Number Zero
Wiess walked home, all the while shaking his head at the sad-looking girl he had left behind. Claymores were pitiful creatures, doomed to suffer the pains of their Yoma flesh and human scorn, fighting monsters until the day they died. What a pathetic existance.
As he passed by old Arthur's house, he noticed that the candlelights were off, which was wierd since it was past 8, nearly night time. He found the front door open and walked inside.
"Hey Arthur, is everything -"
Wiess stopped in mid-sentence as he saw what was before him. A huge, hulking mass of burgandy flesh was busy tearing into a horrified Arthur's stomach as the old man was eaten alive. Wiess was vaguely aware of a highly unique stench, one that could only be a Yoma's as the monster turned around to face him.
"Well well well," it said in a gutteral tone, that sounded male, but much deeper. "If it isn't the big Yoma Hunter, Wiess!"
Wiess quickly drew his curved sword. "You bastard!" he said quietly, noticing the remains of a moustache on the Yoma's lips. "Frederick! It was you all along!"
'Frederick' laughed, drawing up to his full Yomish height of 8 feet. "And you humans had no idea whatsoever!" he laughed, creeping towards Wiess, who backed out the front door. "I've been hiding here under this disguise for over seven years and you didn't notice a thing, oh great Yoma Hunter!"
"Shut up!" Wiess yelled, drawing attention from the other townsfolk in their homes. "Wait... Seven years..."
The Yoma laughed. "That's right!" he chortled. "That other Yoma wasn't the only one savoring your dear father's guts that night!"
"DIE!" Wiess screamed, slashing downwards at the Yoma. It dodged the man's attack easily, but was surprised when Wiess flicked his wrist upwards like lightning, leaving a large, deep gash in its midsection.
"You scrawny sack of meat!" the Yoma roared, smashing Wiess in the jaw as it backhanded him across the street. "Do you know how long I've been waiting to eat your delicious guts? How many times I've had to hold myself back from those sweet, sweet innards? Do you?!"
Wiess picked himself off of the dirt and rubbed his sore jaw. "Ouch," he muttered as the Yoma leapt at him again. He raised his sword.
"I'll have a FEAST tonight!" the Yoma shouted, racing towards Wiess. A silver blur crossed his path and he stopped dead in his tracks. "What?"
His head slid off his neck with a sickly splat as it hit the ground. Wiess saw the Claymore standing some distance away, blood leaking off of her sword, and her eyes the same yellow as the Yoma.
-----
"Hey!"
Clare turned around, seeing a figure running up to her from the village's archway. It was that Wiess man. He pulled up to her, panting slightly.
"Thank you," he said seriously. She regarded him with a look.
He wasn't fazed at all. "Tell me your name, please," he said with a determined look in his eye. "You said that I wouldn't remember it, but I will. Otherwise, who would remember that you even existed?"
Clare was speechless. Existed...
"My name's Clare," she said briskly, turning around and walking away into the desert.
Wiess watched her figure dissapear into the horizon. "Clare," he repeated with a smile.
With a heavy heart, he turned back to look at his village, as the people inside gave him distrustful looks. No one trusted a Yoma survivor. It was time to leave, or be thrown out. Preferably, he'd like to leave with his dignity intact.
-----
"I've heard of you before."
Wiess whirled around to point his arched blade at a creepy old man in black's throat. "And you are?" he drawled.
The man stepped back and bowed politely. "Rubel, at your service Yoma Hunter," he answered.
Wiess sheathed his sword and scrutinized the man before him. "You're from this 'organization', aren't you?" he asked. "The same one Clare works for?"
The man raised an eyebrow, though Wiess couldn't see his expression from behind the dark sunglasses. "So she told you her name eh?" he murmured to himself. "Interesting. Are you perhaps, looking for her?"
"Maaaaybe," Wiess shrugged. "What's it to you old man?"
Rubel smiled mysteriously. "Oh my, falling in with that sort of woman," he tutted. "If you were any faster, you could have caught her bathing. Oh well, it can't be helped I suppose. She's got a job in Strah, it's not far from here."
"Bout 2 days walk if I'm not mistaken," Wiess agreed.
"She left a few hours ago," Rubel added. "You may catch up to her if you... run."
Wiess thought it over for a moment. "Thanks," he said, turning around and starting off at a light jog.
Rubel watched the young man run away. "Wiess, the human Yoma Hunter," he mused to himself as he stroked his chin. "Hmm."
-----
Four of them, Clare thought as she reached for her sword. The four Yoma surrounded her. This could be bad.
She heard a faint rustling above her and instinctively dived to her left, twisting around so she landed on her back. A deafening KA-BLAM was heard as a winged Yoma hit the ground where she was just standing.
Wings? she thought, eyeing her fifth opponent. Can this one fly?
"DIE HALF-BREED!" the lead Yoma yelled, and he leapt at her. She quickly went to draw her sword when...
Fffffttttt!
An arrow pierced the Yoma's skull and protruded from his eye, making him holler in agony as he staggered around, trying to pull it out. The other Yoma stopped their attack and looked to see a newcomer on the field. Clare's eyes widened. It was him!
"Yo, Clare!" Wiess smirked as he waved his free hand with his other held a long recurve bow. "What's up?"
"Wiess?" she whispered to herself. What was he doing here?
"GAAHH!" the Yoma attacked again, and Clare used her sword to black a piercing finger attack from one of them. He blade edge rested in the cracks of his fingers as she stopped his blow. "Huh?" he asked stupidly.
With a flick of her wrist, Clare cleaved his arm in half from the hand up to the shoulder, making him scream in pain. Dodging attacks from the two others and the winged one, Clare cut one's arm off before slicing it in half as Wiess' arrows pummeled the other one. The winged Yoma bellowed in rage and flew towards Wiess, who didn't have time to notch another arrow. He knealt down to one knee as the Yoma bore down on him and reached over his shoulder for his sword, drawing it forward in a slash as it flew above him, cutting its left leg off as it screeched in pain.
Clare, meanwhile, had dispatched of the other Yoma and walked up to Wiess as the winged one flew away in terror. She glanced at the young man, who shrugged and notched an arrow.
"Allow me," she said, placing her hand on his shoulder. He lowered his bow and watched her carefully.
The air around her was blasted away as she powered up her Yoki, using 10 percent of her power, making her eyes change to yellow. A little push more to 30 percent, and her face grew slightly Yomish, with her teeth a little pointy and veins bulging out. Her sword arm doubled in muscle size and she gripped the handle tightly. Swinging the sword back, she concentrated heavily. With a mighty heave, she threw her sword skywards at supersonic speeds, and it dissapeared out of their view, towards the small speck in the distance that was the flying Yoma.
Wiess raised his hand over his head to block the sun just in time to see the Yoma spasm in flight, then drop to the grop some distance away. "Nice throw," he said as they started to walk to the Yoma corpse.
-----
"Oh, so you survived?" Rubel asked as Clare walked up to him, followed by Wiess. The man had his bow hanging off his left shoulder.
"The job is done," Clare said. "Go collect money for five Yoma."
"Five Yoma?" Rubel asked with a mysterious grin. "My my, aren't you a hero, taking on five by yourself. Or... did you have some help?"
Clare narrowed her eyes at the jab Rubel meant about Wiess. "He was a good distraction," she muttered. "Why was he following me?"
"Because I told him he could," Rubel answered. Clare raised an eyebrow at him. "I was bored."
"Why are you following me?" Clare asked Wiess roughly, pinning him with her best glare. He shrugged.
"You saved my life, I owe you," he said simply.
"My my," Rubel said, clapping. "How noble of you!"
"Don't bother," Clare said irritably. "Just leave me alone and we'll call it settled."
"Yeah, I don't think so!" Wiess smirked, and Rubel suppressed his own. "I plan on saving your life one day! And besides, the village kicked me out."
Clare frowned. "Your own people kicked you out?" she asked wistfully.
"Like someone we know?" Rubel mused to himself.
"I can be your sidekick!" Wiess volunteered. "I mean, I know I kind of sucked back at the village, but I think I did pretty damn good this time you know? I can really help out, and I'm a wicked shot with the bow and -"
"Wiess. Shut up," Clare said. He closed his mouth. "Sidekicks don't talk."
Wiess grinned. Rubel "My my"'d.
"So, you'll be taking this man along with you I see?" he said. "Well, I have no problem with that. However... here is your next job, if you want it."
"Of course."
He flicked her a black card, and she recoiled at the sight of it.
"It can't be!" she gasped, looking at it in horror. "Why me?"
"It had to be you," Rubel said. "She specifically asked for you."
With shaking hands, Clare opened the black envelope and went rigid at the sight of the symbol on the card within. It had two more lines on it, but it was nearly identical to her own symbol.
"What's this all about?" Wiess asked. "You okay, Clare?"
Rubel put his hand on Wiess' shoulder. "Perhaps you should give her some time to herself for now," he suggested. "She's been through a shock. Think about feeding yourself for now."
"Right..." Wiess said, giving Clare another worried glance. He removed his bow from his shoulder and set off for some food.
-----
"That's a Black Card of Death, isn't it."
Clare turned around to see Wiess, holding up what looked like roasted meat in his arms. "How do you know what it is?" she asked as he sat down next to her.
"I asked Rubel."
"I see."
"Hungry?"
"Mmm."
"I brought some clean water too."
"Mmm."
"It's in the bottle."
"Mmm."
"Let's have sex."
"Mm - what?!" Clare bolted off the ground and glared at him.
"Serves you right for not listening!" Wiess chided with a laugh as he tossed her a drumstick. "It's fowl. This one was pretty plump too. Dig in!"
He proceeded to massacre his half of the food while chugging down two bottles of water (he brought 4) as Clare took 3 cat nips of her drumstick. He looked at her strangely.
"Not hungry?" he asked.
"Mmm? No, we don't require that much food when we need to eat," she said. "I'm full. We eat every couple of days. We can go a week without food or water."
"I see, I see," Wiess nodded as he ate his drumstick. "Must be the Yoma half of you, I suppose. Oh well, that can't be helped then."
Clare looked at him intensely. "Why is it that you aren't afraid or sickened by me?" she asked curiously.
Wiess gave her an incredulous look. "You haven't given me any reason to," he replied tartly, shocking her. "Listen, I could care less about how much Yoma blood and flesh are in you. You look nice, you are - well, sort of - nice, and you haven't tried to eat me so I'm happy, right?'
Clare continued staring at him for a while until he started to feel unconfortable. She then gave him something close to a smile. Well, a twitch of the lips, but her eyes seemed less cold this time. "Right," she answered. "Get some sleep. We have a rough day in the mountains tomorrow."
"Goodnight Clare."
"... Goodnight Wiess."