Uploaded: 2/22/2013.
Written: 2/17-22/2013
Edited: - 11/07/2013 (Version 1.01)
Hello! Krieg here with the next chapter of RftA. This chapter was slightly difficult to write, especially the dialogue of the Jashinists (likely not a wholly accurate representation, but I tried). I also discovered some interesting facts while doing my research; I seriously did not know that Jashinism is a real religion or that Teresa was a member of the 77th gen. of Claymores (much older than I thought she was; Clare is from the 150th generation). Some of Riful's dialogue is based upon her first appearance 7 years after the Battle of Pieta.
Alas, 'Turiel' and its inhabitants can be considered being AU of canon Claymore.
FYI: My stories shall all be rated "M" for safety's sake. FanFiction is not responsible for the content presented within this story.
Disclaimer: I will make it clear that I do not own Claymore/Naruto or any of its characters, settings, storyline, and/or techniques save my own creations.
X~X~X~X~X
Redemption from the Abyss
X~X~X~X~X
The town of Torrince, situated at the base of Mount Zuul, was once a rather wealthy town. It had, at first, grown at an abated pace like any other mountain community but, with the discovery of a large silver vein in the village's copper mine, Torrince's population exploded as news of the find spread across the continent like wildfire. A year after the silver rush one would have found a large and wealthy town, completely unrecognizable from the pitiful mining village it had once been; A stout city wall and a well-equipped garrison of militiamen having replaced the small farms and rowdy pubs that once dominated the village. For a time the town knew prosperity and peace but it was, sadly, the very things that kept the town safe from harm that led to its downfall; While such defenses deterred most attacks from wandering brigands and raiders, it made the town a prime location for an Awakened Being to call home thanks to the fortified walls limiting the number of locations a Claymore could infiltrate the town from. Now, years after its fall, the settlement is nothing more than a decaying ghost town, just one of the many that dotted the landscape of Lautrec; The crumbling garrison's keep and the few fading blood stains that had been sprayed across wood and dirt alike a testament to the dark night Riful laid claim to Torrince...
X~X~X
Three weeks had gone by since Riful had last eaten. Sitting on her wooden throne, a simple, though sturdy and cozy, chair she had found stashed away in the ruins of the once-proud fortress town, the centuries-old being had her legs folded up to her chest, arms wrapped around them in a comfortable embrace, contemplating on how she would acquire her next meal; It wasn't like she had much else to do in this day-and-age.
'Decisions, decisions... Where to go next...'
She drummed her fingers on her thighs, 'hmmm...'ing in deep thought.
'I could always go back to Hanel, but... No no no, Hanel simply will not do... How about Reeves...'
Reaching out with her limited, albeit quite powerful, sensing skills that she had trained up over the past century, Riful stretched her senses out towards the general direction of the small village to the north. What she found after several seconds of scanning left her irritated.
'...It would seem they already have a sizable infestation of Yoma in their midsts... Damn!' She took a moment to calm down before she sighed, hugging her legs closer to her body. 'That only leaves Renoa in the immediate area... Dummy Dauf and his constant pestering...'
One of the few remaining constants in her life, Dauf was a rather dimwitted, though absurdly strong, Awakened Being from the male generations of Organization warriors whom she had met in her travels, both as a Claymore and as an Awakened Being. A former No.3, he had set up a place for himself near the town of Renoa (She was, frankly, amazed that the town was still standing after all these years; Dauf held no love for Humanity). Even as she thought of the hulking oaf, she was perplexed by him; He would always stop by and see what she was up to whenever he was in the area. All the other Awakened gave her a wide berth, weary of her strength and/or her reputation, but not Dauf; Simple-minded brute seemed like he couldn't get enough of her even after being forcibly evicted from her home on numerous occasions through the use of her tendrils. Even after all these years dealing with him, Riful simply did not know what to do with him.
Had she been 163 years younger she would have befriended him within a heartbeat, regardless of his intellect or looks. Riful, however, was not like she once was and had many experiences within her lifetime that she would rather leave forgotten.
'I could always go to that new village that just popped up, 'Rokut' I believe it is called, however...' She thought on this for a few moments before sighing once more, bringing her forehead up to her knees as she closed her hazel eyes. 'God I'm lonely...'
As she contemplated her next course of action along with 'The Dauf Dilemma', a refreshing breeze from outside made its way through the dank and winding corridors of the fortified town's keep; Riful's home. It took several minutes but, just as Riful made the decision to go to Renoa, swayed in-part by a subconscious need to simply be, however brief and/or bitterly, with someone inhuman like herself, a gentle gust of wind rushed past her, bringing with it fresh air and... something else; a smell that the former No.1 warrior of the Organization found to be absolutely tantalizing.
Leaving the comforting embrace of her sturdy wooden throne, Riful wandered out of the lifeless town and into the forest towards the source of the curiously delightful scent; She would go to Renoa, but only after she found whatever it was that was exuding such a lovely aroma
X~X~X
Natsuyo Musashi, Blood Cardinal of a rouge Jashinist Sect within the Land of Fire, was feeling giddy under his calm facade; The Ten Moons Summoning Ritual, a ritual that took ten days and nights to perform from start to finish, was showing far more promise than previous attempts. Here, in an ancient Jashinist Temple hidden deep within a mountain range 3-days distant from Konohagakure no Sato (Village Hidden in the Leaves), his long-term goal to champion his religion's cause was finally within reach; To summon one of Jashin-sama's avatars to this mortal realm and reshape the world into the image of Jashin-sama.
"... W-why? Why a-are... You doing t-this?..."
Looking down into the ritualistic seals that had been painstakingly brushed onto the spacious floor of the temple nearing ten days ago, Musashi eyed one of the ten women being used as sacrifice for the summoning, her abdomen split open and most of her internal organs placed reverently around her in a circular pattern, as she wheezed out words between bloodied coughs. Musashi began to meander towards her, skirting the crimson seal and his many chanting cohorts, while basking in the tortured agony these lucky women felt; Jashin-sama rewards all who partake in sacrifice to his cause.
Upon reaching her, the ornately-dress man knelt down as close to her as he could, carefully staying outside of the complex seal array lest he disrupt it in some fashion. When he finally spoke, after taking a few moments to collect himself, it was with reverence to the woman laid out before him. She, along with the other nine women, were to give birth to a creature of providence on this day; They may have been heathens a few weeks ago, but they were now unworthy of anything but the utmost respect and adoration.
"... This world is teeming with unnecessary people, Hatsuyo-san; Lost in their ways of sin and barbarity. Many walk this earth never knowing or acknowledging the love and truths hinted to them by Jashin. There are, however, a select few amongst the teeming masses to whom he whispers his eternal love and by whom's decision they fight. As a man of honor, I pledge myself to the will of my God and help guide the brave souls of this world willing to accept the truths of our existence towards eternal paradise. But first, before Eden can be established, this world must be remade..."
The women, Hatsuyo Saeko, coughed once more, her precious blood raining back down upon her pale face and golden hair. She spoke once more, gasping for breath between words.
"Y-you... Are s-sick..."
Musashi frowned before he spoke once more.
"... It is not I that is sick, Hatsuyo-san..."
His eyes gained a half-manic gleam to them.
"... But, in fact, this world. This world and its people are racked with pain and sin, Hatsuyo-san. All of which can be easily transmuted into pleasure and righteousness if one were to only accept the teachings and love of Jashin. What we are doing here is to bring forth..." He made a grabbing motion with his hand, trying to think of an appropriate term for the holy creature he was calling upon. "... An Exemplar, if you will, to help reshape the world while removing those who would renounce such a wondrous gift for it is those who would deny Jashin's charity that spread the falsehoods, the maladies, of pain and sin."
Suddenly, without warning, all the women in the sealing array arched their backs in unison, mouths agape in silent screams. The seals spread along the walls that helped to stabilize the ritual began to burn a bright red, tinging the inner sanctum of the temple a deep crimson. The Blood Cardinal simply smiled; Paradise was coming at last!
X~X~X
Riful had wandered around on foot for over an hour, narrowing down the source of the scent, before she finally found herself in a small clearing deep within the forest that dominated the region. As she glanced to and fro around the clearing, neatly-trimmed hair swaying back and forth, her curiosity turned to confusion. 'I do not understand; This clearing is clearly the source yet... There is nothing here...' Her confusion quickly switched to suspicion.
She took a whiff of the air, but there was nothing besides the scents that normally make up a forest and the intoxicating aroma to fill her nostrils. Furrowing her brows, Riful quickly scanned the area, both visually and through her yoki-detection skills, only to come up with a blank; How could this be? The only way that one would be able to hide their presence, especially from this distance, was if...
'… The Organization! How... daring!'
Had she been a creature of lesser strength, Riful would have either lashed out immediately or run in a bid to escape these hunters. That was, however, just the thing.
Riful was not weak.
As she was, the raven-haired girl had little to worry from the warriors, but she always took delight in meeting them. She had, however, not spoken to a Claymore in the past several years. While they all were usually killing yoma alone or were gathered together for an Awakened Being hunt, she was generally left alone. the few times she had stumbled upon them were interesting and, dare she say it, entertaining encounters. This meeting was already proving to be more interesting than the rest if only for the fact that she was finally being targeted.
Standing confidently in the middle of the clearing, arms held low and clasped together, Riful spoke out cheerily to her would-be attackers.
"A pleasant day to you, warriors! Though you have yet to reveal yourselves, it truly is a pleasure to make your acquaintance! I hope we can all get along!" She performed a short bow within the clearing, completing her greeting.
Only silence replied, the normal background noise that made up a forest having stilled from her outburst. As seconds ticked by, her cheerful demeanor began to sour.
'Here I am, going out of my to introduce myself, and they deem themselves above such pleasantries; The least they could do for luring me all this way is speak!'
In a blur of motion, she lashed out with her tendrils at the surrounding forestry, intent on flushing out the ambushing hunters.
The assault was lightning-fast, the tendrils that made up her inhuman body shooting forth before receding a moment later, leaving behind a dense cloud of destruction that obscured her vision. She idly hoped that none were hurt when their cover was destroyed, but allayed that upon further thought; If they were unable to survive her attack, she was at the very least granting them a quick death.
"I compliment your attempt to use suppressants in this endeavor, truly a novel idea by any standards, but they will be of little use to you..."
She smiled whimsically as the dust and debris in the air began to clear, expecting to see the shocked faces of a younger generation of female Claymores along with some blood and gore. What greeted her instead was a section of the forest that had just been ravaged by herself, bereft of any signs of the hunters; They must be highly skilled if they were able to escape her attack unscathed, especially if they were using yoki suppressants.
Riful smirked; She loved a good challenge.
As she prepared to lay waste to a larger section of the surrounding forest, a most curious thing happened; A black orb, tinged blue around its perimeter, suddenly formed in the clearing beside the raven-haired girl. Its unexpected appearance stunned the Abyssal One. So shocked was she that it took several moments after her sundress was ripped away from her body for Riful to regain her bearings; Those few moments were all the anomaly needed to suck the lightly-tanned being into its dark embrace. It stayed motionless for a few seconds after snatching the girl, hovering above the earth and sucking in more dirt and debris, before it imploded upon itself in a crash of thunder.
Almost all proof of the aberration's brief appearance was erased a couple days later by a passing rainstorm. The only proof left of it having ever existed was a sizable dimple of earth that had been pulled up and towards the all-consuming schism.
X~X~X
Interdimensional space was a fact of life to the people of the Elemental Nations, most commonly used for storage of items such as food or weaponry, but was completely unheard of among the people whom resided in Turiel; Such knowledge gaps were common throughout the multiverse. The space held many names and was used in a variety of ways:
Slipspace...
Null Sec...
The Astral Plane...
Kakashi's secret porn stash...
It was, however, on one rather mundane day that Riful of the West was pulled, with nary a struggle, from one world to another through the use of this strange and wondrous space. The repercussions from the transfer would change everything for both Turiel and the Elemental Nations.
X~X~X
Musashi had watched the ten eviscerated women be consumed by the void that suddenly dominated the spacious temple chamber. He held out his arms, robes and Jashin pendant fluttering madly in the maelstrom of charged air, in an embrace as dirt flew about the quaking room, the floor indenting from the pressure exerted upon it, while waiting with his brothers and sisters for the Herald of Jashin to arrive.
It took less time than expected.
With a roar like thunder, something tan and black fell from the rip in space. A few seconds and more debris later, the dimensional rift imploded, sending out a shockwave of sound that further indented the floor and sent out a dense wall of air and dust. Many of the Jashinists, clothed in ornate robes of red, black, and gold, were knocked over by the powerful pressure wave, but not Musashi. As soon as the shockwave passed, he rushed forward. It took him several seconds of running across the fractured floor to reach the crater in which his religion's future lay; What he found within was perhaps the greatest disappointment one could possibly feel in the entirety of their lives.
A girl, stark naked from head to toe and partially covered by ribbon-like locks of straight, black hair, was lying splayed-out in the center of the depression.
Musashi looked down upon the girl in open disgust; How could such a frail-looking girl, who couldn't possibly be older than his second daughter and even less threatening in physical looks, even remotely be considered an Avatar of Jashin?
Oh... If only he knew.
X~X~X
End o' Chapter
to help explain some things that may need explaining:
- I started off the chapter as I did because... yeah? Couldn't really think of any other way to open it at the time.
- Riful and Dauf had yet to get together in this fic. It was beginning to happen, but the Ten Moons Summoning Ritual put a wrench into that. She has always seemed, to me, to be very sociable, but I didn't want Naruto to be the 'third wheel' as it were between her and Dauf. As such, made it where she had previous difficulties befriending other ABs.
- Suppressants allow a Claymore to completely hide their yoki presence. Unfortunately, this also weakens them as they are unable to draw upon their yoki.
- I know that the Organization attacking Riful would be stupid at this point in time; Such an attack leaves them open to Isley of the North. Still, people/groups have done dumber things.
- Why Riful would think she is being (incorrectly) ambushed by Claymores is because;
1. The Organization is constantly trying to create better warriors. Such experiments could include greater emphasis on yoki detection, strength, speed, control, or even hiding their yoki. An example of the latter could be Raphaela (Though it is not what she was really meant for).
2. Being one of the two Abyssal Ones, Riful makes for a rather dangerous adversary to the Organization; One they would rather see dead than living.
- Riful was drawn to the clearing by the blood from the sacrifices (should be fairly apparent, but you never know...).
- The reason why Musashi was unable to ascertain Riful's demonic nature upon cursory inspection is due to her physical appearance; Who expects a cute lil' girl to be a dark, man-eating creature of great strength and intellect?
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this installment and please leave a review!
KM
EDIT - (11/07/2013)
Minor editing throughout the chapter. Removed the reasoning behind her self-created isolation in order to go more in-depth with it at a later time within the fic. Changed the name of the summoning ritual (original name was rather uninspiring). changed Musashi's Jashinist sect into a rouge element of the greater Jashinist Cult. Some of Musashi's monologue was changed to resemble that of Claudia Wolf's from Silent Hill 3.
