Disclaimer: Do Not Own.
AN: Thank you all so much for reviewing :) I actually wrote this without watching the episode, so even if you're not impressed with me, I certainly am :) The reviews will be at the start of the chapter so that I can answer your questions before you read :) Enjoy :)
marc: You had a really good point. I actually wrote out Noah introducing him self to Clare's group, but then I scrapped it because it didn't lead the way I wanted it to. But your review gave me the push to rewrite it, so it's in the very start of this chapter :) Please tell me if it's to confusing or anything :)
DBZLOVER: Thank you so much :) I'm so glad you enjoyed it :) Hope you enjoy this one too :)
Freehawk: Ahahaha, Noah isn't going to completely wipe the floor with Rigardo, I've put some limits in there so it's not over too fast :) But I did add a scene to add to the trust building :) Well that was the intention in the first place :)
storyreaderlovespie: Hmmm, you do have a very good point, but . . . my story, my rules? Let's just say that Riful never had the inclination to learn anything about it, and that she'd never fought against one powerful enough to even phase her. As I can't (and won't) go back and change it as this point, that's the only answer I can give you at the moment. Is that ok?
Kyuubicannon: I didn't want to branch off so early before I could get my bearings. If you've read the manga, the bit after the battle in the North is where I'm really going to go ballistic with my own changes. Plus nothing Noah's really said or done at this point would really cause a big change anyway.
Algebraiya: Your wish is my command :) Although it might not have been what you were imagining. If you were going for the 'Gai Style Dramatic Entry' then prepare to be a little disappointed.
Also I would like to mention that I've sort of combined the situation from the manga with that of the anime. If you've seen both like I have then you'll understand, and if not then never mind :)
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Me the hunter you the prey I got you in my sight
Licking my chops the wait is over and the time's just right to strike
Let's go no more toying around let's go
Time for me to bring the pain - venatrix approinquit
Time to teach you bout the feeling when your hearts being ripped out
Time for me to bring the pain - venatrix approinquit
Time to finish what you started in the past here right now
I am quickly closing in on you I'' put an end to this affair
And you won't have a clue what hit you I am already there
Let's go no more toying around let's go
~Time To Bring The Pain, Krypteria
DON'T MIND ME I'M A LINE BREAK
¤END FLASHBACK¤
"Are you insane!"
Helen stood in front of the warm fire, breathing heavily, sword clenched in her hand. The urge to use it on the seemingly human boy in front of her was almost overwhelming. The monster just smiled back at her.
Clare nodded, a cold, blank mask showing none of her inner thoughts, "Noah has so far proved trustworthy, and he has given good reasons as to why we should cooperate with him." True, most of it was helpful to her, but in the long run it would benefit everyone.
Helen glared at her, ignoring the restraining hand that Deneve laid on her shoulder. "So? Who knows how many people that thing's killed. Why should we trust it?"
"Why indeed?"
Helen leapt over the fire, spinning in the air and slashing out at the boy who had suddenly appeared behind her. To his credit the boy merely leaned backwards, allowing the sword to lightly graze his neck.
With a rivulet of dark purple blood spilling down his neck, Noah spoke, speaking more to the contemplative warrior sitting across the fire from him, and the cut healed in less than a second. The other four were standing in their respective spots, Deneve behind him, and Clare, Jean, and Helen standing near the exit of the cave. Save for the Number Six, all of them had their swords in their hands.
"I'll be the first to admit, my kind hasn't given you a lot of reason to trust me. But . . . this is more about a mutual understanding rather than trust." He gave a considering glance to Jean and Clare, "However . . . I do plan on seeing Number Forty Seven and Number Nine come out of this alive. The rest of you I don't have the same personal interest in your safety."
Miria spoke for the first time, "Why would you care about whether Jean and Clare live or die." Her hands were clasped underneath her chin and her eyes were locked onto Noah's.
Noah smiled, "Jean has the rather ridiculous, honourable yes, but still ridiculous notion that she owes me her life. And I don't want her to die on my account. Odd as that sounds"
They all turned to Jean, who gazed stoically back, "Noah and Clare helped bring my mind back after my body had Awakened" She reminded them quietly.
The others had already been told about what had happened underneath the mountain, including the involvement of Galatea and the two Abyssal One's.
Miria turned back to the former Claymore, "And what about Clare? What reason could possibly endear her to you?" The others knew that the Number Six was not trying to be cruel, but she was trying to clarify exactly what Noah's motive was, and if he was any danger to any of the warriors under her command.
Noah smirked widely, "Number Forty Seven and I share the same goal, and we have an . . . understanding. It would be stupid of me to come between her and that goal. Plus, Clare is by far the most interesting warrior I've ever met, so I'm very interested in seeing her full potential."
Helen scoffed, "More like you're interested in seeing her guts splattered across the snow." She muttered, but Miria quelled her with a stern look.
The Number Six thought for a second before speaking, "Will you be fighting in the battle with the Awakened beings heading towards Pieta."
Miria's face revealed nothing, but the former Number One could hear the faint note of desperation in her voice, and he raised one of his eye brows. Was she begging?
He sighed, "I won't be directly engaging the Awakened beings, but I will be whittling down their numbers until Rigardo interferes."
Miria gasped, "R-Rigardo is coming?"
The others frowned, but Denveve was the one to speak first, "Who is this 'Rigardo'?"
Miria opened her mouth to speak but was cut of by Noah, "Rigardo is the second in command of former Number One, Isley, The White Silver King of the North. Rigardo was Number Two in the same generation as Isley." He couldn't help but smirk at the shock and despair on their faces. It was like their whole world had just collapsed.
He continued, "Before you get worked up, I should mention that I will be dealing with Rigardo myself. This is an opportunity that can't be missed, if I kill Rigardo, then that will weaken Isley significantly."
Miria nodded, a faint hint of gratitude shining in her eyes before it was covered up with deadly seriousness again, "Then we will have to trust that you'll do as you've said. I would like your word that you won't harm any of the warriors gathered here and in Pieta."
Ignoring Helen's shout of, "Miria." The two stared each other down.
Noah tilted his head, "Are you sure you can trust my word?"
Miria hesitated, but in the end she had to nod. She didn't have a choice, and despite the fact that he wasn't even close to human anymore, she would have to trust his word. He was the only chance any of them had to get out alive.
Noah smiled at her, a little bit warmer this time, "I promise that I will not harm any of the warriors gathered here or in Pieta." He stretched his back slightly, "Also, just to let you know, there are three Awakened beings approaching the city from the North."
The gathered warriors tensed collectively and then they all dashed out of the cave, leaving Noah to put out the fire and follow them at a more leisurely pace. He grinned predatorily, 'This should be interesting.'
¤END FLASHBACK¤
Helen panted heavily as she leapt backwards, deflecting several tendrils that darted after her. The Awakened beings had struck first, killing several warriors before anyone could react. It had quickly gone down hill from there.
They Claymores were dropping like flies, but they were starting to get their bearings and the numbers of the Awakened beings were dropping as well. Helen braced herself as another torrent of tendrils rushed through the air towards her. The Number Twenty Two had several deep gashes in her arms and torso that were hampering her mobility.
She might not survive this one.
As the thought crossed her mind, she gritted her teeth and tensed her arm. If she was going to go out, she was going to do her damn best to take this son of a bitch with her.
There was a wet, tearing sound and Helen's eyes widened to their fullest. In a split second, the tendrils, the monster's arms, it's head were gone. It had all been shredded, leaving the mutilated body to fall limply to the ground with a deafening thump.
Helen couldn't stop staring, ignoring the sounds of the battle that raged around her. Her eyes suddenly jumped to the figure that appeared in front of her, and she automatically took a step back.
Noah smiled at the shocked warrior, "Probably not the best time for you to be just standing around."
And with that he was gone, and Helen was horrified by the fact that the monster had just saved her life.
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Noah almost laughed as he dashed across the roofs. How long had it been since he'd had this much fun? Even though he was only using a tiny fraction of his yoki, it was still the most action he'd had in decades.
He dived through the air, and lashed out with both arms, morphing his fingers into tendrils and then back to normal. Two Awakened beings closing in on several Claymores roared as lacerations appeared along their bodies, and it distracted them long enough for the warriors to escape.
The former Number One bounced off a wall and lashed out again, severing the arm of one of the creature's, while the other one spotted him and began to move in.
Noah ducked and weaved around the tendrils that it launched at him, snarling when the other Awakened being reattached it's arm and joined in. That would teach him to leave a body part in one piece next time.
He froze as an enormous burst of yoki emanated from the town square, and the Awakened beings to the chance to attack.
There was an huge crash and a cloud of dust and debris filled the street, the sound of tearing and splashing echoing down the street.
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Undine spun around as she felt something appear behind her. Her crossed swords managed to catch the claws of the lion-like being that was Rigardo. Veronica was dead, cut in half at the hands of Rigardo, and Undine would be damned if she let it happen to her or anyone else. The rest of the Awakened beings were fighting the rest of her comrades outside of the square, but it sounds of battle were lessening, as though the battle was moving away.
She gritted her teeth as he started to over power her, and he raised his free hand up to attack when a flurry of tendrils struck him with a crash.
She turned her head, panting softly, to see what the hell had just attacked the other Awakened being. She gaped as she saw a young man, left hand raised in the air and transformed into a cluster of deep brown tendrils, which quickly retreated and morphed back in a hand.
She raised her swords and dashed in his direction. It didn't matter if he'd helped her or not, if he was one of them then he had to die. However, before she could reach him she was cut off.
"Captain?"
Miria frowned at her and dragged her out of the way. Undine could see that Number Forty Seven had dragged Number Eight over to Number Nine and that was where Number Six was taking her.
"We're staying out of this one, Undine."
The Number Eleven stared at her, ignoring Number Twenty Two and Number Fifteen as they jumped down from the roof tops as well. "The other Awakened beings have retreated." Number Fifteen, Deneve said, frowning slightly in confusion.
Undine looked at Flora, and she could see that they were the only ones concerned with the two Awakened beings now staring each other down in the town square.
Flora interrupted Clare as the Number Forty Seven warrior started to talk, "Excuse me, but why are we ignoring those two." She pointed towards two Awakened beings in the town centre.
Clare turned to her, "Noah is our ally in this battle. He agreed to defeat Rigardo for us."
The two warriors who hadn't met the Abyssal One stared at her, and then Undine started laughing, harsh and hollowly, "And you believed him? Are you crazy? He'll kill us and eat our guts unless we take him out first." She hefted her swords, ready to run out into the fray.
Except Miria's hand on her shoulder stopped her, "Undine, Flora, I believe Noah to be trustworthy, and until he proves otherwise, we will have to depend on him to defeat Rigardo, as I don't believe that any of us would have the power or skill to do so."
Undine ground her teeth in rage, but Flora asked the more important question, "Has anyone else survived? We can't be the only one's left." There was a faint note of terror in her voice, and the other warriors felt the same way. How many had survived the battle? And how many were dying as they spoke?
Jean shrugged slightly, "We won't know if there is anyone else who survived until we go around and check. The half suppressant covers everyone's signatures once they fall unconscious."
Miria nodded, "While Noah is engaging Rigardo, the rest of us will go and check on the other warriors. Bring anyone that survived back here."
They all turn back to the battle field as Rigardo let out a fearsome roar, a bright cyclone of crimson yoki forming around him. Opposite, Noah just smirked and flexed his fingers.
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Rigardo growled as he was forced to leap away from the Claymore he'd been seconds from gutting by a flurry of tendrils.
It wasn't any of his own soldiers that were attacking, they'd already moved on towards their respective targets, the East and the West. He surveyed the town square, watching as the remaining warriors gathered inside one of the destroyed buildings. He could feel his claws itching as he contemplated dashing in and slaughtering them all, but then the sight of the Awakened being that had attacked him drew his gaze.
He leapt down from the roof, landing lightly in the blood spattered snow that covered the ground. The boy in front of him was smirking smugly as his tendrils morphed back in a hand, and it made a snarl rumble in Rigardo's chest. The little upstart wasn't from his army, of that he was sure. But that left only two options left.
Either he was working for one of the other Abyssal One's, or he was working with the Claymore's.
Both options left Rigardo burning with anger, and he clenched his hands into fists. It would be stupid to attack brashly, after all he knew nothing about the boy. His yoki was completely suppressed, and when he had launched his tendrils only a little had flared, which had alerted Rigardo to the attack.
Instead, the commander tried to aggravate the boy into doing something stupid, "And what you might you be? A pet for the Organisation?" Maybe the boy would fly off the handle and do something rash. And maybe, just maybe, the boy would be a worthy opponent.
The boy chuckled slightly, "Please, the Organisation has no knowledge of my existence, and I serve no one but myself." His smirk widened, "However, you may have heard of my ally." He paused, for a second, anticipating the former Number Two's reaction. "Riful of the West
Rigardo's jaw dropped slightly at the name. This little boy was the ally of an Abyssal One? Rigardo took back his previous judgements. If Riful had chosen to take the boy as an ally, then he had to have impressed her. And Riful was one of the most powerful beings he'd ever come across, despite the fact that he'd never even seen her in her Awakened form.
Plus, the Abyssal one herself was smaller than this boy in her human form, and Isley had said that she had the biggest form of any Awakened being. So it was by far in his best interests to not underestimate the boy, even though he probably had far less experience than himself, plus a lower rank or he would have heard something about him.
The boy tilted his head, painting the picture of an innocent child, "What's the matter? Are you scared now? And here I thought that the Silver Eyed Lion King would be a strong opponent, worthy of fighting against me." The boy shrugged, "I guess I was wrong."
Rigardo saw red at the mention of that hated title that Isley had so graciously bestowed on him. He threw his head back and roared, releasing all of his yoki, letting it dance and spin around him.
Noah just smiled. The more yoki that Rigardo was letting out, the more that Noah could use. The yoki of a Claymore was distinct from other Claymore's and Awakened being's, but it was extremely hard to tell the difference between two Awakened being's yoki auras. Noah could increase his a little more and remain undetected so long as Rigardo's amount of yoki dwarfed his.
Noah smirked and started to flex his fingers, allowing trace amounts of yoki to flow down his arms and legs.
"Let's Dance."
DON'T MIND ME I'M A LINE BREAK
All done :) The next chapter will be the fight scene, which I will try to embellish and improve on so that it's really good :) Of course now I'm going to have to watch the episode's over and over again repeatedly until I think I can write a high speed battle well enough :)
Before anyone says that Miria trusts Noah to easily, let me say this. She's desperate. If you've seen the manga and the suppressant scene, you've seen how guilty she gets at the thought of leading these people to their deaths. If Noah can offer better chances for survival, she's all for it. Plus having Jean and Clare vouch for him helps. Deneve is reserving judgement and Helen is obviously a hater. Or is she?
Plus, if anyone can tell me what manga that last line of Noah's is from, I'll write them a oneshot on a fandom of their choice, any pairing. I'll give you a hint, it's said by at least two or three characters in volume 17.
Please review and tell me what you think? And if enough people hate it, then I'll rewrite it :)
Phoenix :)