymore from its holster as she watched the small child pull hers out of the thick trunk of the tree.
"Clarice when this is over, I'm challenging you to a fight!" Clare yelled as she parried a blow to her body with such force, she slid against the ground.
Galatea couldn't help but release a light chuckle, while Clarice seemed to be genuinely frightened, finally realizing what deep water she just threw herself in.
Teresa was travelling for a short while through the windy plains towards the south as she suddenly felt extremely faint yoki signatures close by. She stopped moving, closed her eyes and cleared her mind of any thought, to fully concentrate on what she sensed.
It's much too faint for me to get any information from it… but it seems to be coming from those two large hills just ahead….
Clare… why did you become what I never wanted you to be? She thought sadly.
Teresa naturally suppressed her yoki remarkably, but she had to try to suppress it even further. She didn't want the other nine warriors to detect her coming. The last thing she wanted to do was kill one of Clare's friends if they turned hostile towards her.
Well, I wonder how strong my little Clare has gotten… she smiled as she began to walk towards the two large hills.
Dam it she's fast
Clare and Miata were going at it for a few minutes now and Clare was struggling to keep up with Miata while suppressing her yoki. Clare was never particularly good at suppressing her yoki and tended to release it unintentionally. Clare could see that Miata was having fun, but also fighting at her limit while not releasing her yoki, much like Clare herself.
This little girl is going to be a monster when she get's older…
Miata began to swing her blade at speeds that Clare struggled to keep up with as one of Miata's blows managed to cut her right arm. Miata saw Clare place her Claymore behind her back as a sudden whirlwind of blades wailed towards the young warrior. Clare's wind cutter severed the soil underneath her feet and kicked grass up into the air as Miata was forced to back off from the onslaught of blades.
"HEY DON'T USE THAT AGAINST MIATA! SHE'S JUST A CHILD!" Clare could hear Clarice yell from the nearby tree.
Clarice I swear to you I will pay you back for this…
As the fight progressed, Clare found herself walking backwards away from Miata as she parried the child's powerful blows with her claymore. Eventually the two warriors returned to the tree Galatea and Clarice sat against as Clare jumped on a large branch above Clarice.
Come on Miata… cut off this branch… thought Clare.
Miata leapt towards Clare swinging her claymore in an uppercut as she dodged Miata's blade that sunk into the branch cutting it off cleanly. As the branch began to fall, Clare jumped off it and landed behind the tree smiling to herself as she saw Clarice frantically throw herself out of the way of the heavy piece of wood that would have landed on top of her.
I told you I would pay you back…
Clare could see Miria and the others heading back towards the meeting tree. They have been fighting for most of the day and they all looked tired, especially Miria. Clare remembered Miria saying not to train until they felt exhausted, as it was vital the ghosts were always ready to combat the organizations warriors who may have discovered them.
Miata continued her assault on Clare as Miria and the others arrived at the tree and sat down close to Galatea and Clarice letting out a large sigh of relief as they finally took a break from their training.
"Man Miria, you sure know how to dodge attacks" Helen boasted as she sat next to Clarice.
"We must have worn her out, making her use her phantom ability literally thousands of times" remarked Deneve.
"I'm alright" assured Miria as she turned to watch Clare fight that small talented child. "So I see Clare is fighting Miata"
"It should be a rather close fight" remarked Galatea.
Teresa finally approached the thick jungle of trees in between the two massive hills, feeling faint yoki signatures just ahead. She closed her eyes and made a last ditch effort to make herself undetectable as she cautiously began to move through the dense maze of plants and trees, using her hands to move the leaves and branches out of her way.
I wonder if I would be able to recognize her…
I wonder how much she has changed…
No matter how hard I try, I cannot picture her with blonde hair and silver eyes….
I hope she will still be that sweet little girl I first met….
Teresa felt that she was nearing the end of the dense jungle of trees and began to quicken her pace. She soon saw the end, as she noticed the light coming through the gaps of leaves in front of her. Soon enough she stopped, hiding behind a large bush of leaves and gazed at awe at the enormous interior.
Teresa's heart skipped a beat when she saw many figures sitting beside a lone tree in the middle of the oasis.
Could one of them be Clare? She thought to herself.
While Teresa was making her way along the south, she tried to think of the best way to approach Clare. She decided to remain hidden and only reveal herself when she had located Clare. If she neglects this and just walks into the group of warriors, she might frighten them and cause them to attack her. Since these warriors suppress their yoki well, it was difficult for Teresa to measure their power, and for all she knew they could very well be as strong or even stronger than her, and that was a risk she wasn't willing to take.
Teresa saw a large boulder in front of her that would give her a closer look at the warriors while also providing a place to hide. Teresa bent her legs and sprinted towards the boulder as fast as she could without releasing even the smallest amount of Yoki from her body. As she sat there behind the rock, she poked her head out and inspected the scene.
She could see two warriors doing battle against each other. One was a small child with long hair, while the other was a fully-grown figure with short chin-length hair. The others seemed to be watching the two doing battle from the tree that was nearby. Teresa tried to squint her eyes in an attempt to see their faces, but they were too far away. She looked around for any other cover that was closer to the warriors but sadly she saw none.
That young warrior is impressive… she's fighting on pair with that older one.
I don't think the others can detect me…
It looks like I'm going to have to wait until they come closer…
Miata swung her blade mercilessly at Clare as she dodged her blow and managed a cut on Miata's left leg. Miata paced herself backwards as she began to sob quietly. The cut wasn't too deep, but it obviously would have hurt. Clare approached Miata and put her hand on her shoulder.
"You did good Miata, you are truly a good fighter"
Miata immediately glanced at Clare clearly happy about being praised. When suddenly Miata turned to face her side. Clare could see something has caught the attention of the little girl as she continued to be distracted by something.
"What is it Miata?" Asked a curious Clare.
After a short pause, Miata turned to face Clare and replied:
"There is something here".
Clare felt a sudden wave of uneasiness race through her body as she heard those words.
Clare managed to say calmly to Miata "Miata, don't look around yourself, if there is something here, we don't want them to know that we can detect them…." She paused slightly. "We are going to head back to Miria calmly and tell her about this… you got that?"
The little girl nodded, indicating that she understood what she has been told. Clare and Miata began to walk back to the tree hiding their nervousness along the way.
"And then, Deneve accidently hit me with her elbow while I tried to attack Miria" joked Helen to the others.
"That's because you were so close to me" Deneve harshly responded.
"It's not my fault you're clumsy!" Helen retorted.
"And its not my fault you have no sense of direction!" snorted Deneve.
The others let out a slight chuckle except for Miria who noticed Clare and Miata return.
She could immediately see that something was wrong.
Clare's face had an unusual ghostly white look to it, the kind of look Clare get's when she has learned of something shocking or fears something greatly.
"C…Clare what's wrong?" Miria asked.
"Miata tells me that something is here" Clare nervously replied.
The others immediately turned silent as they heard those words. They kept their eyes glued on the concerned looking Clare who stood there eying them back.
Miria now began to looked concerned as she turned to face Miata as she asked:
"How do you know that Miata?"
"I smell someone hiding over there…" she was about to point to the direction when Clarice suddenly stopped her.
"Miata we don't want them to know that they have been found out!" Clarice scolded.
"Miata, walk behind the tree and point to where the figures are hiding, but make sure they are on the other side of the tree so they don't see you pointing" a nervous Miria ordered.
"But it's only one lady" The girl responded.
Lady? Then there's a good chance it's a warrior of the organization thought Miria.
"Go and do it now Miata" Clarice asked her calmly.
Miata walked behind the tree and pointed to the North.
Miria turned to face Galatea "Galatea, can you sense someone in that direction?" as she tried to avoid staring towards the northern end of the oasis.
Galatea focused her mind towards the direction Miata pointed at and felt an extremely suppressed yoki aura coming from the distance.
"Miria…now that I focused directly at the source I am able to just make it out, whoever she is, she has a remarkable ability to suppress yoki…"
Shit…. This is not good….
All these signs point to that warrior I've seen before…
If it is her, then it looks like we might have to fight her…
Or should we scatter?
I just don't know what to do…
"Miria" Clare said as she interrupted Miria's thoughts "what do we do?"
Miria put on a brave face as she spoke to her entire team "we are going to attack the intruder… when I believe that we are outmatched, we will scatter immediately…. Don't even look behind just scatter in random directions,"
The rest of her team listened to her closely and she began telling them her plan.
"Clare… you and me are going to pretend to be fighting each other. We are going to hide ourselves in the trees surrounding this oases and attempt to sneak behind her unnoticed."
Miria paused for a second as she continued "the rest of you are going to act like nothing happened and begin walking towards the northern end of the oasis talking casually among each other to distract her from me and Clare. Helen, I need you to be loud and pretend to laugh to make her think that we haven't detected her presence"
"Umm…ok" a nervous Helen replied.
"Everyone got the plan?" Miria questioned, looking anxiously into the eyes of her comrades.
They all gave a nod as Miria let out a sigh.
I only hope that I am wrong, I hope that it won't be that warrior from before…
Now the short haired one is fighting another one and are heading towards the trees…
The rest are heading…. Towards me… not good.
Teresa began to feel uneasy about a large number of warriors suddenly heading towards her. She looked behind her and knew that if she were to run back into the trees, the others would see her do so.
What should I do…
Suddenly Teresa felt the aura of the two warriors coming ever closer to her from the trees to her left.
Do they know that I am here? Are they trying to flank me?
Teresa briefly removed her cloak and pulled her claymore from it's holster and immediately placed it back around her body, making sure to cover her face as she continued to lean behind the boulder.
I hope they won't notice me… I still haven't located Clare yet…
Suddenly one of the yoki auras immediately disappeared from the trees to the left as Teresa felt an unnatural movement of wind behind her. She threw herself to the side, exposing herself to the others as she narrowly dodged a blade that was aimed for her head.
Teresa immediately distanced herself from the strange spiky haired warrior, when she suddenly appeared behind her again.
How is she moving so quickly?
Teresa hastily swung her claymore behind her back to parry the blow, and turned around to strike, but the warrior disappeared from sight yet again.
Her movements are a little difficult to read, since she hides her aura…
Teresa felt another yoki presence behind her as she turned around to block the shorthaired warrior's successive attacks easily.
There's something strange about this shorthaired warrior's yoki…
Immediately Teresa felt seven others charge towards her. She knew that it was vital to reduce their numbers as soon as possible because even she would have some trouble defending herself from nine attackers at once.
Teresa kicked the shorthaired warrior in the gut, as she flew violently towards the trees into the thick mangroves, disappearing from sight.
Eight left… thought Teresa.
Teresa saw from the corner of her eye, one of the warrior's extend her arm in an attempt to cut her down, but she easily avoided the attack as it met the ground.
That's weird… I've never seen anything besides an awaken being do that before…
Before she had time to finish thinking, six others surrounded her and swung their blades at her furiously. Teresa managed to dodge them all, although she noticed one of their claymores rip her cloak, exposing the grey suit on her right leg.
This is dangerous… I might need to use my yoki powers…
As fast as she could, Teresa jumped away from the gang of warriors and landed a considerable distance away from them. The ghosts eyed the mysterious figure in the hood, while Teresa eyed the strange warriors.
I don't think anyone of these warriors are Clare…
…There are only three with long hair… the blind one, the weakest one and the child… but none of them have Clare's face…
"You guys are pretty good…. You might make me use my yoki…." Before she could finish, she felt that familiar unnatural breeze above her as she deflected a blow from the spiky haired warrior that suddenly ghosted above her. The force of the blow was so severe, that Teresa was forced to kneel down as her body was pushed to the ground.
Teresa released 10% of her yoki as her eyes turned into a brilliant gold that shined easily through the shadows of her hood, revealing it to her attackers. Seeing this, the spiky haired warrior leaped away from her to join the rest of her party.
The others charged towards her furiously as Teresa deflected the blow of one of them, whilst jumping into the air to evade the numerous attacks of the others. She landed behind the small one and kicked her in the back, causing her to take to the air and hit the side of the large boulder with enough force to daze, but not seriously injure her.
Seven left…
Teresa tried to remove her hood in an attempt to show her face and hope to stop the fight but once again was forced to defend herself as she saw the spiky haired woman appear next to her as she swing her blade. Teresa with amazing speed dodged the warrior's attack and managed to plow her elbow against the side of her head before she phantomed out of the way. The spiky haired warrior fell to the ground with enormous force, kicking dust in the air as she lost consciousness.
"Miria!!!" Teresa could hear the rest yell.
Six left…
Suddenly, the blind one and two others attacked her from behind, Teresa turned around and tried to punch one in the gut, but she felt her hand move off in a different direction, totally missing the target as one of their blades managed to cut her on the cheek.
Oh I see… the blind one can control an opponent's yoki… very clever…
Teresa cunningly evaded another attack as she swung the blunt side of her claymore into the gut of the blind one, who wasn't quick enough to dodge Teresa's blow. Blood rushed out of her mouth as she crashed towards the ground, rolling many times over until she stopped.
Five left…
The five remaining warriors swung their weapons towards her from all sides, but she managed to kick the long haired one out of the way, whist parrying two blows and dodging the last two. Teresa dropped her claymore and grabbed two of the warriors by their necks and rammed their faces in the dirt with enormous force.
Two left…
At the sight of the mysterious hooded figure taking out three of their comrades at once, the one with two loose ponytails and the one with a single one began to back away from fear.
"Didn't you hear what Miria said! Run away now!" the Blind one barked as she remained on the ground, clearly unable to move from the pain. Teresa saw the two warriors run into the trees as she went over to pick up her blade.
Teresa once again tried to remove her cloak when she felt a figure dash towards her from behind.
What is this familiar yoki I'm sensing?
She turned around to once again see the shorthaired warrior swing her claymore at her furiously with blood dripping from her forehead. Teresa easily read the warrior's flow of yoki as she began to recklessly emit it. Teresa with no trouble dodged the predictable attacks of the warrior.
"Clare! What are you doing! Run!" The blind one roared.
Clare?... did she just say Clare?
Is…this…Clare....?
Was that why the yoki felt so familiar…. Because…. It is…..mine?
Teresa took a closer look at the face of the young warrior and suddenly realized she was staring at her little girl who was now all grown up. Teresa remembers her beautiful brown hair and green eyes, but now those beautiful eyes turned to a cold silver and her long brown hear to a short chin-length blonde.
She was the one I kicked first into the trees….
I'm so sorry Clare…
"Wait stop!" Teresa frantically yelled, but to no avail. The warrior seemed to ignore her and her teammate's plea to run as she placed her claymore behind her back and released a sudden whirlwind of steel towards Teresa.
Clare….
As fast as the wind cutter was, it barely gave Teresa any trouble. She stopped the onslaught of blades being thrown at her as the ground before her began to cut up, kicking dirt and grass around them both.
Realizing her attack wasn't strong enough, the warrior further released her yoki, revealing a set of golden eyes that stared deep into the shadows of Teresa's hood. She then did a similar attack, one very familiar to Teresa. She felt the distinct Aura of Irene as the short haired warrior threw another onslaught of blades towards her, this time travelling so fast, the very air felt like it was being sliced up.
Irene's Quicksword?
"Clare stop!" Teresa frantically plead as she used her claymore to defend herself from the onslaught of blades, but her voice was dragged away by the powerful winds generated by the Quicksword.
There is no way I can bring myself to hurt Clare…
All I can do is just keep defending myself.
Dam it Clare give me just one second to take off this hood….
"Clare please stop!" Teresa yelled as she continued to defend herself, but Clare was too frenzied to hear her voice.
During Clare's onslaught of attacks, Teresa saw many openings to strike but she ignored them. If this were any other warrior, Teresa would have ended it almost before it started. Instead, she was looking for an opportunity to remove her hood and reveal her face, but Clare didn't give her even one second to do so. Clare was swinging her blade in a frenzy towards her, as if she was her mortal enemy.
It was breaking Teresa's heart to see Clare gaze at her with such monstrous hate in her eyes…
Clare please stop…
Seeing her chance, Teresa attempted to remove her hood with her offhand, but was forced to return it to the hilt of her blade as she anticipated an incoming kick to her gut. Teresa positioned the blunt side of her blade in front of her using it as a shield to stop Clare's kick, when suddenly her arms involuntarily moved her Claymore closer to the ground, which allowed Clare to ram her foot into Teresa's gut.
Dam… that…blind one… Teresa thought as a mountain of pain raced through her body forcing her to spit out blood while she flew through the air from the enormous impact that made her drop her claymore. Teresa violently landed on the ground rolling many times over until she came to a rest with her back against the ground and her face towards the sky.
Suddenly a blade was pointed towards her throat. Teresa looked at the serious face of Clare as she held her blade firmly against Teresa's throat. Teresa knew there was no way she could reach her claymore that lay against the grass, and she wasn't sure if she could move fast enough to avoid getting killed. She decided not to take the risk and began to suppress her yoki as her golden eyes reverted back to their silver state.
"Clare! Kill her now while you can!" she heard the blind one roar.
Clare stared at the hooded figure beneath her feet. She wanted to see the face of the warrior that she was about to silence.
"Remove that hood of yours now" Clare harshly demanded while pointing her blade a little closer to Teresa's neck.
Teresa slowly moved her hands towards her hood. She grabbed the sides of the cloth and began to pull it down, removing her face from the shadows and revealing it to Clare.
Clare could almost feel her heart stop and her blood freeze from the sheer shock of gazing upon this angel that lay beneath her feet. The area around Teresa suddenly faded from existence and time itself seemed to stop as Clare passionately stared into those beautiful silver eyes…those eyes that belonged to the person who meant more than the entire world to her. Teresa's long wavy hair danced gracefully across her face by the touch of the gentle wind, and the sun's rays reflected kindly off each individual strand creating that distinct golden reflection that beamed into Clare's eyes.
Clare struggled to move her blade away from Teresa's throat as her hands began to shake uncontrollably from the sheer shock and excitement that raced ecstatically through her entire body. Her fragile hands gave way as she dropped her claymore off to the side while Teresa glanced at her with a warm joyful smile.
Tears fell from Clare's eyes as she collapsed on Teresa, wrapping her hands around her tightly as she began to weep. She held her as if she was never letting go… holding her like she used to so long ago. As Clare embraced Teresa, she felt the gentle warmness of her body and entranced by the distinct scent of her hair, the pleasant aroma that she has never forgotten, even after all these years.
"Clare… it's good to see you again…" Teresa gently whispered into her ear.
Clare began drowning Teresa in a puddle of her own tears as she lay against her idol, pushing her face ever closer to Teresa's while whimpering her name over and over. Teresa felt a few drops of tears develop in her own eyes and she held Clare tightly towards her.
The rest of the injured Ghosts couldn't believe their eyes the moment they saw Clare collapse next to the unknown warrior. At first they thought that Clare collapsed from exhaustion or from some sort of wound, but then they noticed the other warrior wrap her hands around Clare holding her passionately. As the warrior held Clare, the ghosts heard a sound they thought they would never hear.
The sound of Clare crying…
As the two lay against each other on the soft grass, Clare turned her trembling face to Teresa's and tried to mutter something through her tears, but Teresa just silenced her by gently placing a finger against her lips.
"It's alright Clare…I'm here now" Reassured Teresa as she stroked Clare's right cheek gently with her fingers.
"T…Te..Teresa…" Clare stuttered as she rested her head back on Teresa.
"Clare… how long are you going to hold me like this?" Teresa asked gently to a fragile Clare.
"N…never again…" Clare stuttered.
"Never again what Clare?" Teresa asked confused.
"Never leave me again Teresa" She babbled as she continued to rest her head against her sobbing.
Teresa let out a gentle smile as she placed her hand behind Clare's head and held it softly against her body.
"I promise I will never leave you again"
"W..What the hell am I seeing…I think I hit my head too hard… but it looks like Clare is…hugging her now….the guy who just rammed both our heads in the dirt…" Helen announced sounding as confused as ever as she held her head.
"No… your seeing it right… it appears she is someone Clare knows" Replied Deneve who's head was still spinning from the impact.
Helen turned her head to the right and could see Tabitha and Cynthia dragging the rest of their wounded comrades towards them. She could see Clarice who stayed out of the fight, run out of the trees to embrace an injured Miata.
Where is Miria?
Helen and Deneve frantically turned their heads around to try and locate their captain when finally Deneve spotted her. She lay unconscious on the ground some distance away from them.
"Is everyone alright?" a concerned Tabitha asked as she dragged Uma next to Helen.
"Never been better" Helen joked as she attempted to hide the pain she was in.
Cynthia shortly arrived placing Galatea on the soft grass next to Helen, as she noticed Miria lying unconscious.
"I'm going to heal Miria, Tabitha take care of them" she ordered with a look of concern.
Tabitha nodded showing that she understood what she had to do as Cynthia ran towards their captain.
"So how long do you think they are going to lie there?" asked Helen to her friend.
"I don't know… but I have never seen Clare like this before… I hope she's alright" Deneve replied anxiously.
"yeah… I guess we are looking at the real Clare now." Helen wisely replied as she saw the two get to their feet, still holding each other tightly.
Cynthia frantically ran to Miria as she knelt by her side to inspect her captain. She tried to revive her by shaking her head, but there was no response from her.
Perhaps if I jolt her yoki to wake her…
Cynthia placed her hands on Miria's forehead and tried to force her to release her yoki in an attempt to wake her up. Soon enough, Miria regained consciousness and eyed her comrade closely.
"What…happened?"
"Don't speak Miria, your badly shaken up…" Cynthia replied.
Miria began to sit up and inspect her surroundings, looking for her team and the enemy. Her head was in a blur from the enormous impact the warrior's elbow made with her head. She could see the rest of the ghosts laying a short distance in front of her in a small group. She then looked beyond the group and saw a strange blonde haired figure standing in the distance.
Is… that.... the enemy?
Miria's blood began to boil as she stared at the warrior. She was so frenzied from anger that she didn't even notice Clare standing right next to her as they happily chatted to each other. Miria clenched her hands in a fist as she noticed her claymore lying on the ground on her left. She immediately picked it up and ran as fast as she could towards the warrior.
"Hey Miria! Where are you going!" Cynthia roared as she saw her captain frantically sprint past her.
As Miria ran past the ghosts, she didn't even hear their pleas for her to stop as she blindly darted towards the newcomer. Teresa immediately noticed the incoming warrior charging towards her as she pushed Clare out of the way and evaded the frenzied warriors attacks one after another. Clare watched in horror as her friend tried to kill an unarmed Teresa.
"TERESA!" Clare yelled desperately from the overwhelming fear of loosing her again.
She wasn't going to let anyone take Teresa away from her a second time.
As she watched Miria trying to hurt Teresa, Clare's fear transformed into anger and then to gruesome hate. Clare's rage was so indescribably great that she instantly released 50% of her yoki as she charged towards her captain with the intent of hurting her greatly.
"DON'T EVER TOUCH HER OR I'LL FRICKIN KILL YOU!" Clare roared with monstrous anger as she charged like a bull towards her captain.
Miria turned to face the sound of the furious voice, and was astounded to see Clare charging madly towards her. Miria could see the hatred in Clare's eyes, hatred that was directed towards her as she saw Clare's furious golden eyes stare deep into her own.
Clare…. Why?..... A confused Miria thought as she eyed the charging warrior.
Clare pulled her right arm back and with all her might, rammed it into her astonished captain's side. Miria flew through the air from the colossal impact as she hit the side of a distant tree and falling face first on the cold ground.
As Miria lay motionless against the dirt, she tried to comprehend what just happened a moment ago. The words 'I'LL FRICKIN KILL YOU!' played over and over in her mind as she struggled to understand why Clare felt so hostile towards her.
A deathly silence passed as all eyes were on the captain. Miria shakily got to her feet and tried to ignore the excruciating pain she felt all over her body as she turned to face Clare. She could see the way Clare was staring at her, like she was her mortal enemy as Clare stood there breathing heavily standing next to the unknown warrior. She knew Clare for seven years, and she never would have thought that she would loose herself like this.
Realizing the threat was gone, Clare's anger began to die down and her yoki suppress, as her golden eyes reverted back to their original silver state. She turned to face a shocked Teresa who couldn't believe what Clare just did, how far she was willing to go to protect her.
"Clare… you really hit her hard…"
Clare slammed herself into Teresa wrapping her arms around her tightly as she cried on her shoulder.
"I thought I was going to loose you again… I never want to loose you again" she sobbed.
Cynthia and Tabitha anxiously ran towards their wounded captain, wrapping her arms around their shoulders as they dragged her to the rest of the group.
"n..No… bring… me to Clare" Miria mumbled under the extreme pain she was in.
Tabitha and Cynthia both looked at each other concernedly unsure if it was a good idea to bring Miria close to an emotional Clare. The rest of the ghosts picked themselves up and slowly approached Clare and Teresa, curious as to who this new warrior was and how she managed to make Clare of all people cry.
Clare and Teresa noticed the rest of the ghosts standing around them still trying to understand what just happened in the past few moments. Clare saw Tabitha and Cynthia bring a wounded Miria next to her, she was beaten and bruised and bled furiously from the side of her head.
"Miria… I'm sorr….." Clare whispered to her captain as Miria struggled to stand upright on her own.
Miria let out a forced smile as she looked at Clare. "No Clare… I'm sorry…I didn't know what I was doing…"
Teresa looked at all the strange faces around her, faces that wanted to kill her a moment before, but now they just eyed her curiously.
"Soooo… this is a little awkward…." Helen uttered, breaking the silence.
"May we ask who this is Clare?" Deneve questioned, not expecting an answer.
Clare finally let go of Teresa, facing the ghosts as she wiped away her tears.
"This is Teresa…" she mumbled.
The rest of the ghosts couldn't believe their ears when they heard that name, but none so much as Miria who's eyes widened in sheer disbelief as she gazed upon Teresa.
"T…Teresa of the faint smile?" Miria stuttered as she almost choked from her own words.
Teresa let out a gentle laugh, watching all the amazed faces glancing at her.
"You guys didn't really give me a chance to reveal myself, I honestly didn't want to fight you but you gave me no choice."
She turned to face Clare as she continued: "Clare I'm so sorry for hitting you into the trees, I didn't know it was you"
"And…I'm sorry for kicking you Teresa" Clare responded still sobbing from before.
"Consider us even now" Teresa lightheartedly joked to a still astonished Clare who glanced upon her with eyes of worship.
… Writing this chapter SERIOUSLY made me consider jumping off a cliff. It was my biggest challenge so far and I would love to know what you guys think.
Anyways please review and tell me what you think.
Note: in this chapter, I assumed that Miria doesn't know what Teresa looks like, I don't think it mentions that in the manga.
Stay tuned.