DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN CLAYMORE
AN: I'm sorry that this took so long to get out, but I've only just gotten my inspiration for this story back. Plus I've been reading the Claymore manga again, and holy crap, I didn't know I was so out of date! Especially with the very latest stuff, although it's given me some amazing ideas.
IMPORTANT! Due to the fact that I'm not doing a time skip, I'm having to introduce post-timeskip characters now. From my point of view, they would had to be promoted quite quickly to fill in the gaps anyway, because the Organisation lost over half it's warriors, more if you include the four man team that was first lost in the North, and they would have been fairly well adjusted to their ranks, because the Organisation couldn't have lost the numbers they had and still survived without capable replacements. But because of this, some things will change, and that's more of my deviation from canon. Sorry if this offends anyone's sensibilities or ruins the story for them, but that's how it's working for me
Kuroui: Yays, I'm glad you think so :) True, but I think feeding would help Awakened beings recover, plus Rafaela needs to get out there and eat, so it was bound to happen :) I didn't go into too much detail though :) thanks for reviewing :)
Orchamus: I'm sorry about that, I didn't know it had changed font :/ I'm glad you liked it :) Thanks for reviewing :)
marc: Thanks, that means a lot :) All fixed, hopefully :) and thanks for reviewing
kyuubicannon:I took your advice, except to avoid a lot of boring training scenes, I'm going to be accelerating a lot of the canon events to keep things interesting. Please let me know if you think it's stupid? And thanks for reviewing :)
algebraiya: all fixed, I think :) Hmm, a good question. Rafaela is naturally a quiet person, not shy though, and before the massacre, she was being kept a little bit out of it by Luciela, to prevent a rampage, so she'll start to come out of her shell a little bit, especially in a scene I have planned for later :)
storyreaderlovespie: I thought it was needed :) plus it opens up possibilities for later :) Yays :) that's great. They noticed, but Noah isn't defined as a threat, being in human form and not making any violent actions, or movements towards their food. So they knew he was there, but dismissed him as unimportant. Thanks for reviewing
Sieben Nightwing: Thank you :) Ummm, no, I didn't have anything like that planned, I've already got the next few bits planned, but thanks anyway :)
EVA-Saiyajin: Thank you :) those have been fixed hopefully, but I'm glad you liked it :)
I: I love the series, mostly because of how amazing the battles are :) I'm glad you like it though :) I started this story without any pairings in mind, and I still haven't really changed my mind. I don't think the other reviewers would appreciate this becoming a slash story, plus who would I even pair Noah with? No, I'll keep this the way it is, unless you can come up with a good argument to convince me otherwise :) And thank you, that's a great compliment :)
YoPQ: True, I did say I would deviate from canon, but after the time skip, and that's where I'm starting to change things up now. Mostly just accelerating events, but it's a start :) I didn't want to get dragged down into details pretty much, plus there wasn't really that much to tell :) A normal village wouldn't have anything to help defend against Awakened beings. But thank you anyway :)
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There is love in our bodies and it holds us together
But pulls us apart when we're holding each other
We all want something to hold in the night
We don't care if it hurts or we're holding too tight
There is love in your body but you can't get it out
It gets stuck in your head, won't come out of your mouth
Sticks to your tongue and it shows on your face
That the sweetest of words have the bitterest taste
Darling heart, I loved you from the start
But you'll never know what a fool I've been
Darling heart, I loved you from the start
But that's no excuse for the state I'm in
~Hardest of Hearts, Florence + The Machine
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"All done?"
Rafaela whirled around to face the amused Abyssal One, but Luciela just smirked over her shoulder as she paused in her bathing. The feeding frenzy had replenished much of her strength, more than she had expected it too in all honesty. The red-haired girl expected to be fully recovered in days rather then weeks now.
She stood up and left the stream, standing in the sun to let her hair and skin dry. Noah handed over a pair of dresses that he's managed to steal before the village burned down. They were the low quality that could be expected from a small isolated community, and she frowned, comparing them to the luxurious clothes she'd worn since her Awakening.
"Eager to hurry back to your little pets then?" She asked, arching an eye brow. Behind her, Rafaela picked up her own dress, and put it on after a quick examination.
Noah gave her an exasperated look and nodded, not even bothering to argue with her. He disappeared in a quick burst of yoki, while the female Abyssal One was pleased that she was able to follow his movements for the most part. That feeding had done her a world of good, and slaughtering humans was a form of stress release to her, albeit one that she didn't indulge in very often.
Too many towns filled with corpses, and the Organisation was liable to send a hunting group of the stronger single-digit warriors after her. She hadn't yet experienced that, and she wasn't eager to test herself against a group of skilled and powerful warriors, weakened as she was.
She slipped the dress on and tore the long sleeves off, freeing up her hands. The dress was too large, and was almost slipping off her slim frame. Her sister was having the same problem, being the same body shape as hers, although maybe a little more generous in her chest.
Giving up on improving the pitiful excuse for clothing, Luciela turned to face Rafaela, basking in the feel of her sister's yoki. It was similar to before her Awakening, except with that inhuman, bestial feel that tainted every Awakened beings.
Feeling it wash over her was relaxing, and brought back memories of easier days, when they were both in training. There was a pang in her heart, which she pushed away easily with decades of practice. Awakening had crushed most of those memories and regrets, although she still felt devastated over the separation of Rafaela and her.
"How are you feeling?" The Abyssal One asked, shaking away her thoughts.
"I feel . . . . . stronger." Rafaela's voice was rough from disuse, but it had always been huskier than Luciela's in any case. "Like I could break a mountain apart with my bare hands."
Luciela smiled proudly, unable to contain herself. Being with her sister again, it was like . . . . . . . her soul had been torn in half, and reunited.
She caught Rafaela's eye, and felt a wave of love flow through the bond they shared. They both knew that they'd rather die than be separated again.
Luciela shifted on her feet, feeling her yoki flow through her limbs once more, "Come on, we'll go see what Noah and his pets are doing."
Their yoki surged in unison as the two Awakened beings sped from the river banks, heading in the direction that Noah's yoki had disappeared.
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Clare and Jean leapt to their feet, hearing a rustling noise, moving from tree to tree. Their eyes met, and Jean nodded. The Number Nine ranked warrior disappeared from the clearing, landing on a nearby tree branch, sword drawn.
Back on the ground, Clare had drawn her on sword, and she extended her yoki, searching for any hostile yoma. Her grip on her sword tightened when she found no trace of hostile yoki, and she started sweeping the forest with her eyes, straining her ears. Jean appeared behind her, blade held out in both hands, covering Clare's back. The older woman's yoki surged as her eyes flared gold, and the pupil contracted into a slit, improving her eyesight immediately.
The seconds rolled past, and still unable to detect anyone, Clare and Jean only became more anxious, certain that there was something out there.
"Well, you two aren't a complete waste of time then." The familiar voice of the green haired Abyssal One came from a tree branch to Clare's right, and Jean's left.
With a tiny jolt, Jean managed to stop herself from rushing Noah, using self control gained through years of battle experience hunting Awakened beings.
Clare on the other hand, wasn't quite so restrained, and in an impressive demonstration of her inhumanly enhanced reaction speed, spun to face the green haired boy, and threw her sword.
The sword, tempered and forged using technique's known only to the Organisation, flew through the air at an incredible speed, heading directly for the Abyssal One's head. He just smirked, and leant to the side ever so slightly, allowing the claymore to rush past, without ever touching so much as a strand of hair. The blade buried itself deep into the tree, cutting through the wood almost effortlessly.
It may have even burrowed up to the hilt, if Noah had not seized the handle and prevented the improvised missile from moving any further. Clare stared at the Abyssal One with widened eyes, her 'borrowed' right arm still extended in the air, while behind her, Jean opened her mouth, unsure of what she would say, but wanting to break the silence anyway.
Noah beat her too it, throwing back his head and letting out a loud bark of laughter, startling the two warriors with this out of character behaviour.
Shaking his head, Noah gave them his customary smirk, "I knew there was a reason I liked you, Number Forty Seven." He effortlessly pulled her sword from the tree, and dropped down to the ground.
The green haired boy gave the sword a considering look, and a few experimental swings. Just holding the thing was bringing back a few memories from before his Awakening. He grinned and tossed it back to Clare, who caught it despite still recovering from her shock.
Jean sheathed her sword, gave another quick glance around the area, "Did Luciela and Rafaela follow you?" Clare stood with her sword held loosely in her hand, still half expecting someone else to suddenly appear in the clearing.
Noah casually gestured somewhere off behind him, "They'll be along shortly, I can feel Luciela's yoki moving towards us. Rafaela though . . . . . she's suppressing her yoki almost perfectly." He sounded admiring for a second, "For a newly Awakened being, it's a remarkable ability."
The boy turned serious, "And that brings me back to the main reason I came back before the others. For the safety of our group, you two are going to have to learn how to completely suppress your yoki, to the point where you seem like any normal human."
Jean stared at him in mild surprise, while Clare opened her mouth to speak, "Why not just use the yoki suppressant pills?"
Noah looked at her in confusion, "The what?"
The two warriors shared a look, just how old was Noah? The yoki suppressant pills had been in use since shortly after the Organisation was created. The male Abyssal One saw the look, "I was part of the 'second generation'. Not that 'generations' lasted very long back then" He explained with a sardonic grin, but that slipped away when he saw the blank looks the short haired girls were giving him.
"What are you talking about?" Jean asked.
Noah shook his head, did they even try to teach the warriors of today about the past? "When the first warriors were created, the process was unstable, and a lot of them died during the process. Finally, it was refined enough to ensure that every subject survived, and the Organisation was able to field all forty seven warriors, enough to patrol every region on the continent."
Jean watching listening carefully, enthralled by the history of warriors known as Claymores to the ordinary people. She'd heard stories of warriors, powerful fighters, but never more than several generations back. Clare just watched, eyes narrowed in concentration.
He continued, "As you know, in the very beginning, the Organisation used male warriors, but this was problematic because of how quickly we Awakened. It was chaotic, and the ranks changed weekly because of deaths, Awakenings, and sometimes even desertion. The first few generations were given the nickname, 'The Mass Awakening' because 80% of the warriors Awakened within a very short time."
Clare tilted her head slightly, "And this is when you Awakened?"
The green haired boy nodded, "Yes. Isley, Rigardo and Dauf all Awakened at the same time in a group Awakened being hunt, and the ranks were reshuffled. Even though the Organisation was becoming accustomed to losing warriors through Awakening, losing the top three ranked warriors in a single day caused all sorts of chaos. I was promoted to Number One."
Clare tried to imagine what it must have been like, to change rank so easily and so often. She'd only ever been Number Forty Seven, and for the time that she'd known her, Teresa had been ranked Number One. Elena had been promoted twice, when higher ranked warriors died, but they were only small promotions, pushing her up two or three ranks at the most.
Jean herself had only experienced a handful of promotions, especially once she had perfected her Drill Technique, but she had established herself as Number Nine, and stayed there ever since.
Noah shrugged, and went to talk again, disturbing them from their pondering. "I deserved the rank, there was no question about that, but in skill only. I didn't have the experience necessary to be ranked Number One back then, and the few times I had to lead a team, there were always problems. The most common one was that I was younger than the vast majority of warriors, and a lot of them were too proud to be lead around by a younger, less experienced warrior."
He grinned sharply, "I . . . . . . showed them the error of their ways." His grin shrank into his customary smirk, and his gaze slid over to a nearby tree, "Were you enjoying my story, ladies?"
Jean and Clare whirled around too see Luciela and Rafaela, the Abyssal One resting comfortably in the tree branches, while her sister leant against the tree trunk below. The former Number Two gave a nod to Noah, while Luciela gave a slow smirk. He'd been able to sense their less than perfect suppressing, but they were better than could be expected, given Rafaela's recent Awakening, and Luciela's somewhat weakened condition.
"It was . . . . . . . enlightening, although I don't think now is the time for a history lesson." She fell from the tree, landing on her feet without so much as a wince, and stretched, befitting the cat-like being of her Awakened form. "You should be using this time to teach them how to suppress their yoki, if you're so set on it." She looked at the two warriors from beneath her lashes, a vicious smile spreading across her lips. "After all, they'll need all the help they can get." Despite the innocent seeming words, the smug look on her face proved beyond a doubt that her words were anything but benign.
Clare glared coldly at her, but Jean's hand on her arm restrained her from doing anything more. She didn't have the way with words to be able to retaliate, although Galatea came to mind. The short haired warrior smirked as she imagined the Abyssal One and God-Eye Galatea meeting.
It would be . . . . . . . explosive, to say the least.
Noah ignored Luciela's needling, not wanting to get involved. Odds are she'd run rings about him in a game of words, and even if he did have a chance of coming out as the victor, she was right in this case.
"Alright, let's begin then." Noah rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet for a second, considering the two warriors. "This will be hard for you both, mostly because of your yoki-intensive special techniques."
Both Luciela and Rafaela perked up at that, although it was more noticeable in the Abyssal One, given her more outgoing personality. The green haired boy noticed, and waved them off, "Later, it'll just make suppressing harder."
Luciela nodded reluctantly, while Rafaela was more accepting of the dismissal. The older sister wasn't used to being refused anything, and it was grating.
Noah continued on as if there hadn't been an interruption, "But, on the bright side, Jean, your yoki is unusually calm, and controlled. Clare on the other hand, your yoki is quite small, which doesn't seem to hold you back in battle." He grinned slightly, "It will make suppressing it easier though. Now, any questions?"
Clare spoke first, "Is there any special trick to suppressing yoki? I've seen you fight with your yoki completely hidden, and you don't seem to have any troubles."
He nodded, "True, but I've had decades of practice, and that's time we don't have. Learning to suppress your yoki while still being able to fight takes a few years at least, and anyway, we just need you to be able to move around undetected, and I'll take care of combat until you're skilled enough."
They all ignored Luciela's scoff, that sounded suspiciously like, "Bleeding heart."
"So, show me what you can do."
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"Kronus, report."
The scientist gave a quick nod of greeting to the Elder, and led him over to an observation window. "As you can see, Elder, the subjects have taken quickly to the Awakened being flesh that was implanted. Subjects one, fourteen and fifteen died during implantation, but the thirteen survivors are doing well. Their conditioning appears to be holding, although testing in the field will be necessary to validate that."
The Elder nodded slowly, going over the details in his mind, "Have they been exposed to the flesh of an Abyssal One yet?"
Kronus consulted his notes, "No sir. We were waiting for the approval of the High Council first."
"Approval given." Was the crisp reply.
The scientist hesitated for a second, "Sir? Which Abyssal One should they be exposed to?"
The Elder pondered it for a second, "Send them after Luciela. That one should be the weakest after her fight with Isley, and reports indicate that while she lost, she is still alive. Our trackers have been unable to find a lead, although these . . . . subjects should have much less trouble."
The older man turned to leave, although he paused in the door way, "Tell me, Kronus, what happened to the last batch?"
Again, the scientist consulted his papers, "The last batch was designed to hunt down and kill Awakened beings, so that we could harvest their flesh and use it to create the next level, which is what this current batch are on their way to becoming. We were extremely lucky that such a large group of Awakened beings were sent to attack us, they accelerated the project by months, maybe even years. So with no more need for them, the last batch was scrapped."
The Elder nodded in satisfaction, "Excellent work, Kronus, keep it up."
He left, and the scientists was all alone with his creations again. The younger man stared through the window at the apparent young women, thirteen of them strapped to beds in another room. Their eyes and mouths had been sewn over, and most of them were clad in rags and tattered clothes, if clothed at all, although Kronus didn't seem to notice their naked forms.
He'd long since given up such base desires, although knowing that none of these monsters was even remotely human any more, despite their appearance, would have repelled any normal man.
Kronus laid a gloved hand on the window, watching as several of the 'women' twitched at the barely audible sound of the fabric moving against the window.
"I think, my subjects, that you'll change the tide of this war." He chuckled, "After all, even the toughest of giants can be felled by a never-ending stream of ants."
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"Step forward, Clarice."
The brown-haired girl walked forward for a few steps, shaking noticeably. It wasn't every day that a warrior was called before the High Council, let alone a simple trainee.
The Elder sitting in the centre addressed her, "Clarice, as of this day, you shall be promoted to rank Number Forty Seven."
She froze, barely even hearing his words in her surprise. Her, a ranked warrior? Weak, clumsy Clarice? There had to be some sort of mistake! There were dozens of trainees who were faster, stronger, smarter, the list went on. She broke out of her shock in time to hear the Elder continue.
"However, instead of being assigned to an area, you will be given a special assignment."
Clarice kept silent, automatically knowing that she wasn't meant to speak, even though she wouldn't have been able to gather the courage to do so anyway.
The Elder leaned forwards slightly, "The current Number Four Miata, is a . . . . . . special case. Your new assignment is to be her handler. You will keep her focused on the tasks we assign her, ensure that she takes yoki suppressant pills as needed, and eats regularly. You will, for all intents and purposes, become her care taker."
The more he spoke, the more stressed Clarice was becoming, but she managed to restrain herself from panicking, and followed the aide that came to lead her away, presumably to Miata.
It was a short walk through the collection of ruined buildings that made up the surface facilities of the Organisation. The newly promoted warrior idly wondered, not for the first time, what could have possibly caused such devastation this far in the Organisation's territory, and shuddered, hoping that she never encountered it, assuming it was still roaming the world.
Far too quickly for Clarice's liking, they came to a broken down little hut, and the aide quickly left, leaving Clarice alone. Gathering what little courage she had, the warrior walked to the door and pushed it open, shivering at the harsh creaking noise the hinges gave.
The door swung open, revealing a small figure crouched on the floor. Clarice blinked several times to adjust her eyes to the light, and stared at the, also recently promoted, Number Four ranked warrior, 'Blood-Eye' Miata.
Clarice nervously cleared her throat, "Ummm, hello? I'm Number Forty Seven, Clarice. I was ordered to work with you . . . . . ." She trailed off as Miata tilted her head slightly, causing her long hair to move out of her face. A single luminous silver eye was revealed, and Clarice froze as it seemed to gaze right through her.
Suddenly, there was a burning line across her cheek, and something grabbed her shoulder and twisted, sending her tumbling to the ground. The brown haired warrior cried out in pain and shock, although she went silent when Miata's razor sharp sword was held to her throat.
"Did you kill them? Papa and Mama?"
Clarice stared into Miata's single visible eye, scared out of her wits. She'd heard of Miata's instability, everyone had, although she hadn't expected it to be this bad.
Miata sniffed the air, then unexpectedly reached down, and tore the chest area from Clarice's trainee uniform.
The Number Forty Seven ranked warrior cried out again, despite the blade held to her throat. "What are you doing? Stop it, Miata!"
She was ignored, and the much younger Number Four leaned down, and seized Clarice's nipple in her mouth, beginning to suckle immediately.
Again, Clarice was shocked beyond belief, and she stared down at the suddenly docile young girl, trying to block out the feeling of the Number Four ranked warrior trying to breast feed from her. She could hear the Miata murmuring, "Mama." Over and over again, and unconsciously she lowered her hand to rest against the younger girl's head, carding through her tangled blonde hair.
"This little girl is the Organisation's Number Four?" She whispered to herself incredulously. "How on earth is this going to work?"
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The black clad man stood, warily watching the warrior sheath her sword. Something was different about her, as if she had made a new resolution on life. Ermita shrugged the feeling off, dismissing it as unimportant.
"Very well done Number Three. Killing an Awakened being, especially one of such high rank, by one's self is a great achievement."
'God-Eye' Galatea gave the man a cool, unreadable look, then turned to leave.
"Where are you going? We have another assignment."
She stopped, and looked over her shoulder at him, eyes narrowed, "So you can attempt to lead me to my death again? I think not."
He glared at her, "Deserting the Organisation is punishable by death, Number Three. If you leave now, warriors will be sent after you to take your head!"
"Allow them to come, I have a feeling that they'll have hard time managing to find me."
The now former Number Three allowed a ghost of a smile to cross her face, before turning and disappearing from the man's sight.
It took several hours for Ermita to raise the alarm over the desertion of Number Three, 'God-Eye' Galatea, and in response, a hunting party of Numbers Six, Seven, Eight and Nine were dispatched. All were recently promoted to replace warriors lost in the Campaign in the North, but their skills were undeniable.
The ranks had been reshuffled substantially in the time since the campaign, and some of the lower ranks were filled by warriors who were a little underpowered for their ranks. However, the higher ranks, particularly the single digits were expected to perform well enough. Even now a new Number Three was being selected, although it would most likely be Audrey, with her formidable Gentle Sword technique.
The Organisation would suffer for a while, but even now they were preparing new warriors, and new creations, who would bolster it's strength to even higher levels than before the Northern Campaign.
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It had been several days since Galatea had left the Organisation, and already the warriors who had been sent after her were starting to catch up. She'd been able to sense them the entire time, but they must have had a skilled sensor, because they'd been on her tail non-stop.
She could admit to herself, with some difficulty, that she'd been arrogant. The former Number Three had expected to have several days before they sent any capable warriors after her. She'd been careless, and not even bothered to hide her yoki.
It was an obvious mistake now.
Galatea had tried to suppress her yoki, although not to the extent where she couldn't sense her followers any more, and found that they tracked her relentlessly. It was tempting to allow them to catch her, and then incapacitate them, but she'd already paid the price for her arrogance once already, and she didn't plan on repeating her mistake. They were all single digits, from the feel of their yoki, and while none of them could be ranked Number One or Two, as Alicia and Beth were stationed at the Organisation, they could be anywhere from Four to Nine.
A memory suddenly came to mind, a promise given before the Northern Campaign. If it worked, then she might just survive unscathed, or she might just be jumping from the frying pan into the fire. However, Galatea's options were beginning to run thin now, and her gut instinct urged her to go with this one.
Cursing herself for her stupidity, she flared her yoki, stretching her senses across miles and miles, lighting up her location like a bonfire.
As expected, the warriors following her accelerated, most likely assuming she was Awakening, and were hurrying to prevent that. She gritted her teeth and held out for as long as possible, preferring to not imagine what her face looked like as her body twisted and bulged, yoki surging throughout her veins.
Eventually she released it, hoping that her signal had been received, knowing that if not, she'd just wasted energy, time and brought the enemy right to her. She reached for her sword and waited, knowing that the pursuing warriors would reach her in several seconds, and that it would be useless at this point to try and run.
She wasn't disappointed, as the four-warrior team came running towards her, stopping in a loose semi-circle several metres from her. The girl on the far left had darker skin than most warriors, indicating that she came from the far south, further proven by her pale hair being in neat cornrows.
The second warrior was beautiful, Galatea thought, with a small amount of envy. A delicate porcelain face, with long eyelashes, coupled with silver blonde hair, framing her face with straight bangs and a waterfall of curls down to her back.
The two warriors to her right were standing closer together, and the Former Number Three assumed they were lower ranked than the other two. There was one with a ponytail, and a side fringe pulled across her hair line, while the other, shorter one had her long hair contained in two bunches on either side of her head.
Galatea spoke first, "It seems I'm at a disadvantage. All of you know who I am, but I don't know who any of you are." She smiled slightly.
The girl with the pony tail bristled, but the warrior with the curls smiled back, "I'm Number Seven, Anastasia, to my left is Number Six, Renee, to my right is Number Eight, Dietrich, and beside her is Number Nine, Nina." Number Nine scowled, but didn't say anything.
Dietrich spoke up, placing a hand on the hilt of her sword, "Galatea, as punishment for deserting the Organisation, we have been sent to take your head. Please, don't make this any harder than it has to be."
Galatea drew her sword, "I'm sorry, but I couldn't let myself be taken out by someone of lower rank than me. I'm sure you understand." She gave a patronising, insincere smile, cheering on the inside as it caused all but Number Seven to become angry. The angrier that she could make them, the easier they would be to manipulate, and not realise that she was doing so.
Nina growled, and surged her yoki. Galatea became a little concerned when it focused into her sword arm. The Number Nine dashed forwards, slashing at Galatea's neck.
The Former Number Three was caught by surprise when the sword easily followed her as she twisted out of the way, and she tried to draw her sword in order to deflect it.
She was about to panic, when suddenly Nina's sword stopped moving. The former Number Three looked up, and found her opponent's sword piercing through someone's forearm, pointed directly at her heart.
She followed the forearm, and sighed slightly when she saw that it belonged to a familiar face. "You're late." Galatea said, although with a hint of relief colouring her voice.
Noah smirked, "I'd like to think I'm right on time." He looked at the surprised execution team and then back down at his wrist, with the sword stuck through, "Maybe you could use a hand?"
She could see the mirth dancing through his eyes, and scowled at him, "Idiot."
Nina pulled her sword out and leapt back, while the others drew their swords for the first time. They watched in disbelief as the strange boy's wound healed before their eyes.
Renee recovered her wits, and called out to the boy, "I know you're an Awakened being, but don't interfere, or we'll take your head as well."
Noah grinned at Galatea, motioning for her to move back, "Now now ladies, we don't need to fight. If you'd just let me and my companion go, this could all be solved easily." His demeanour changed, grin becoming darker, and his eyes turning bloodthirsty, " Or I could beat you into unconsciousness, and my companion and I will leave anyway. Your choice."
The execution team shared a glance, and then attacked the Awakened being as one, Dietrich and Nina leading the charge. Noah sighed, not that he'd been expecting anything different.
Although the boy's yoki was tiny, there was more than enough for Nina's Shadow Hunter to lock on, and her blade zeroed in on the Awakened being's neck. Noah ducked Dietrich's swing, launching her away with a well placed kick, when he had to avoid a series of perfectly aimed sword strokes.
He grinned as he spun through the air, avoiding a swipe at his knee caps. He could feel the darker skinned girl trying to manipulate his yoki, and although it was useless, he had to admire her ability. The girl who had zeroed in on to his yoki, now that was a formidable technique. It was relentless, preventing him from getting enough room to manoeuvre. As her speed and strength increased with experience, she'd become quite the warrior.
But for now, she was out of her league.
He dodged to the side, reaching forward and burying his fist in her gut. The girl was sent crashing into a tree, coughing desperately as the air was driven from her lungs.
He stood straight and gazed around. Galatea had engaged the girl with the ability to 'lock' to others yoki. He would have watched, but something else had caught his eye.
The curly haired girl was standing . . . . . in mid-air!
He was caught unawares, and gaped for a second. Anastasia took the chance and dove at him, lashing out with her sword. Noah ducked, but she bounced off the ground, and back into the sky, standing as if she was on the ground alongside him.
He narrowed his eyes, and took a closer look at her feet, focusing yoki into his eyes to improve his vision. He could almost feel his pupils sliding into vertical slits, and he grinned as he saw the warrior's trick.
Noah grinned at her, "Very clever! I don't think I've ever seen such an innovative way of fighting, although admittedly, my experience is more limited than most, but even so, I'm impressed."
Anastasia blinked at the boy, a little confused as to what she could say to that. Suddenly, the boy disappeared, and she jolted and tumbled to the ground, landing on her feet despite the abrupt fall. She heard a soft thump behind her, and spun around to see the boy holding what appeared to be thin air, although she knew his hand was clutching most, it not all of her hair-strands.
He smirked, "Using your own hair as a web to manoeuvre through the air. Unfortunately for you, once the shock wears off, and the secret is revealed, it's a lot less effective."
She paled slightly, knowing that her advantage was gone. The newly promoted Number Seven gripped her sword tighter, she hadn't even seen him move when he tore her net down.
Anastasia lunged forwards, bringing her sword around in a powerful swipe. The boy dodged easily, but he was forced to dive out of the way of Dietrich's massive overhead swing. The Number Eight's attack smashed into the earth where the boy had stood, and the two of them launched a barely coordinated offensive.
Renee added to the chaos as she gave up trying to alter the boys yoki flow, and joined in, trying to time her attacks so as not to interfere with the other's. The three of them knew each other from training, but they'd never attacked a single foe together, let alone a human sized opponent.
Nina, on the other hand, was still after their original target, and was swinging away at Galatea, sword gleaming in a never ending attack. The former Number Three had tried to manipulate the girl's yoki to disrupt her attacks, but she'd found that Nina's yoki was tightly focused, and seemingly sealed against outside interference. She gritted her teeth, and began to focus yoki through her body.
As her strength increased, it became easier to fend off the less experienced warrior, although Nina's sword never stopped. There was a sharp cracking sound, followed by several more, and Galatea glanced over to see the other three girl's lying on the ground. They all had broken arms by the look of it, although it seemed Noah had knocked them all unconscious as well.
She was going to pay for her distraction though, as the Number Nine's sword slipped through her guard, and sped toward her unprotected chest. Galatea swung her sword downwards in a desperate attempt to knock the girl's blade aside, but she didn't expect to fully block the blow.
A hand reached out, and grabbed her hand, preventing her from moving her sword. Nina suffered the same, although in her case, her arms was snapped, and a brutal kick to the head rendered her unconscious in short order.
Noah let the unconscious warrior fall to the ground, seemingly uncaring if she was injured further or not. He released Galatea's hand, and she let it fall to her side, not quite ready to sheathe her sword yet.
He gave a small smile, glancing over her quickly, "Hello Galatea, how lovely to see you again."
The former Number Three gave him a small glare, deciding that she could mostly likely trust him. She sheathed her sword, "Hello Noah. It's been a while."
He smirked, "Had a little disagreement with the Organisation?"
Her eyebrow quirked, "If you could call it that." She breathed in, closing her eyes for a second, "As of several days ago, I am no longer a warrior of the Organisation. My life is now my own." Galatea felt an enormous rush of . . . . . . . peace when she said that. Knowing that she could go anywhere, do anything, and no one could stop her. It was an amazing feeling.
But then reality came flooding back. The Organisation wouldn't rest until she was dead, they didn't tolerate deserters. In fact, several times Galatea had needed to help track down deserters, although it was Number Five that was sent to deal with them, once she had located their general location. And when the execution team reported that she was working with an Awakened being, they'd be even more driven to hunt her down.
Noah spoke, breaking up her train of thought, "So, are you ready to go?"
She blinked, completely confused, "I beg your pardon?"
He stared at her, "Well, aren't you coming with me back to the others?"
Galatea tilted her head, and he continued, "Well, you have three options I suppose. One, you could come back with me and travel with Jean, Clare and I. Two, you could try to track down the other survivors from the North, or three, you could wander the land on your own."
She considered it for a minute, weighing up the options. Travelling with Noah would offer the best level of protection, while she was mostly sure that there would be no clashes of personality with Number Nine or Number Forty Seven. If there really were survivors of the North, it was unlikely that they'd appreciate another, higher ranked warrior in their group. Presumably Number Six would be the leader, assuming she survived, and though she was a more than capable leader, much more skilled than Galatea, or any of the other single digits, Miria would defer to her at first, and that could cause problems within the group. And lastly, with the Organisation hunting for her, it was too dangerous to wander on her own, at least with her yoki unsuppressed.
She eyed Noah for a second, sensing how his yoki was, once again, completely and utterly hidden, even standing next to her powerful sensing abilities. Mind made up, she turned to face him fully, watching how he raised an eyebrow in anticipation of her answer.
She smirked in jest, "Very well, you've convinced me. I'll come with you, but in return, you need to show me how to completely suppress my yoki the way you do." The former Number Three watched him, half expecting him to refuse, and disappear.
Noah gave her a satisfied smile, "I knew you'd see it my way." He turned to walk off, and had only taken a few steps, when he turned around and taunted the slightly shocked warrior, "Are you coming?"
She gave him a dry look, "Lead on." Galatea lowered her voice, "Idiot."
Noah's laughter rang around the clearing as they both disappeared, leaving the battered bodies of the Organisation's execution team behind them.
DON'T MIND ME I'M A LINE BREAK
And that's a wrap. I hope you enjoyed it, I hope there weren't too many errors, and I hope that I didn't kill the story via acceleration :)
Please review and let me know what you thought.
Phoenix