Disclaimer: I don't own anything. All rights belong to Masashi Kishimoto and Norihiro Yagi.
Chapter Twenty: In the Still of the Night
(Taken By the Darkness, Gone With the Wind)
"I can't believe you lost the last nin…" Kakashi sighed in exasperation while he idly twiddled a kunai shining under the wan light still crusted with blackened blood with his fingertips.
All five of the other chuunin kept silent as they sat in a circle, bloodied and bruised but even more so tired. After ridding themselves of the enemy, all six of the young Shinobi had regrouped on the outskirts of the forest so as not to continue to stay within it where there was a possibility of enemy nin constantly lurking in the shadows and obscured for them to see.
Few returned unscathed and most had come back with a number of superficial wounds marring their bodies that Rin was able to thankfully heal.
Though only few bruises remained, their once optimistic dispositions had quickly diminished and all that was left were six weary; cynical minds.
"It wasn't Teresa-chan's fault," Obito reasoned," the guy disappeared into a cloud of water and left in the air… She couldn't find him and she only cared to help me. If anything, it's all my fault."
"If you're a hindrance to the mission, maybe we should switch teams from Rin-chan and I could go with Teresa –"
"No. Don't you dare say it is all your fault, Obito. You have nothing to do with it. It is my responsibility to take the blame and I allowed the man to escape, it is my fault – not yours," Teresa said sternly, with conviction so strong, both Obito and Rin seemed to be cowering with fear.
Kakashi sighed at this and a perturbed expression crossed his obscured features; his mouth parted slightly under the thin blackened cloth, but if he had something to say, he would never voice it.
"I-I'm sorry Teresa-chan…" Obito's voice trailed off.
"Do not apologize, you are not at fault. There is no need to apologize."
"Nonetheless, we lost him and we're not even sure where he is right now. For all we know he could be watching us right now," Kakashi finally admonished, flicking the kunai at the tree opposite his direction.
Obito flinched as the sharp sound of a blade cutting through the tranquil air ripped through the night.
"I will not apologize for my actions, however, I will admit to my fault. All we can do now, is wait and continue the mission. Sleep is the best option for us to recuperate our strength while each of us will take turns in watching the campsite every four hours. I will volunteer to take first watch since I do not require much rest seeing how I did not receive as much injuries as you five," Teresa said solemnly.
"I agree, we should get some rest and conserve our energy. In about twelve hours the sun'll rise and we're going to have to keep moving when it does," Sen spoke up wearily as his dark eyes began to scan over the hill top where the break of dusk and dawn could be seen in a clash.
"I'll take second watch then!" Kurenai offered.
They all nodded their heads in a silent admission, unspoken words seemed to be hanging on their thinned lips, but these words were never uttered.
Silence. Lethargy. Sadness – plagued their minds like carcinogenic growths on their sides, marring them far more grotesquely than the many bruises and cuts that blossomed on their bodies could ever do.
With the realism of experiencing the true spoils of war, the essence of calamity in all its dull glory; these blemishes would forever scar their minds of the synonymous violence and painful death that accompanied the name of the Shinobi.
This is what it was to be the epitome of what a warrior should be; of what all those years of training amounted to. Nothing…
"Get your rest, but sleep lightly. We must be vigilant even if Teresa-chan will be taking watch, alright?"
All that was left for them to do now was settle in their sleeping bags for the duration of the night and they left to the darkness with a silent parting.
The blonde warrior ambled around the post of a charred sapling with its branches contorted into painful looking twists, like arms of those who had been tortured - a common sight at the onset of most operations in the organization; the operations that would manufacture demons, no, warriors... tortured to death...upturned and skewed in almost uncomfortable looking strands that coiled back in agony.
It looked like death.
The looming tree however, did not frighten Teresa in the slightest since she had experienced such misfortunes involving death as a seasoned warrior for almost all her life.
With no particular thought in mind, she promptly sat herself upon its foot not before thrusting her zanbato deep into the grassy earth for her to lean on as she kept guard upon the campsite.
Closing her eyes now, she began to tune her sensing around the entire area; feeling for any sign or small fragment of foreign chakra that could evade her own sight.
One silver eye peeked open and a faint smile gathered on her lips. "I see that you are awake, are you not tired Obito?"
The raven haired boy in question appeared from behind her as a rosy tint faintly graced his cheeks having been caught watching his blonde comrade from behind.
"I… Uh, couldn't sleep. I've got too much on my mind I guess," he said ashamedly.
She patted the ground next to her gesturing for him to come over and the boy happily obliged, perching himself next to her still form.
"What is on your mind pray tell?"
"Earlier when we were fighting… Do you remember when you had all that blood on your face and I thought you got hurt?"
"Yes, why?"
"Well… When I saw all that blood dripping down your face; when I thought that you were hurt… I-I can't explain how scared and angry I felt thinking that because of me you were injured. I feel like I'm nothing but a hindrance and that maybe Kakashi's right… I just, I don't want you to have to focus on protecting me above everything else, because the mission should be above all things… Not my safety."
"Did I not keep the scroll safe? Did I not succeed in incapacitating all the enemy nin headed towards Kakusei's direction? I merely let one man go, but regardless I have kept true to my word and continued on with the mission…" She began, before a peculiar look crossed her features. "Though, I feel like that isn't the only thing on your mind is it, Obito?"
"…That time when you were bleeding, I thought you were hurt and… And I realized how much I don't ever want to see that. I want to protect you, I want to protect everyone."
Teresa laughed; a small airy laugh akin to the light ringing of bells with its melodious timbre erupted from her throat – it was the first time she had ever laughed. "And how do you suppose you'll do that, if you still have to protect yourself?"
"When I get my sharingan I know I can and I'll be able to beat the crap out of people just like how you do and just like Kakashi does. You won't have to constantly watch over me and coddle me like I'm some dumb kid anymore, I could actually help and -"
"You're not 'some dumb kid,' Obito. You may be an idiot at times, but you are no mere child; do not think that that is how I see you. I try to protect you not because I believe you to be weak; I try to protect you because I don't want to lose anyone… Not anymore…"
"Wait, you don't see me as a kid? But I thought that –"
"I never saw you as a child; I've never viewed you as weak as you believe yourself to be. You're a Shinobi and a strong one at that, why would you think such a thing?"
"Because everyone else sees me as some kid who can't take care of himself. Even the members of my clan watch over me sometimes because they think I'm weak and that I'm some anomaly."
"Well, I am deemed as an anomaly as well by my own clan; moreover, by the village in its entirety. Despite that, do you truly believe that to be a bad thing? Do I seem weak to you?"
"O-Of course not! You're the strongest person I know…"
"Then you should not believe yourself to be weak either, you are strong Obito. I know your capacities and they have reached far beyond my own expectations."
"Y-You think I'm strong?"
"You wouldn't be a chuunin if you weren't, you wouldn't be an Uchiha if you weren't; hell, you wouldn't be the future hokage if not. Did you forget your dream Obito?"
"Never…" He said as his eyes glazed over and a large grin pulled at the corner of his mouth.
"Then stop thinking you're weak because you aren't, alright? You are str –" she reached towards his shoulder to turn him towards her view "– Wait, are you crying?"
He pulled up his goggles and quickly rubbed his eyes with the back of his sleeve all the while saying," No! I just got some dust in my eye."
Teresa laughed once more. "You're an odd one, Obito, but it's nice to see you're still smiling after all of this. You are a strong boy through and through, even if you look like a sniveling mess… Though, you crying is not an uncommon sight – and it is not a weakness either."
"I'm not…" He sniffed. "… Crying, I-It's just some dust in my eyes…"
"Now your face is all filthy and covered with snot," she joked.
The boy continued to tear up not before Teresa reached out and gestured him towards her. He moved slightly as he rubbed his eyes and found himself enveloped in a pair of lithe arms that radiated so much warmth.
"Stop crying, you wouldn't want Rin or Kakashi catching you like this," he heard between small chuckles. "I think it's time for you to go to sleep after all those tears you've shed you probably worn yourself out anyway."
The arms let go and he found himself looking at the blonde in question; watching as she spoke idiosyncratic words with a faint smile playing on her lips. And before he knew it, he found himself being lead back to his sleeping bag in which she told him "Goodnight," and left in the blink of an eye, back towards her post.
The last thing on his mind before his eyes shut and were enveloped by sleep was how much he had come to love all his friends…
Teresa perched comfortably on the branch of a tree opposite the campsite with her long legs idly swinging down in a languid motion as she spun her zanbato around with her hand.
The moon's reflection was gradually depleting in the vast ebony cloth of the sky and the silver eyes that reflected its beams glanced towards the luminescent orb with its crescent shape that seemed as if it smiled the smile of a thousand watts, assuring her that possibly… Everything would be alright.
She grimaced to herself as she thought of the worst and the zanbato halted in mid-swing with her hands tightening around its hilt so hard the sound of something akin to a crunch could be heard almost blaring in the dark tranquility.
Thoughts of the inevitable; thoughts of blood, violence and death plagued her mind as her grip tightened around the silvered hilt.
Amongst the jumble of the maliciousness of her imagination, the gory images of fallen comrades flashed through her mind scape; a battered Kakashi lying in a heap of debris with Rin clutching tightly to her own waning breath appeared like a vivid painting of her burgeoning fear; of her burgeoning paranoia.
And then she thought of Kurenai with her crimson eyes glazed over as the color of roses dripped down her pallid countenance making a stark contrast to the almost pure snow white of her skin as Sen lay impaled on the sight.
The last and by far, the worst image appeared as a dark; feeble silhouette of a young boy lying on the grassy blades with limbs askew. His ebony black eyes were wide and they looked like windows conveying the series of macabre events that occurred prior to his fall.
She could feel his pain as if she herself had been beaten and battered; torn into pieces and impaled over and over with the excruciating pain growing in her core with every hot tear that fell and every agonizing groan that escaped her lips.
Her every thought and every word seemed to be surrounding only that of the vicarious suffering of her comrades, of the inevitability of her role as a murderer… A monster.
Suddenly the images became more vivid, growing more and more candid with each passing moment.
A small flicker of red and orange bursting with sparks fell upon a splintering ground of dry wall, wood and paint chips torn from its foundation and crushed into oblivion.
As it touched the shreds of partitions and scraps, the small embers grew with a biting ferocity each time it traveled down piece by piece and caressed the skies with its smoky aroma that sucked the oxygen from its air and burnt the nostrils of whomsoever dared to breathe its cloud of poisonous gas.
The flames rolled through the debris eating away everything it touched into an ashen crisp of dust that would blow away with the wind that fed its insatiable hunger.
It was a beautifully chaotic sight of red, orange and gold that swirled around in a flurry of lethal passion that tore down the old and gave way for the new in a unforgiving cycle of death and rebirth.
In the jumbled heap of ruination, a slivery blade – a claymore scintillating in the ferocious heat reflecting off the images of the past, present and future lay carelessly tossed away into the crumbling fragments of pine rosin, wood flour and cork dust.
With another loud crackle of flames that danced some ancient dance of rebirth and destruction, pieces of drywall disintegrating from its frames dwindle onto the heap and the claymore was gone.
She could hear screams now, with a voice so familiar it made her want to cry.
The screams, though blaring, was of the voice that sounded so sweet like the most beautiful melody she had ever heard.
This was the voice that called to her in the deep dark abyss of death; this was the voice that cried for her as she battled the four single-digit warriors before her untimely death.
She wanted to get near it and hear the voice once more, she had to. Running now and towards the direction of the voice… that beautifully familiar voice, she found herself in the midst of the flames and then…
She was met with forest green eyes, dulled and glazed over with red as they watched the fires consume all it touched.
"Clare!" Teresa shouted as she ran with all her speed, with all her strength.
But as she inched closer to her beloved, the girl seemed to be getting farther and farther away and it was a never-ending race towards the girl she wished to hold with a fire surrounding her in a great wave of heat.
"Clare!" She shouted once more and the unshed tears of years of being stuck in an unknown world; of years being "dead" begun to spill from her silver eyes as she continued to sprint, run, jump and race.
And then she heard it, the familiar cries of her daughter – those very cries being called out into a whisper that died off with the winds. "Teresa!" She cried. "Don't leave me, Teresa! Don't leave me!"
She ran and ran towards the small figure with the most strongest of her resolve until her world went black…
Kurenai stretched slowly from her sleeping bag and stepped out from its warmth and back towards the cold night air that chilled her bones.
She yawned before pulling on her flak jacket and ambled towards the tree where Teresa should be posted, keeping watch on the campsite.
As she trekked forth, a frigid breeze blew past her and a strange feeling of foreboding began to erupt within her core. She cut across a few scatter of foliage and turned a corner, kunai instinctively pulled out, to the tree but…
Teresa was nowhere in sight.
The crimson eyed kunoichi gasped as she frantically began to search around the tree not before she caught the sight of an object scintillating under the moonlight right behind the trunk of the charred sapling.
It was Teresa's zanbato…
Kurenai ran towards the blade as her fingers reached out towards the lingering dust on the grassy blades, she then brought it up towards her face.
It was foreign soil from the looks of it and as her fingers rubbed together to feel the fragments, her eyes widened. This was residual dust from a Kumo nin…
But how? Teresa would be able to kill the nin upon sight easily unless… Unless a genjutsu was cast since mind techniques were Teresa's only weakness.
She was captured.
Kurenai ran back towards the campsite making a clamoring as she did this, awakening all the sleeping chuunin. "Teresa-chan's been captured!" She nearly screamed as a single tear streamed down her blood-red eyes.
"What?!" Obito jumped from his sleeping bag. "How-How do you know?"
"Her zanbato was left on the ground and she never leaves without it and –"
"Are you sure she didn't just wander off?" Kakashi queried in alarm as he already began to pack up his holster with his weapons.
"Teresa-chan would never do that! If she was told to do something like watch over the campsite, she would do it without leaving… She's too resolute when it comes to instructions. I should know, she's been our teammate for years and she would never back down from orders," Sen said frantically.
"So, is Teresa-san really gone?" Rin questioned in fright.
"I think, no, I know so. Teresa-chan is exceptionally peerless, but like all warriors, she has one weakness; genjutsus. And I-I know when one has been cast and I felt it on the site of her post, someone's got her. We have to find her!"
"But has this compromised the mission in any way?" Kakashi questioned infuriating all of Obito, Kurenai and Sen.
"What does that have to do with anything? She's our comrade, we have to find her!" Obito yelled.
"Unless, it has anything to do with the scrolls, we shouldn't be going out of our way to waste time and energy to find her. Teresa can take care of herself she's strong enough, we shouldn't –"
"How can you say that Kakashi?" Sen shouted.
"I checked inside the scabbard of her zanbato and that's where her scroll was. But now it's gone," Kurenai intoned as an angry expression crossed her features. She clenched tightly at her blonde teammate's blade that she had dragged from the sapling earlier and she had the biggest urge to punch Kakashi in the face right about now.
"Fine. Then we'll have to go find her then," Kakashi finished as all five chuunin set out in search of Teresa.
Author's Note: Hey guys! Long time no see, huh? Well, anyways, I decided I had to put up a new chapter in homage to the end of such a beautiful manga.
I'm still so sad that Claymore has come to a resounding end, however, I think that Yagi truly gave it justice and that the last chapter was magnificently drawn and written and that it was the perfect ending to such an amazing manga - it's been thirteen wonderful years and I'm so glad that he ended it on such a good note. It left me with no further questions and now I am satisfied to know how Teresa and Clare's relationship ended and where Teresa got her immense strength from which was Clare's love. I loved everything so much that I'm crying right now as we speak since I just nearly finished the finale.
Thank you so much Yagi for such a beautiful ending.
This chapter was very short, because I found myself bursting into tears every ten minutes as I wrote this since I've realized that Claymore has officially ended. And now you guys know that Teresa has some weaknesses too and she isn't indestructible and almighty in all things. Yes, she is by far the most powerful character in all of Claymore, but she has her own shortcoming both mentally that cannot make up for such strength.
Questions, comments? Leave a review and tell me what you think of my latest chapter and even what you thought of the ending of Claymore! I'd love to hear all of your feedback and thoughts of the finality to such a good manga. I love you all so much and thank you all for supporting me and this story. I'll see you all next week. Ja ne!