HUMANITY

Now that the disclaimer is out of the way, I would like to acknowledge the fans and readers of the original Humanity which was rewritten into what stands as this story today. The reason for this was because no matter how many ideas my brainstorm conjured I could NOT place a plot with the idea and so I have rewritten Humanity into a new story which I believe should be more interesting in ways soon to be seen.

Note that this story is AU

(Slight) Trigger Warning

Chapter Two

Tragedy Rises

The journey to her new home was not an easy one. Clare couldn't risk any nearby villages discovering what had happened in her hometown because they would figure out it was her family that was attacked and have suspicion that Clare was the yoma. She had no money which she realized later on was a mistake on her part but she remembered what her mother told her and carried onwards.

She didn't know how to set traps, Hotaru was going to teach her how next week, and now that will never happen. She didn't bring a weapon but she wasn't so sure she would've been able to wield it anyways.

Worse, she felt sick every now and then. She imagined it was from eating an awakened yoma or was it awakened being(?)'s flesh and blood. Every time she felt sick she tried to throw it up but it was like a boulder inside of her. No matter how often her body tried to reject the foreign object, it was trapped inside of her body, and nothing she tried would make it go away.

It wasn't exactly painful but actually more uncomfortable. It made the child wonder why (once again) why anything would crave flesh. Kaori said that his Organization forces the children they take that have been attacked by yoma have yoma flesh and blood imbedded inside of them. She couldn't image that happening to her and she decided to steer clear of anyone she sees that looks like a man in black as Kaori has described those men as.

She also hoped there wasn't much consequence to eating yoma flesh, let alone an awakened being's flesh. She did know that she was getting skinnier by the days however. Without food and without appetite or the means to obtain food she's been starved for a week with the only water she drinks comes from the passing rivers, lakes, or occasional rain showers.

When she reached the desert she was tempted to shed Hotaru's coat and leave it behind because of the heat and weight of the coat but for sentimental reasons Clare couldn't bring herself to do what would benefit her. Her luck hadn't completely run dry however as Clare had the fortune to find a small lizard to eat and gained some energy from the meat allowing her to travel more ground.

The next place her feet hit pavement Clare found herself at the Village of Sai and was forced to remain on the streets. At first glance the citizens appeared to be kind people but when the child realized that was towards tourists and travelers only she was all but forced into the alley behind the village which was overall out of sight, out of mind.

There were mostly men and woman in the streets with very few children that were older than infants. She was the oldest, unfortunately, and that meant she was on her own in escaping the ogling of men despite her age and the glares with harsh shoves delivered by drug addicted woman raising a child on their own or handling abuse by the hands of their assumed significant other.

Clare learned quickly to stay off the village streets during the day but welcome it during the night to sneak into the houses while the families slept soundly to snatch food or other, the latter sold at the blue moon district. She knew she was trading with them by the small but noticeable blue crescent moon etched in the middle of a stand or on the side of a building. It was an odd system but it worked for her, at least momentarily.

Life was hard but she got by, taking only the occasional beating every few days from getting caught stealing or tripping over her own feet and getting pummeled by some drunken men who found her amusing, and not in a friendly way. Her once lightly tan skin was pale and bags were dark under her dull eyes with a small spark flickering within while green and yellow bruises decorated her once flawless skin.

Unknown to her, the worst had yet to come.

It wasn't an event day, not really. Clare woke up early from the corner wall she tucked into every dawn and began her every day ritual of scavenging through the alley, finding and selling what little trinkets she could find, before using the money to purchase some stolen food from the best thief in the alley. Typically overpriced but they needed to hold advantages over each other and survival was her main focus.

So, three days worth of scavenging gave her a small stale biscuit but that was enough to last her the next three days before scavenging for more. In hindsight, the girl should have seen it coming. Trouble was always lurking behind a corner for Clare, trying desperately to reach out to her and sink its claws into her - never to let go until her body is dead and her soul is gone.

And trouble came to a heart full of grief and fear, one that came in the most unexpected of forms. Noon was approaching and Clare was walking past the wall to her corner when she saw a man dressed in black, and to her fright turned to look directly at her. Terrified he was there to take her away and force her to become something without her consent just because she was living lesser than others and immediately stumbled backwards but by doing so she was fallen roughly into a large man who stumbled backwards into the stand behind him, flattening it and bringing her down with him.

Furious the stall owner and man reach out towards her and the man in black turns curious eyes towards their little scene and Clare's jaw drops at the sight of a normal looking man wearing brown pants, a white shirt, and black cloak served to fight the chilly weather. It wasn't a man in black after all but she couldn't remain here either way, not after dusting up a storm in a span of a minute.

A tug on her dirty dress was the only indication that she better get the move on and was forced to run out of the village as fast as she could with a heavy heart at leaving Hotaru's thick jacket behind hidden under a brick at her corner. What was expected to be the last of her worries only doubled when dark reached the forest clearing Clare had found herself huddled, shivering, and scared.

She was scared, cold, and wondering how far she could travel before her body caved with exhaustion. Because of her wondering thoughts, she was oblivious to the incoming footsteps and sound of hooves entering her clearing and didn't acknowledge it until the noise was literally right in front of her. "Well, look what we have here." Laughter followed the man's words and Clare glanced up startled and made a move to run only to be approached from behind. She squeaked when one of the men (the group being all men) touched her from behind and before she knew it she was backed into a corner - against the trees and nothing she said mattered and anything that would pierce the hearts of anyone merely slipped off the ice-shelves that once held a heart.

The night that she used to starve to gaze at became an endless torture where her screams echoed with the wolves of the full moon and soon she lacked all control; she couldn't see, she couldn't move, she couldn't speak... all she could do was scream, hear, and feel - god, she could feel. From the calloused hands bruising her sensitive skin, hot breath tainted with alcohol brushes the small blades of grass beside her, and other things she wished she would have never known.

As time seemed to slow and forever arrived through an illusion, Clare found herself watching through a rain droplet covered window where her mother busied with cooking and her father laughed with Hotaru. She didn't know what but she could hear the vibration of their laughs and the fire in their eyes that they passed to her.

She fell unconscious to the melody of it and when she woke it was to the freezing cold spill of booze. She coughed, struggling to breathe for a moment as her eyes tried to make shape of the blurry shape and once her eyes focused a part of her wished she could remained blind and lost in her memories of the reality she had awoke back into.

The man was smirking down at her, tilting the bottle away from her and back towards his lips which he chugged before stumbling away just before the pain hit full-swing. She knew she was just covered in bruises but her lower region is what scared her. She knew what the men had done but her body was prone from shock. As another man passed where she lay they kicked dust in her direction causing her to choke from accidently inhaling the dust before somehow managing to sit up and lean herself on the same tree she had been cornered against.

She was tired of fighting: of surviving. She just wanted a hero to step in and sweep her off her feet so she didn't have to walk anymore.. so she didn't have to face trouble after every turn. More so, more than anything Clare wanted to get away from these men that had robbed her of any dignity she had left. And so, she waited for strength to return to her aching body, losing herself at every brush of lips against her bruised skin or demeaning push or grovel into the dirt.

Clare had waited a whole day until the men had all settled around their campfire, tucked in their sleeping bags, and made a run (stumble) for it. She was terrified the men would hear her stumbling away and that willed her to run faster and faster until she stumbled into another village, Theo, where she was dizzy and slightly delirious. Ignoring the concerned glances heading her way Clare found her vision wobbling and then she was tumbling forwards - unable to stand any longer when someone swept her off her feet, into warm arms but Clare didn't have the strength to look up.

Finally believing she let her tense but strained muscles relax and fell away in the arms of the one who caught her, oblivious that her hero was a villain in disguise.

When she woke for the second most painful time in her life Clare found herself in a dark living room and immediately recognized the horrifying stench of decay and blood coming from the very floor she lay on. She sat up too quickly for her own good as her vision swam with color and only when it cleared did the door open and a group of men stepped in. One of them moved towards her, all of them noticing she was awake, and to her horror she found that the men's eyes were glowing gold through the darkness.

"Looks like we got ourselves a cover, boys."

A year had passed since Clare had first stumbled into Theo and she had officially become emotionally detached. Pain became as casual as breathing oxygen and in a strange way the young child preferred it. Unlike the men who stole too much of her childhood in the span of two nights the yoma that had taken her in to use as a cover fed her every other day and though small amounts it was more than what she got during her days as a beggar.

They would toss her about inside the house they had killed the last family and took their bodies as though a second skin to hide within the village and feast at night on the nearby homes. The yoma were smart to an extent, having beaten Clare's skin which was hidden by her dress (which had long since faded into a pink color with grey stains that ironically were once blood stains) with her back being their favorite place to toy with.

She was a toy to them, Clare had long since accepted that, and remained inside the house on all hours of the day. They never went to far with her unlike the men in the woods so long ago, but that didn't make the assault on her body any less painful or constant. Unknown to the yoma, who pretended to be the girl's last remaining family and were very protective of her (making sure the villagers kept their eyes out for her in case she tried to sneak out - which she discovered through experience), Clare snuck out when the yoma were out hunting to keep up her stamina despite her worn out body. She was determined to escape with her life someday; she was a survivor after all. There were some days she wished she wasn't but living was the only reminder of the memories of happiness that she once had.

If she died, she doubted she would remember those memories of happiness anymore. Either way, the girl didn't want to risk it - didn't need to.

And so she lived, and she snuck around the village. Clare traveled from the roof tops at the dead of night, hearing every muffled gasp and scream of the yoma's prey before finally settling unto the window sill of the local inn where the rumors milled about of the late night drinkers and workers (who also drank).

Their village was very poor and the yoma attacks had lasted for over a year, so Clare supposed she shouldn't have been too surprised when she overheard the news of a Claymore's arrival within the next few days. Finally, she could meet a Claymore and then she would be free from the yoma - Clare was sure.

As she headed back to her prison she had an extra bounce in her step as she slipped back into the house and stumbled into the broom closet that had become her room. She was half-way into a slumber when the closet door suddenly opened and she was thrown into the living room, where she blankly stared up at the angry yoma disguised as a friendly man.

"Stupid humans decided to hire one of those Claymores. Enjoy the freedom little human 'cause we won't be able to touch you when the silver eyed bitch inspects the village. When she's gone though, you'll be all mine again." The yoma laughed and Clare couldn't help but shudder at the familiar lustful glint in the monster's golden eyes.

"I'll cause a diversion and hopefully they'll cancel the contract, but if not..." Clare bowed her head at the threat, no longer hating herself for the movement of submission she is constantly having to make around these monsters lest she wished for greater pain. Even with this 'freedom' the girl wouldn't dare push it knowing her luck was as dry as the desert storms.

The yoma spit at her feet before walking away leaving Clare to shuffle towards a corner that allowed her visual access of the entire access and was determined not to be snuck up on as it was becoming exhausting and she was sure her heart would fail any one of these days from the way her breath would catch in the back of her throat and her body would spasm as though under a seizure for half-a-second before the yoma would begin their assault upon her body.

There wasn't much she could do as she wasn't sure what there was to do when she was trying to suppress the pain of her injuries or sneaking out and so she decided to just sit there and closed her eyes to sleep only to jolt when the door slammed open and a different yoma stumbled inside glancing hastily back at the door as though in fear and Clare startled in hope that the Claymore was here only to find herself letting out a yelp when the yoma seized her by the hair and held her up as a shield for this yoma.

"Put her down!" A voice growled from the doorway causing Clare to gasp at the monstrous form of the yoma but nothing in comparison to an awakened being. "You won't kill me without killing her too." The one holding her stated and Clare would've furrowed her brows in confusion at the situation had she not been resisting the pulling of her hair.

"He won't be the one to kill you," another voice said behind both Clare and the yoma holding her before the next thing she knew she was thrown against the wall where the room spun from where she hit her head and when she looked up the yoma holding her lay dead on the floor with its head and arm across the room and another yoma grinning over the body. "Sorry but we needed a decoy," the yoma said to the body before picking up the body and left with the other yoma leaving the purple blood stains behind with the head and arm.

Clare didn't know how much time had passed after that but the dark had seemed to disappear too soon to be replaced by the sun and still the yoma hadn't returned. The girl remained like this for another night however by morning she caved into her hunger and told herself that she had done it before and dragged the yoma's arm towards herself and held it up with both hands like a drumstick and had to resist the feeling of nausea as she caught a whiff of the yoma's arm's decay.

She needed to survive though, and she wasn't about to die from starvation after making it this far and so while holding her breath so she wouldn't breath in it's smell she bit into the yoma's flesh and ate it, making a face at the taste that differed slightly from the awakened being's but shrugged hopelessly and dug into the yoma's arm. She didn't stop eating until the door opened again and she looked up the find one of the yoma staring at her before breaking out into a laugh.

"She's one of us now!" The yoma laughed at her eating one of their own and frowned before pushing the arm away from her but the yoma wasn't finished talking. "Aye don't be shy human, it took ya long enough!" The yoma left still laughing while Clare sunk to the floor staring at her bloodied hands of purple blood in shock at what she had just done before the shock dulled into nothing and Clare was once again shut off emotionally from the world.

By the third and final day Clare saw sunlight for the first time in... well, she wasn't sure how long. The other yoma had already left to scatter through the village while everyone left their homes or work to see a Claymore for the first time with their own eyes. Clare was no different but she did leave the house under someone else's control (the yoma's) who hugged her close to his body but Clare was all to aware that she was being used as a shield once again.

When gasps echoed through the crowd Clare tried to search for the half-bred warrior with her own eyes without giving away movement or emotion less she trigger the yoma holding her to loose his mask and nearly gasped herself at the sight of the warrior who finally came into her line of sight. What made the girl gasp however wasn't the blonde woman's striking beauty or soul-searching silver eyes, it wasn't her silver and white armor which she walked gracefully in seemingly without strain nor was it the giant claymore on the warrior's back... no, it was the spark inside those silver eyes so similar to the girl's own she could've sworn her heart skipped a beat in recognition.

This warrior had a soul burned so deep with agony that it was chained so tight that the steel glinted in those silver eyes.

And only she could see it.

The yoma that had imprisoned Clare for so long were dead and her chains were severed but as the blonde-haired warrior walked away the girl merely stared after the woman with a feeling of... resolution. She had been saved unintentionally, Clare was not naïve. This woman, the warrior probably saw her as less than dirt but even then it was that feeling that rose Clare from her slumber, her coma.

She wasn't alone and she didn't care. The girl didn't care about being saving, she cared about surviving and wanted nothing more than to ensure that others didn't end up through the reality that slammed into her reality. Now that she had found another holding that agony inside of her, Clare was determined to unshackle the woman's chains that she locked so tightly around her heart.

Because it was one thing to survive around others who were oblivious to what reality could throw at someone and it was another to survive around another who was a fellow survivor. In other words, Clare wanted to know what made this warrior strong enough to carry it while reminding the woman - a warrior - what she was surviving for.

This Claymore unintentionally woke Clare up from her eternal agony and now, it was her time to intentionally do the same.

Of course, it wouldn't be easy. She had been tailing the warrior after ten minutes knowing the villagers were going to kick her out and the girl was honestly done with those people in the first place. Despite the warrior's elegance that made her stride seem as though she was practically gliding her boots still left a noticeable trail to which Clare followed tirelessly. The third turn around a cliff edge and the narrower path Clare was certain the warrior knew she was being followed and by the way she continued to walk the girl could guess she knew it was her - as in not a threat - and walked effortlessly.

Despite her tired and aching body (which was usual) she continued walking, grateful for her midnight explorations which seemed to have pained off, and decided to ditch her shoes which were too big and worn out to bein with, followed by her socks so that her feet could absorb more of the ground and give her body balance despite the increased pressure which could've been pain but Clare was hardly thinking about it as she followed.

By nightfall it had seemed as though the warrior had finally come to a rest and made a fire before settling in front of it, gazing as the flames danced. The girl recognized her posture; tense but focused. She knew she was there, and probably exactly where. Clare had come to have the same skill after living in the streets as a beggar for so long and later as a toy for the yoma. She, unlike the Claymore, couldn't afford to be caught studying someone else and so she learned to use other minds in searching out another.

Feeling like a lost cause herself Clare moved to take a step forward only for a flash of movement to leap over and behind her with a sword settled just over her collarbone. Neither said anything at first but Clare did look back to stare at the warrior with an indescribably expression. Clare nearly grinned at the warrior's tone, catching the warrior's expression in the reflection of her own blade, and merely rose an eyebrow at the warrior's cold words.

The woman was in the middle of what Clare could only imagine was a threat before an arm wrapped around her stomach and she was suddenly six feet ahead of where she stood before. Clare had to hold back a wince at the strength of the woman when she held tight to her in getting her away from where they stood before as she was rather certain her ribs were either broken or at least heavily bruised.

The warrior was confused in not sensing the attack but Clare knew that they were men, their scent lacked the normal odor that yoma gave off.. at least normal yoma. The awakened beings seemed to be masters in disguises. Probably because they were a different kind of breed entirely, a created being rather than an engineered.

When she felt the fingers of a calloused hand barely brush her clothing she immediately tensed as fear shot through her only for the warrior to no doubt pick up the source of her uneasiness which was promptly followed with faint terror before a scream of pain cut through the air as the warrior swung a claymore through his arm and severed its hand from the rest of his body to which made the girl feel strangely satisfied.

The men circled around them with lust and greed gleaming in their eyes that made Clare shiver but to her surprise the warrior seemed to be almost arrogant in her confident posture. Ripped clothing and sounds of disgust later the men fled with the one missing a limb promising his revenge against the warrior before the warrior herself departed with a promise of pain if Clare continued to follow her.

The girl watched the woman leave, a thoughtful glint in her eyes as she studied the departing warrior. Clare had seen how quickly and skilled the warrior was and had no doubt that the warrior could leave her staring at air if the woman really wanted to throw Clare off her trail. Besides, as Clare reminded herself, pain was as natural as breathing so naturally - like breathing - she followed the warrior.

By morning, nearly noon, Clare lost her footing over a small rock and fell over in what the warrior assumed was exhaustion. Then, the warrior gracefully jumped down the cliff side and the girl would've sighed if she wasn't so determined and easily got to her feet ignoring the faint heat rushing to her cheeks from her pathetic fall.

As Clare looked down the cliff wall she decided that if she could survive as long as she could than this would be nothing in comparison. Deciding that her legs didn't have the muscle to simply step off the cliff wall she instead leaped forwards, staring determining at the warrior's back as she continued her travels and inhaled deeply as she neared the ground with her legs bent, knowing she didn't have a wall to slide down to help her landing.

She clenched her teeth to hold back her gasp when she hit the ground and stumbled backwards slightly at the momentum from the fall before glancing up to see the warrior's first real expression other than dismissal which was a mixture of surprise and disbelief. Then, the warrior shook her head and said, "You're an odd one aren't you. Very well, then." Clare gave a faint smile at the acceptance of her presence before continuing her trail after the woman, only stopping by a waterfall when the warrior noted her smell similar to that of a yoma.

Sighing for real this time Clare all but dove into the water where she shed her dress to wash herself for the first time in over a year before stepping back unto shore where she accepted a melon as her dress dried. She would've offered some of her food to the woman but the warrior seemed lost in thought and during the time the girl traveled she hadn't seen the woman eat anything at all and wondered if it was a side effect of becoming half yoma.

Once dressed and done eating the warrior continued her journey with Clare only slightly behind her this time. They stopped again when Teresa pointed out the village she planned on giving Clare a home but the girl couldn't have cared less knowing that she would never have a place to call home again, she refused to even. When Teresa mentioned her name she tensed visibly and that's when Amaya had become Clare, in sentiment towards the twin goddesses Teresa and Clare.

Though she had the memories of the life Amaya had lived, the girl now had another life to begin as Clare and it was a gift - a life - she would make good use of.

And then, later that night the vengeful man returned and seemingly crazed with madness took advantage of the warrior's rule to not kill humans and vowed to make Teresa feel like a monster before moving to rape her. Overwhelmed with rage that the girl had no control over she suddenly found herself throwing a rock at the man's head hitting hard enough to make him bleed, directing his own rage towards her instead.

As he charged her the training Kaori had given her in Hotaru's body suddenly flashed in front of her mind and suddenly she was sliding under the man's legs where she grabbed his shoulders and flipped her small, light body over him when he turned around allowing her to wrap her hands around his throat in the process and the moment her feet touched the ground she tightened her grip and pulled, with the man's back facing her she had full advantage and soon the man was turning purple as he gasped for air.

She was so close, just a little longer she had to hold on and then-

"Enough, Clare. Let him go." The warrior was looking at Clare with this strange glint and the girl slackened her grip slightly startled but that was enough to allow the man a slight breath of air and realizing what she had unintentionally done the girl released him completely but backed away in precaution. Fortunately the man seemed to be distracted by Teresa's claymore at his throat and the threat she made hanging in the air about it being her choice whether to kill a human or not and gladly accepting the consequences of the former if she must.

After the man fled, silence hung in the air between the two until it was broken by Clare's cracked voice. "Why? I could've killed him and you wouldn't have been at fault."

"I don't want that burden on your hands, not a child's." If only the warrior knew what Clare had to do in order to survive in the past. She may not have killed a human but that didn't mean she hadn't killed before - hadn't known the feeling. That man didn't deserve to live, Clare was certain but still, she let him go.

Then she remembered why she was there, and it wasn't for herself. Not for revenge, not for her own grief or agony.. she was here for Teresa, the warrior. Suddenly filled with emotion Clare threw herself at Teresa and hugged her close, and told her exactly what she had been waiting to say all along. Both of them embraced each other after that and laid there for long hours of the night and suddenly, Clare didn't care about the agony she carried inside.. she was a survivor but she was also human.. as was this warrior. And even if the warrior weren't human, she wasn't a monster.. Clare knew first-hand what a real monster was, and she would never forget.

They had arrived at a village where the warrior tried to buy her an expensive red dress with tall boots but the girl found it impractical, as attractive as the fabric may have been. Instead, the girl convinced the insisting warrior - who claimed she had plenty of wealth for no reason - to buy her some pants and a stitched shirt. They may have been masculine but they were practical, and because Clare herself was satisfied Teresa decided she would be too.

When Teresa indicated her leave Clare was tempted to go with the warrior; shed her clothing and shout that she didn't need anything from Teresa so long as she could travel with her but Clare held herself back knowing that she had succeeded in reminding Teresa of her humanity. And so, she watched with an aching heart as the warrior disappeared from view and held back her tears as she was guided into an inn where she was to stay until they found someone that was willing to take her in however despite the kind offer that Teresa and the village had agreed upon, Clare was never one to stay in one place for too long (unless forced) and made up her mind to leave the following morning.

So, after filling herself with dinner unsure of the next time she would eat something, the girl lay on the bed staring at the ceiling lost in her thoughts before soon relaxing into a welcomed slumber.

The sound of shouting and shattering glass startled Clare awake at midnight and quickly leapt to her feet to look out the window where she saw the same group of men that Teresa stunned before burning down the village as they robbed it. She gasped when one man caught her eye before pointed at her and suddenly a group of men rushed towards the inn. Clare barely had time to open the window when the men stormed into the room and tried to grab her as she leapt out the window, barely managing to catch her hands on a lower balcony where she pulled herself up and tip-toed through the room and managed to sneak out of the inn only to be grabbed as she was passing a corner (always the corners) and met the crazed expression of the man she nearly killed before.

And then, next thing she knew she was leaning against a wall with blood stinging her eyes as the man continued to beat her and Clare was tempted to say something but was constantly being winded with every blow she didn't have the breath to.

Until she could.. and that's when chaos broke out over a massacre.

The warrior, Teresa, she killed them all. Every last one of the vile man stained the burning village with their blood and Teresa stood amongst to chaos with that look in her eye that Clare knew all to well, as she had it when she was going to kill the man that recently beat her. Clare was rather certain that Teresa tore that man limb from limb in a finally act of revenge.

It hit her then, Teresa had come back for her. She didn't need to be saved (okay, maybe she did) but never expected it.

The girl had a sinking feeling in her heart, having a terrible feeling that trouble still followed her and now that the Claymore, Teresa, decided to come back for her she had a feeling that Teresa would now carrying her unfortunate curse of bad luck.

She wasn't wrong about it either.

An execution team had arrived to kill Teresa after listing the reason for it but all it took was one glance into each other's eyes and suddenly Teresa had cut down the execution team (but hadn't killed them) before leaving with Clare despite being warned of what she had just done. The young girl tried not to dwell on negative thoughts and just relax around Teresa to enjoy the company she somehow had the rare gift of having and even seemed to have caught the warrior's known trait of a faint smile.

As they traveled between towns Clare studied Teresa the same way the warrior would look at Clare, although both believed they were being discreet about it, and found how alike they were even though they came from two very different afflictions. Clare never mentioned her past with Teresa even though she was tempted to. She wanted to know why eating yoma and awakened being flesh made her feel so strange, she wanted to know more about awakened beings and warriors, but even more so Teresa.

The legendary warrior wound faintly smile at her when Clare reminded the woman of something about herself, mentioning how she was such a trouble child in the organization and imagined Clare were to follow those footsteps had she met Clare as one of her own kind, only to give the girl a strong look that caused Clare to give a second glance when the warrior asked her not to get caught up in the Organization unless it felt like the only option as she herself was forced into that life.

The warrior would ruffle her hair or they would watch each other as one rested comfortably against a wall and supplied the intellectual child with information about her people while Clare would listen intently, rarely interrupted aside from giving a variety of thoughtful expressions that made both of them share the faintest of smiles. If not for Clare's slightly wild and intellectual personality the two could've had a surrogate mother-daughter relationship but instead they settled as sisters, closers than friends.

The companionship was nice and something Clare would've liked to have lasted for years however it was not to be.

They had been concealing who they were (more so for Teresa) in a town when a yoma made its presence known and Teresa stepped forward to kill it and as always succeeded gracefully. Clare was interested in Teresa's fighting style and watched the way the woman moved purposefully and calculatingly but in a way that happened in a span of a second with an experienced but precise focus of where to maneuver the sword all while keeping her body swift and angled in a direction that moved to quickly for the yoma to counter in time.

Clare instantly knew that Teresa had been fighting for a long time and that her skill had been brought as a purpose away from the agony.

And then she nearly laughed at her sister's expression when the villagers went up in celebration and thanked her happily, without discrimination. Clare imagined warriors got that a lot and couldn't blame Teresa's surprise but found it hilarious all the same.

They had settled in a luxurious inn and Clare was resting with her eyes half-closed when she noticed Teresa's odd movement and would've turned to see what her commotion was for only to catch her eye and shared a nod before settling back on the bed, her body unable to relax from the tension.

She kept her eyes half-lidded as she heard the familiar clinking of boots that Teresa's did similarly before the stairs squeaked under the pressure and Clare had to remember to breath when the door blasted open and stared in concealed amazement at the elven-like warrior's sword technique which was skillfully and seemingly effortlessly counter by Teresa but as Clare thought about it, her companion was merely very respectful of other warriors (or those that earned it) and pulled a mastery of poker-face.

A destroyed floor and a shattered window later Clare moved to collect all their gear before rushing down the stairs to watch the warriors fight each other fascinated (despite the blood-lust in the air) and noted the disastrous destruction the swings of one warrior's sword technique went while another's was more graceful and acrobatic. Then there was the one from earlier who wielded their sword similarly to Teresa's with a envious straight face and a sword technique that made the movements difficult to follow. Then there was another warrior who seemed to come out of nowhere at Teresa whom the other three (excluded Teresa) seemed slightly careful around while that warrior shouted about betrayal and the unforgivable.

Clare could see it with her own eyes but Teresa pointed it out to the warrior that she had great potential had she not been so heavily brainwashed by the Organization and then suddenly the tables were turned and one by one the warriors were struck down and rendered immobile but conscious.

"You already got everything?" Teresa asked with surprise to which Clare answered with a slight nod. "Well then, we best be off. We've caused enough trouble for this village." A nod and the two left the village, neither looking back at the wounded and angered warriors left behind.

Clare was halfway across the land with Teresa when an earth-shattering scream filled the air and suddenly the same warrior that appeared to be brainwashed before showed up and Teresa was forced to engage a fight with her while Clare remained watchful but shielded by a large and dense boulder. She watched as the other three warriors arrived but her eyes were much more focused on the powerful dueling warriors in front of her.

Teresa stated that she would make an effort and Clare spared a faint smile at the sight of the beautiful golden eyes so different from the yoma and awakened being's despite being the same. Clare wondered if it were the humanity speaking or just Teresa in general that made those normally monstrous eyes so beautiful and almost... god-like.

As the battle got more desperate for one side and Teresa began to describe the access of yoki-aura Clare was reminded of Kaori's description of warriors which matched Teresa's. Clare's eyes narrowed when she realized that the warrior fighting Teresa had unbalanced emotions and clearly suffered great trauma that not even she could see the warrior buried it down so deep she probably forgot about it with all the brainwashing and then suddenly all the warriors around the warrior known as Priscilla stated mournfully that she had surpassed her limit.

And that's when everything went south, of course.

Priscilla begged for mercy and as Clare studied the warrior she was suddenly reminded of Kaori and the sudden change of tone. From monster to human... and Priscilla had just turned that switch on, which meant that right now - oh, god - but before she could call out a warning Teresa had already lifted her sword above her head leaving herself wide open and then the sword was off the ground in a blur and the world froze around her.

She was screaming, screaming her name. It hurt, the feeling had returned. Clare watched as Teresa's headless body collapsed to the ground while visible power surged into the air around what had previously been a mutated version of Priscilla but when the aura disappeared Clare realized just how off the word mutated really was when the warrior had completely transformed from human to monster.

This was a monster; two of the other warriors were effortlessly killed without given so much a glance by their killer before the third and last remaining warrior lost an arm. Clare couldn't move even though she wanted so badly, she wasn't sure what she wanted anymore though and couldn't stop herself from watching while doing nothing as the other warrior, Irene, managed to sever Priscilla's arm before given what appeared to be a fatal blow as the warrior instantly slumped and was released.

And Priscilla was now walking in her direction, her golden eyes so far gone Clare couldn't even call them monstrous. It was more like.. lifeless. The warriors had said she was an awakened being now, like Kaori but so different. This was a monster on a whole new category of monster that Clare could hardly comprehend what Priscilla's existence had suddenly become.

She was closer, and closer. What was she doing, she promised that she would survive! So why couldn't she move? Any moment now the awakened being was going to kill her because she couldn't move, wouldn't run because she couldn't bring herself to leave just yet. How could someone be there and then not be.

The creature was right next to her now and then, she was gone. Clare watched as the newly transformed awakened Priscilla flew away before stumbling towards Teresa ignorant of the puddle of red blood - human blood, Teresa's blood, a warrior's blood - which she slipped on but still reached out and took Teresa's head into her hands and stared at the woman's face who was killed for showing mercy.

And from what Irene had said, the old Teresa never would've done that. Clare took away something essential from Teresa in exchange for her humanity and now the only person that looked after her after so long was gone. Teresa was like the older sister she never had and now she was dead. Suddenly, Clare's eyes grew cold. The girl decided then and there that she would become like her surrogate older sister so that she didn't have to watch anyone else she cared for die. Trouble always found and took something away from her so what would happen to the trouble if she became it?

Clare was done being human. All it cost her was agony and loss. She couldn't live this way anymore. If she was going to survive then she would live a life where she could make a difference. Where a little girl wouldn't end up in a life as messed up as hers. She didn't care about killing Priscilla, she didn't thirst for the awakened being's blood because she recognized the same agony in Priscilla's eyes that she had seen in both Teresa and Kaori's eyes though deeper and more concealed.

She promised that she would use this life with good reason and throwing herself away to revenge like the man who had been driven crazed after Teresa for cutting off his hand she knew all she would receive in return would be failure, obsession, and then death. No, Clare would live for Teresa's sake and what they had taught each other - what they told each other.

The girl would become a warrior under her own terms, under her own say, and nothing would stop her from being the best that she could be.

Clare noticed Priscilla's awakened arm lying not to far away and tucked Teresa's head under one arm as she made her way towards the arm before picking it up and examined it. Claymores were half human, half yoma who were forced to undergo the transformation by taking the flesh and blood of normal yoma into their bodies.

What if Clare put Teresa's flesh inside of her? Clare was tempted to have Pricilla's flesh placed inside of her but she worried that the organization would try to harvest her power so she chose the warrior but wouldn't turn away the opportunity in front of her. She felt what happened to her body as she devoured the flesh and blood of Kaori's awakened being form and even somewhat with normal yoma flesh... her body had already adapted to new things she couldn't do before like land gracefully after jumping off a cliff or could hear things that most people couldn't through long-distance or thick walls.

And now, she had another awakened being's flesh in front of her but the nausea didn't return this time for what she planned to do. She set Teresa's head on the ground before taking Priscilla's arm and placed it in her lap. "I can't believe I am doing this," Clare whispered to herself as she snapped one of Priscilla's golden claws of the hand of the arm. Kaori said that warriors were forced to take the flesh and blood of yoma into their bodies and as Clare thought about Teresa's stigma she had a good idea of how that was done.

When she would go to one of the men in black with Teresa's head she could lie and say that she was attacked by Priscilla as to how she got her wounds and with that in mind she used the claw to slice into her skin from her side to abdomen three times very deep and had to breath slowly to do the crazy thing she was about the do and with a lot of focus she cut through the arm and poured the purple blood into her open wounds only to hiss as the blood seemed to burn as it mixed purple with red.

She lay like that for a while, Clare wasn't sure how long she watched the purple blood mix with her own until her blood turned back to it's normal red but Clare knew she had just succeeded in doing something insane. And then, she watched with mixed fascination as the wound she self-inflicted began to scab until suddenly becoming bright pink scars.

Clare stared at her skin in wonder but awed and terrified at what she had done before looking back at the arm and closed her eyes as she began to eat the recent awakened being's flesh until she literally couldn't bring herself to anymore, even tried to throw it up but like with Kaori it wouldn't and so Clare was rendered shuddering on the ground trying to breath correctly until she could then stood, picked up Teresa's head like nothing happened and threw Pricilla's remains over the cliff side not wanting to look at the proof of what she had done.

The girl turned on her heel and began her journey in (she could still hardly believe it) search for the men in black she had once tried so dutifully to avoid. Her eyes had changed, now holding a look similar to Teresa's soul-searching ones, Priscilla's lost ones, and Kaori's longing ones. Her presence and what she held close to her chest drew much attention as she traveled unclearly through multiple villages until she finally caught sight of exactly what she was looking for and found herself (a little unnerved) in front of a bald man with circular black sunglasses which glinted as he smiled at her when Clare did something she never dreamed herself of doing before in her life.

"Put Teresa's flesh and blood inside of me, make me a warrior!"

...and knocked on the gates of Hell.

A/N: I apologize I had to summarize so much with the Teresa and Clare interaction but I felt it would be needless to copy exactly what was from the canon so I summarized it with some changes clearly visible. I will remind everyone that this is an Alternate Universe story in case anyone hasn't noticed yet and because of AU Clare's different personality that's why I took on a different take with Teresa and Clare more like sisters than a mother-daughter relationship.

Anyways, Tragedy Rises held the most angst but the chapters afterwards show more adventure and self-discover than depressing and traumatic experiences. If anyone is here to tell me in a review why the heck I'm writing another story rather than updating one of my others I will say only this: My mind runs a mile a minute and my imagination comes to me when it needs to otherwise the story will end up terrible because I'll have no visualization of what the heck I'm writing. So, in other words.. it's because I write the way I live my life, scattered all over the place but worthwhile wherever I go. (Does that make any sense?)

That, and I'm also a very random type of person... haha ;)

Sincerely,

- Gothic Rain