Author's notes:

Thank you again, dear readers and reviewers. Here we go, only one week has passed since the last update.

Enjoy!

Chapter 14 – Encounter

In the middle of a wide forest track there stood a cloaked person. She was a warrior, called Claymore by the people, and she had left the Organization on her own accord, after the hunt for Luciela more than two years before. That was the day she had made the decision to not return, ultimately making her a deserter, a traitor. The Organization had a simple way of dealing with them: to have them executed by their former comrades.

The day she and two of her comrades had fought Luciela of the South, which had cost one of her comrade's lives, she deserted the Organization together with the other survivor of that day. They had decided to stay close to each other, to be able to help each other out. They had, however, been trailed for about a month – and their pursuers had never gotten that close to them. Knowing that they would eventually be caught, one of them had decided that it was better to split up. Though her friend did not see any reason for that, she agreed.

As they had assumed, their pursuers would not split up since only one of them was able to follow their scent. The both of them knew who the Organization's warriors had followed. One of them was, on the one hand, relieved, but on the other hand worried about her friend. The other one had stopped in the middle of a wide forest track, thinking, that she had lured them far enough away. She was prepared to fight them, if it was necessary.

In south direction she could see something that looked like one warrior carrying another dash out of the woods directly onto the forest track, heading towards her.

Vanessa raised an eyebrow, though it could not be seen due to her hood dyeing her face in shadows.

"There she is!" she could hear the one being carried shouting.

The both of them stopped a few meters away from her. An awkward silence filled the atmosphere.

'Dammit,' Vanessa thought, 'level of ridiculousness too high... must... not... laugh...'

Before her there stood Hitomi, carrying two blades on her back and Vectra on her hands.

"Can't... hold it..." the deserter whispered, before she pointed at the two warriors, shouting and laughing: "Y'look – ha ha – too ridic'lous! Ha ha!"

At that moment Hitomi as well as Vectra noticed that the person right in front of them was definitely not Jacqueline. Hitomi let Vectra fall to the ground and as the latter wanted to complain about it she realized that Hitomi had been right from the very beginning. Knowing her temper she got away from her rashly, while Hitomi just stood there, completely dull.

'Shit... that's the quiet before the storm' Vectra feared.

Vanessa, who had calmed down and caught her breath again, cleared her throat and asked: "So, ya lapdogs, what'ya want from good ol' me?"

Vectra, who still kept her distance to Hitomi, realized more and more that she had gotten into a dangerous situation. Not only did she have no weapon, she could feel that Hitomi was boiling on the inside, though she did not show it. In addition to that, if she was right, they had ran into Vanessa, the former number 2. She, of course, wondered why she was alive, but she shoved those thoughts aside and tried to stay calm.

The moment she wanted to introduce herself and the job she and Hitomi had, Hitomi loudly said "Vectra!" while still not having changed her facial expression. Her fists, however, were, though just lightly, clenched.

Vectra decided to not say anything and swallow the words she had wanted to say to let Hitomi speak first. 'Shit,' she thought, 'really, shit!'

Hitomi directed her gaze to Vectra who suddenly felt like she had been stabbed in the chest multiple times. 'Such an aura' she mused. 'She has not even released her Yoki yet!'

"I herewith declare you unable of leading this mission. From now on you will do what I say and don't you dare open your mouth another time!" Hitomi made herself clear.

Vectra was upset as well as struck by her comrade's piercing aura. She wanted to yell at Hitomi but she also did not want to make things worse, so she remained silent while grinding her teeth.

"My, gals," Vanessa chimed in, "get 'long, will ya? "

Hitomi turned her gaze towards Vanessa then. Though Vanessa could see her anger, she didn't care to behave differently than she would have otherwise.

"So, gals, tell me then, what'y want wi'good ol' me?" the former Number 2 asked yet again.

Hitomi took a deep breath. Though she felt like beating the shit out of her incompetent partner and though she was pissed to no end that they had actually followed the wrong person she tried to calm herself as much as possible, before she spoke up: "With you, whoever you are, nothing, to be honest. The one we're looking for is Jacqueline."

"What shame, since ther'ain't nobody'ere whose name that is. Me's Vanessa, once number 2 of the Old Man's Association" she explained, despite knowing that they were looking for Jacqueline and not her.

"I see" Hitomi answered. She hid her wonder about Vanessa still being alive. Jacqueline was of greater importance to her. "You might not happen to know where she is?" she asked calmly.

"Nah" the former warrior answered while taking off her cloak, revealing her blue cloth-suit as well as both of her blades, making Hitomi contract her brows a little.

"What are you taking off your cloak for?" she asked with a rather tense voice.

"Y'see, gals," she began to explain and, while drawing both of her blades, said: "Y'ain't goin' t'meet her."

Hitomi gently grabbed the hilt of her own blade and, with a monotone voice, asked: "And that would be why?"

Vectra, seeing in which direction things were going, though having to risk angering Hitomi, stepped between the two of them, pointed her left palm towards Hitomi and her right palm towards Vanessa, and, while alternatingly looking at the two of them, explained as fast as possible: "We did not come to fight! Please calm down, both of you!"

For a moment things went silent, only the Organization's Number 2's breathing could be heard. The atmosphere had become menacingly tense. On the one hand there was Hitomi, an unparalleled spitfire, who was pissed and most likely unamenable to words. On the other hand there was Vanessa, a former Number 2, that, even though her partner was not there, still was no one to joke about.

'I've never been in deeper shit' Vectra thought bitterly.

Author's notes:

Poor Vectra, I hope she manages to calm the situation, though we'd miss a great fight, then.

Next time (week? Let's see) we will get to know a little about Jacqueline's reasons for not returning. And a certain someone will get to hear some things that she won't like.

Until next time!

kstefan88