EDITED AS OF 8/29/12

Hey, Shadows of Vanity here. This was supposed to get to you a while ago, but my hard drive committed suicide so I am re typing everything.

YugannaMiriaLover: Yeah, I am much, much happier with this, to be honest.

Sable1212: Thank you, and yes it will be. Very thorough.

Dany le fou: Yeah, I know, I didn't think the last one through at all ahahaha. I am actually rather ashamed of myself for posting it.

NOTE: The story begins to start getting into the more obvious AU elements now. Please, be aware of that before you complain about changing canon. This is fanfiction. Duh.

REMEMBER, I STILL HAVE NO BETA, SO MENTION IT IN YOUR REVEIW IF YOU SEE EDITING THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE!

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Silver-eyed Angel

Chapter 2

Douga and Discovery

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Two hooded and cloaked figures trudged across the empty landscape, hard dirt beneath their feet as dust swirled past them, riding on a stiff breeze. One, much shorter than the other, turned to her tall companion and, in the voice of a young girl, asked:

"Are we going to your old home, Raki?"

"Yes, Priscilla. Douga, a small village in the middle of nowhere, although I heard that it has expanded recently into what some might call a city. I'm willing to bet it's still a dump, though." Raki replied with an audible grin, and Priscilla laughed lightly, before her attention snapped forwards again.

"Someone is coming, Raki." She said softly, and Raki shifted slightly so that he could easily reach any of the weapons stashed on his person. Perhaps a minute later, a horse-drawn cart came rumbling across the dirt and into view. The driver, seeing the pair, reined in his horse slightly, though he did not stop.

"You two headed for Douga?" he asked loudly, and at Raki's affirmative gesture shook his head. "I would turn back, if I was you! It's just like back then! A youma, I say, a youma! Killed four people already it has! I'm getting out of town while the getting's good!"

With that, the man urged his horse faster once more, quickly disappearing into the distance. Raki and Priscilla, for their part, simply remained where they were for a long moment, before Raki shrugged at Priscilla and the pair resumed their walk towards Douga.

"If it's only four people, then it's probably only a class four. I should be able to end it quickly once you point out who it is." Raki stated, and Priscilla nodded. She was confident in her young friend's ability to handle the situation. The seemingly young Awakened Being took a moment to reflect on the oddity of the situation. Here she was, the most powerful Awakened ever, having abandoned her lover for the sake of accompanying a human male to the lands of her birth, and refusing to eat human guts the entire time. She was even beginning to act human again, doing such things as laughing and feeling human emotions of affection towards Raki. She noticed that Isley, too, was less cold and more enjoyable to be around. She wondered for a moment what it was about Raki that could bring about such strange changes, but shrugged it off quickly. It didn't matter. The fact is, it had happened, and she thought she was the better for it. They all were.

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Number Six, Renee, the "Eye" of the Organization, frowned slightly to herself as she came to a halt on top of the plateau. She sensed a very faint Youma prescene not far from her present location, indicating a Youma that was in human guise. Thinking back to the maps she had been forced to memorize, she guessed that it was coming from the human town of Douga, several miles to the west.

"Hmm, shall I investigate, or tell the Organization?" she mused to herself thoughtfully, before shrugging. She could always scout the location and report in, or simply kill the creature and alert her handler. It didn't really matter to her. Decision made she set of at a reasonably high speed for the distant town.

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"We don't have a choice! We have to send for a Claymore!" A man shouted from the large crowd surrounding the fallen body of yet another Youma victim, lying in the town square in a pool of his own blood.

"I know that, damnit, but with one of our merchants skipping town, how will we raise the money? You know the stories! If we can't pay after they kill it, the whole village would be wiped out inside of a fortnight!" the Mayor of the town replied angrily from beside the body, waving at the now empty home of the aforementioned merchant.

As the debate roared back and forth, neighbors shouting at each other and even starting to throw punches, a single male stood smirking at the edges of the crowd. It so amused him to see humans fighting amongst themselves over his hunts. He enjoyed toying with the people of the towns he stayed in almost as much as he enjoyed feeding on human guts. Almost. He decided that he would feed extra well tonight and tomorrow, and then move on before one of the half-breed bitches could arrive. Movement at the entrance to the town drew his attention, and he licked his lips slightly. Travelers, excellent. He would eat them as well, before he left. The child would likely taste particularly succulent.

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"That's the one, Raki." Priscilla said quietly from her place one Raki's shoulder, pointing to a villager on the edge of the crowd, and the man nodded firmly before lifting her onto the ground.

"Stay put, I'll handle this." He said just as quietly, reaching to his back and drawing his massive broadsword from beneath his cloak. Then, he dashed forward with almost inhuman speed, rapidly appearing before the disguised Youma and sending his blade whistling in a power uppercut to remove the Youma's right arm. The creature staggered back, not abandoning its disguise.

"What the…is he a bandit?" one villager shouted.

"He just cut of Relo's arm!" another cried in fear, but both Raki and the Youma ignored them. Raki's blade flashed in the sunlight as a powerful horizontal slash was unleashed at the Youma, but the beast leapt over his attackers head, abandoning his human guise as he pulsed his energy, sending long talon-like fingers shooting at Raki's head. Raki spun and easily deflected the attack by bringing his steel vambrace up in time to intercept it. Taking advantage of the Youma's surprise, and the fact that it had no other weapons immediately available, Raki charged, this time intending to cleave his foe in two at the waist. Again, he missed as the Youma dodged. Well, partially dodged, as the creature found itself missing his right leg from the knee down.

"Damn it all to hell!" the Youma snarled to itself as it fumbled the landing of its dodge. This wasn't what he had in mind at all! "He moves almost like a Clay…" The rest of his words were forever lost as Raki's blade finally found it's intended target, cutting easily through his head just above the nose, literally bisecting his face. As his corpse toppled to the ground, the Youma's remaining clawed hand caught Raki's cloak and pulled it down and off, revealing Raki's brown haired, brown-eyed features to the shocked townspeople.

"Damn, but if this place still isn't a dump." Raki said with a grin as he shouldered his broadsword casually, looking around at the speechless townspeople.

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"What?" Renee skidded to a halt not far outside the town she had sensed the Youma aura in. The aura had pulsed and vanished, but not as if it had sensed her and hidden. No, it was too sudden for that. The Youma had been slain in battle, but Renee knew for a fact that she was the only warrior in the area. Her curiosity was now well and truly aroused, so she hastened towards the distant town with something akin to eagerness.

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"My old home…" Raki mused quietly, half to himself and half to Priscilla. The pair of them stood before the untouched husk of his former home, the place he had grown up. He had donned his cloak once more, but no longer had his hood up nor did he wrap the cloak completely around himself. Priscilla, however, still had her hood up and her cloak completely around her, keeping all of her features covered. "It's nothing more than a pile of rubble. Well, who would want to go near a place where Youma were slaughtered?"

"Raki…? Is that you, Raki?" the young man turned at the sound of a male voice. It appeared the majority of the town had followed him to his old home, and were staring at him in shock, awe, and more than a hint of fear. "I don't believe my eyes! You've…been alive all this time, haven't you?"

"Impossible! How could anyone survive in the wilderness alone? And you can slay Youma!" another villager shouted in disbelief.

"Aye! That's right! He has to be one of them! That's why he came back!" someone that Raki remembered to have been something of a prick even when they were younger. "W-what's your problem? Are you here to make us suffer again?"

Raki sighed gruffly, stalked over to the loudmouth and stood before him, staring him down for a long moment before his left hand flashed out, grabbing him by the front of his jacket and hauling him off his feet. He eyed the now shaking man before abruptly yelling loudly in his face.

"UWAHHHH!"

"W-what?" the man stuttered as Raki dropped him and shrugged, hands in the air with a smirk.

"There now, did that bring you back to your senses?" he asked easily, looking around at them all. "Look, I know how hard it is to get attacked by Youma over and over, but calm down for a little bit, will ya?"

"…?" the villagers just stared at him, speechless, and he sighed in annoyance before adopting a lecturing, slightly mocking tone.

"It's not that difficult, just think about it. If I was a Youma, why would I attack another Youma, and risk showing myself in front of you all? Don't you think that if I was doing it to trick you, as soon as you "caught me", I would attack and start to butcher you all indiscriminately?"

"Uh…" were the villagers' coherent replies, and Raki snorted in disgust and amusement.

"I mean, honestly! You people threw me out so I wasn't expecting any sort of warm welcome, but treating me like a Youma? Now that's just mean! Five years ago, I lost everyone I loved to a Youma that ahd disguised itself as my brother, but it seems that each of you are missing something too."

Before any member of the crowd could reply, the wet thud of the upper half of the slain Youma's head hit the ground between Raki and the villagers. Everyone turned to see a Claymore walking towards them. She was different from most of her comrades, Raki noted. While her hair, while in cornrow braids, was the same silvery-blond, her eyes the same silver, her skin was actually a rich and dusky tone that Raki found quite attractive.

"Are you the one that killed this Youma?" she asked, her voice soft but with a strong steel undertone. Raki simply looked at her, eyes slightly wide at the way she had zeroed in on him immediately. When he didn't reply, she continued. "The mark of the cut shows no hesitation, as if made by a blade of immense size and weight. Kind of like that sword on your back. That broadsword would fit the bill."

"…" Raki simply looked at her calmly, eyes slightly narrowed in focus.

"A claymore?"

"A real one, this time?"

"But why? Did someone already call her?"

"For humans to posses the skill, ability, strength, and endurance to defeat a Youma in single combat is rare, but not unheard of. However, the real issue here is that you could tell who it was. That is the real reason that we slayers are created and given this task." The slayer continued, as both she and Raki ignored the mutterings of the villagers around them. "Explain to me…how did you know what it was?"

"Oh, well, you know, he was acting really strange and I figured that…" Raki started, shrugging in what he hoped was calm nonchalance. The slayer didn't buy it, and grabbed him by his steel gorget, lifting him into the air.

"Don't try to fool with me!" she hissed angrily. "Do you really expect me to believe such crap?"

"Hey, calm down now. Mind putting me down? I thought you guys weren't allowed to hurt humans?" Raki said, not allowing any nervousness he might feel to be audible in his voice.

"You little…!" she growled, but before she could continue, Priscilla walked up and gripped the slayer's elbow.

"Are you…picking on Raki?" she asked calmly, in her childlike voice, cowled head tilted slightly to the side.

"Get back kid, unless you want to get hurt!" the slayer said to her firmly, but Priscilla's grip on her arm tightened and forced her to release Raki and move her arm away from him against her will. "Wha-?"

"I asked you: are you picking on Raki?" Priscilla repeated, still with a tone of deadly calm. An instant later, the slayer was a good 15 feet away, having flash-stepped away as fast as possible. Her eyes were wide, she was sweating, and the villagers swore later that they saw her shaking badly.

"Un-unbelievable! How could I not have not noticed until now?" she breathed, staring at what she had thought as a mere child. Raki simply looked at her as she pinned him with a shocked look of disbelief. "Are you insane? Just what do you have along with you?"

Raki made no move to answer her, while Priscilla made to move past him, towards her. His hand reached out and touched her shoulder in a calming and restraining gesture.

"Relax, she is a friend. There is no need to kill her." He said with a tone of firm affection, and Priscilla immediately stepped back to his side, leaving the villagers and the slayer shocked. The villagers, because Raki seemed to be saying that a mere girl-child could actual kill a Claymore, whilst the slayer was shocked that such a powerful being would head the instructions of a mere human. Raki looked at the slayer and smiled reassuringly. "There is something I would like to ask you, but I would rather not discuss it here."

"Eh?" the slayer mumbled, completely lost, as she watched Raki acquire the location for the town's inn/pub and gripped her hand, half-dragging her to the location.

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Renee sat in the small inn, staring at the human who sat across from her eating what looked like an entire cow at a pace that could only be described as unhealthy, while beside him Priscilla delicately nibbled on what looked like pig intestines. She had no idea what was going on, or even why she as here! One moment, she thinks she is going to die, and the next she is being offered ale and food free of charge by the owner of the town inn!

"So, do you perchance know the location of #47 Clare, # 22 Helen, # 15 Deneve, or #6 Miria?" he asked when he had finished eating, and she blinked at him.

"Um…who are you?" she muttered, thrown for not jsut one loop, but several. The human face-palmed and groaned.

"I apologize for my rudeness." He said with a smile. "My name is Raki, and my companion here is Priscilla. Might I know who you are?"

"I am number 6 of the Organization, and the current eye." Renee replied from rote, but Raki laughed and shook his head.

"I want your name, not whatever number the Organization slapped onto you to make you seem less human." He said calmly, and Renee blinked at him.

"…my name is Renee." She said finally, and he grinned broadly at her. Renee felt her face grow warm for a moment, and she looked down. It was a nice smile…

"I am pleased to meet you Renee. I take it that you don't know any of the warriors that I just named? I asked every one of your comrades that I have ever come across, and while at first reluctant, they did eventually tell me that they didn't know them I was hoping you might." Raki asked again, and Renee shook her head.

"I'm sorry but I don't. I shouldn't even be telling you this, but…" she sighed, wondering why the hell she was giving away Organization classified information, or why her fellows had as well. What was it about this boy? "I am the current #6, and I know both #s 15 and 22 personally. They do not have that name, and while I do not know #47 personally, she is not named Clare to the best of my knowledge."

"I suppose I will simply have to keep looking then." Raki sighed, leaning back in his chair. "I will find them eventually."

"You do know that if they aren't in the ranks you gave me, or have been promoted, then they are dead, right?" Renee said somewhat bluntly, and instead of slumping in sad acceptance, ranting in disbelief, or just about anything else she expected, Raki surprised her yet again by simply smiling a smile that said that he knew something she didn't.

"We made a promise, Clare and I, to meet again. So, I will keep going from city to city that we visited together all those years ago, until I find her again." He said confidently, and Renee felt a flash of what she would later swear was jealousy of all things run through her. If only I had someone that dedicated to me. Even if it were only a real friend in the ranks. She thought to herself sadly.

"Well, I hope you find her. If I see her, will let her know that you're still alive and searching." She said with a forced smile as she got up to leave. Hesitating, she looked back at Priscilla before saying one final thing to Raki.

"She doesn't eat…you know…?" she asked, and Raki smiled a little tightly, patting his companion's head.

"Since we met, her cravings for those has been remarkable muted. She has never once…fed since we met all those years ago. Perhaps that is why she is so shrunken down now. She might lose control at any moment, and I could be her first victim, or I could die trying to stop her. Either way, she is my companion and friend, and I will try to help her resist."

"I would never hurt you, Raki." Priscilla said with a frown as she looked at Raki with her dark brown eyes. He smiled at her and patted her head again.

"I know you wouldn't on purpose, but if you got into a feeding frenzy, then you wouldn't be able to help it." He said softly, and she stuck her bottom lip out in a remarkably childish pout.

"Then I will just keep on not feeding." She said stubbornly, and Raki gave her a one armed hug while Renee just stared at the pair. She turned to leave, her mind unsettled, but Raki's voice pulled her up short.

"Wait, let Priscilla and I accompany you to the gates. We are headed for Rabona next, via Tassle, and from there we will head east." Renee nodded her acceptance, noting that they were headed in the same direction as herself, and a moment later the trio was on their way out of town, ignoring the muttering and looks that they received from the locals. As they reached the gates and prepared to go their separate ways, Priscilla suddenly spoke up.

"Raki, Raki's friend, there is a powerful Awakened Being nearby. An Abyssal." She said, causing both to look at her.

"Is it him, Priscilla? Come to check on us?" Raki asked. While Renee did not immediately know whom he was referring too, Priscilla did. After a moment, Renee figured it out as well, and her eyes widened. Isley of the North, the Silver-haired King. They knew him? Why would he be checking on them?

"No, and Luciela is dead, so it must be Riful." She replied, shaking her head while staring at the very plateau, distant though it was, that Renee herself had come from. "She is after your friend, Raki, not you. This time, anyway"

"What makes you say that, child?" Renee asked, curious as to why this being was warning her. She also filed away the implication that Riful had a vested interest in Raki himself, for some reason.

"She followed your trail to that plateau, and is waiting there for you to return and begin scouting again, like you were before you came here." Came the matter-of-fact reply." She is trying to keep her Youki down so that you won't notice her, but she can't hide from me. Especially not since we've met."

"So what do we do? I can't take on an Abyssal alone. And while you can defeat normal Youma, Raki, I wouldn't allow you to join me. You would die instantly." Renee sighed, and Raki nodded in agreement.

"Especially since she has a beef with us and a friend of ours. Still, we have one way to make her back of. Priscilla?" he replied, and Priscilla smiled at him before pulsing her Youki, nearly bringing Renee, who had brought her senses to their highest level to find Riful, to a state of unconsciousness. After a moment, Priscilla clamped it down again until it was barely discernable.

"What…was that for?" the slayer gasped in pain, and Priscilla cocked her head to the side in what would have been a cute expression of confusion if Renee didn't know what she was.

"She and I have met before, and she didn't enjoy the experience. Now that she knows we are together, at least for now, she won't interfere with you. And your comrades will likely be safe for a time as well, if she thinks I am in the area." She answered as if it were obvious. She turned back to her companion and smiled at him. "Are we going now, Raki?"

"Yes, come on." He replied, before looking at Renee again and offering a gauntleted forearm for her to grasp, which she did. He looked deep into her eyes and smiled that damn smile of his, making her face heat up again. "I hope we meet again soon, Renee. Please, survive until that time."

"You too, Raki. Stay safe out there." She replied solemnly, clasping his forearm tightly before dashing off at the speed only a warrior could achieve. Raki watched her go with a smile, before turning to his companion.

"Off we go then! To Tassle!" he said cheerfully, flipping his hood up and setting of on the road to the east.

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Riful of the West gritted her teeth before screaming in anger and spinning on her heal, stalking off with her ever faithful lover and dog, Dauf, trailing after her.

"Aren't we going to get that warrior, Riful-sama?" he asked stupidly, and she snarled in anger.

"No, damnit, you oaf!" she roared back, glaring at him as he cowered before her rage. "She was with the warrior, and is still in the area, between us and the warrior. If she is around, we can do nothing but retreat. We can't beat her, and if we attacked and survived then Isley would sweep out of the North and destroy us in vengeance for attacking his mate and his human pet!"

"So, what do we do now?" Dauf asked carefully, eager to not feel his mistress/lover's wrath, and she snorted before flash-stepping away, leaving him to scramble after her.

We just have to find another way to awaken them, and then I will rule this island! RIful grumbled, infuriated. She may have spoken unkindly of Raki, but the one time they had met, she had tried to claim him to be her own mate (once she figured out how to turn him into a Youma, of course) but Priscilla and Isley had interfered. There was just something about that boy that seemed to change every Youma around himself.

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Renee raced down the path at faster than normal speeds, while her head and her heart warred with each other. Her duty was clear: return to Staff, and immediately report the location of Priscilla and Raki to the Council. A human that could convince Youma to not feed, who could bring out the humanity of Youma-corrupted humans like Isley or Priscilla, would no doubt make him the first male that could be a true warrior in generations. Her heart, however, was screaming that she should tell no one, ever, and do whatever she could to help the pair stay hidden. That Raki was too good a person to condemn to the hell that her own life was.

Unfortunately, Raki's influence had not yet finished its work, and so duty won out the argument. She would report the matter to Staff, but urge them to leave the pair be. Yes, that would be best. A good compromise. She would do her duty and protect her new-found friend at the same time.

If only such a thing had been possible. The choice that Renee made in that moment would bring about great pain to many…and would change the face of Toulouse and ultimately, the world.

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Okay, there you go. Different than what it was originally, but since my hard drive got wiped cleaner that a smart board, I was left to try and re-create a chapter that had already been finished. Note to self, keep everything on USBs, even if I have to own 200 of them to keep it all safe. LOL! As always, please REVIEW! And remember, have a nice day!