FicWad

Two weeks and six days later…

A group of four claymores were in a wooded area, likely somewhere in Toulouse, Lautrec, or Mucha. The four of them were either standing around or sitting on the corpse of an Awakened One. Purple blood was seeping out of its wounds like a river, showing it had been killed fairly recently by the women.

Two of the women had short hair, one of the two was buch-looking in appearance. The other two had long hair, though one of them had hers tied in a ponytail. The other had long, straight pale-blonde hair that reached to her bosom.

The butch-looking woman and the long haired one with her hair down, known as Rachel and Audrey, the current Numbers 5 and 3, were the ones who were sitting on the corpse of the Awakened One.

“Hey. Did you hear the news?” Rachel suddenly asked.

“What news?” Audrey questioned, feigning disinterest.

“Nina’s team was hunting an Awakened One in the North.” The Number 5 clarified.

“Yeah, I heard they were then attacked by three Awakened Ones. Pity… when will they be replaced?” Rachel didn't catch the entire rumour; just that Nina’s team had ran into three Awakened Ones while on the hunt and presumed they were killed in action. Nina is not… the greatest at making strategies, or making friends for that matter.

“Well, the rumour is they aren’t dead. Someone there saved them.”

Audrey looked over to Rachel with an incredulous look on her face. “Saved them? There’s no one in the wasteland of the North. Who could it be?”

At that Rachel smiled. “Maybe… it was the ghosts of the Fallen Warriors from seven years ago?”

If only she knew.

//

Meanwhile, over at Sutare, within the Headquarters of the Organization the Number 47, ‘Colour Head’ Clarice stood amongst the Organization’s council in a dimly lit hall. A wide, barren room with many chairs situated atop two rows of steps. Elder Rimuto was among them, while many more handlers sat on the chairs beside him - with the Elder himself taking up the middle - and several Handlers standing near the windows.


Clarice was finishing up on giving her report on what she had born witness to on her first Awakened Being Hunt.

Rimuto stared down at the brunette, stoic faced with her hands clasped together below his chin. “So then… the person who rescued you had the ability to manipulate the very earth?”

“Yes.” Clarice confirmed, doing her best to hide her nervousness in front of these men. “But when he did it he used no yoki… Nina, Elise, and Camilla all confirmed it. He made the ground rise up and form a wall to block projectiles that would have strucken all of us, and then he bound them down using hands that was made of the very ground itself. And when he allowed Nina, Elise and Camilla to behead them the bodies were crushed before the cascasses was pulled into the ground.”

“Did he say anything else?” A nameless man asked from off to the side, prompting Clarice to look at him; he was completely bald and clean shaven. And the way the light illuminated him from the back gave off a creepy vibe.

“Yes.” Clarice confirmed once more. “He talked to us after the Awakened Ones were dealt with. I asked him if all 24 warriors that had taken part in the Battle of the North had all been killed. He informed us that he personally buried their bodies and used their claymores as Grave Markers, though out of 24 claymores only 9 remained the last time he checked as they had been stolen or lost over the years. Camilla was the one who asked about the Youma Hunter however...” Clarice paused for a moment, it was a hesitation that everyone else picked up. “The stranger claimed he was the Youma Hunter… before he vanished on us before we could do anything to stop him, or ask more questions.”

That threw the men in for a loop, and they all exchanged looks.

“...So, he was alive all this time?” One of the other man, a man with a bowl cut asked aloud.

“A-apparently…?” Clarice replied nervously. “From what he told us, he had fought and killed six Awakened Ones by himself, before one called Rigardo confronted him. And in their ensuing battle, the Youma Hunter was seemingly cut down but managed to cripple Rigardo that enabled the warriors to kill him later on. He later woke up covered in his own blood and found Pieta in ruins and everyone dead when he went to check for survivors.”

“Well, it makes sense that he’d be in hiding,” Rubel chimed in, seeming far less phased than he was. “If I remember correctly, he was quite infatuated with Windcutter Flora, so her death likely affected him rather harshly. Still, that’s quite the impressive performance, I must say.”

Clarice couldn’t help but wince sympathetically. For someone to lose a lover in such a way… she couldn’t imagine the kind of pain he was going through.

“...Should we dispatch someone to find him?” One of the many nameless Handlers asked. “Perhaps Renee? His ability to accurately track, and pinpoint a single or group of youmas like our Eye is still of interest to us. As is his capability to move as fast as a single digit. Add in his capability to manipulate the very earth itself…”

“It wouldn’t do any good.” Rubel smirked that smug, little smirk of his as he added, “The Youma Hunter is human despite his feats. And what you all seem to forget within these past seven years is that despite the prowess he has so far revealed, he is a trained assassin. Given that he has no yoki, not even our greatest aura detector would be able to find him.”

Rimuto closed his eyes in contemplation while the other Handlers watched on in silence. Then, one man who looked like that had gotten into a surgery gone wrong as he has a makeshift eye patch that was more of a buckle covering his left eye, spoke up.

“Even if we were to send a four woman group to find the Youma Hunter, the possibility they will find him is extremely slight. Windcutter Flora had found him by sheer luck seven years ago, due to a warrior spotting him in the area. And before that no one was able to track him down as he disappeared as soon as he appeared. If he is staying in the North, it’s quite probably a matter we can leave alone.”

After some more contemplation Rimuto came to a decision. “Alright. Just as always we’ll place one single digit and three lower numbers in the North. However, promote Number 9 to Number 7. Adjust the other numbers accordingly and reinforce the troop strength. That is all.”

With that everyone got up and started to leave the hall, with Rubel adjusting his hat. “A matter we can leave alone…” the man thought sarcastically, “the Youma Hunter’s defeated an Abyssal One, is capable of moving as fast as a single digit warrior, being able to track many a youma and Claymore. He is also capable of manipulating the very earth itself and has possibly more up tricks up his sleeve. It is quite possible he used his prowess to save as many of the warriors as possible during the Great Battle. It’s very likely that one of them was the former Number 6, Miria. I can’t imagine she’d obediently follow the Organization’s orders and die like a dog and has made some kind of contingency plan.” He however, kept his thoughts to himself he’ll let these people stew in their own self-superiority.

Clarice on the other hand was left at a loss. “Uh… Um.” the brunette quickly turned to the closest person to her and caught his attention. “Um, excuse me? Mister Rado, I…”

“Enough about the Northern region. Go and assist Miata.” He told the brunette with a commanding tone.

“Miata…? You mean Number 4?” Clarice asked for clarification.

Rado had stopped and fully turned to face her by this point. “She has exceptional talent. Enough to be Number 1. But she’s emotionally unstable. You’ll need to assist her in dealing with ordinary people. She just have returned to Headquarters by now. See to it.” With that Rado turned and walked away.

//

Later, Clarice ventured forth to meet this Miata girl, passing by several stone huts as an ominous wind blew. Many of them were built into the very mountain the Headquarters of the Organization was positioned, and looked the same.

Eventually, the brunette came to a stop in front of a hut and looked at the wooden door. “Here?” she thought to herself. She pulled on the hoop of a door handle and the door slowly creaked open.

The room within was in complete darkness, the only source of light was coming through the door Clarice had just opened. And inside the room itself, it was completely barren. There weren’t any windows either. It was a room for complete isolation. And sitting near the back of the room, partially in shadow, was a young girl with very long straight hair that is covering most of her face. Strands of her hair was strewn all over the place around her. And laid flat on the ground behind the girl was her claymore.

The girl looked to be naked at first glance, but she was in actuality, wearing her two-piece bodysuit. Her long hair, the way she was sitting and the shadow combined made it seem like she was naked.

“Mm mm mm mm mm.”

And the girl was humming to herself, seemingly dead to the world.

A nervous Clarice swallowed the lump that formed in her throat before taking a deep breath to calm her raging nerves, lest she run out of the barren room out of sheer terror. “Uh… ex-excuse me. Uh… I’m… Number 47, Clarice. I was ordered to be your assistant…”

“Mm mm mm mm,” Miata just kept humming to herself, completely ignoring the woman.

“Ah… you…” Dampening her suddenly dry lips Clarice took a single step forward. And suddenly Miata moved. Clarice blinked in shock as the young girl moved faster than she could react; all the brunette could see was the ends of the girl’s hair flowing in the wind as the girl got behind her before she could react! “Huh?!” She felt Miata grab her spaulder, “Wha-?” and she was roughly, aggressively, thrown to the ground before she could even reach for her own sword.

Suddenly, Miata was pinning the older woman underneath her, the sharp end of the girl’s claymore was pressed threateningly against her neck. “Did you kill them?” She demanded, glaring down at Clarice with a single, wide and glaring silver eye. “Papa and… Mama…” She trailed off as if coming to a sudden realization.

“Ah… No…! I... I…” Clarice was trying to think of something, anything, to get this girl to stop from hurting her. She was so scared of the girl that she completely missed the affectionate look on the girl’s face.

“Mama…” Suddenly, Miata grabbed Clarice’s top in a firm grip and tore it from the seams before the poor brunette could react.

“Wha…” Clarice stared on as the shredded fabric of her top was tossed aside by the younger girl on top of her. Then Miata looked down at her with a hunger. And it made Clarice scared for her own life. “WH-WHAT ARE YOU…? STOP IT, MIATA!”

The girl in question dashed down and latched her lips to Clarice’s nub.

“NO! STOP, PLEASE!” Cried out a begging Clarice, only for her to stop and look down at the girl in shock when the brunette felt the girl suckling her nipple like a baby. And just like that, realization struck her like a sack full of bricks.

“A child.” Thought the thoroughly shocked brunette.

The room was filled with Miata’s suckling and the girl’s mumbled, but affectionate and childish, “Mama… Mama…”

“This little child… is the Organization’s Number 4?” While Miata was suckling away an astonished Clarice raised a shaking hand, before placing it on the back of the girl’s head, the other soon joined and Clarice hugged the child to her. She stared up at the ceiling, her mind wheeling in shock, “What in the world… is happening with us?”

//

Meanwhile, a group of 18 women and one young man came to a stop on top of a hill. For miles on end, their eyes were met with clear blue skies, and green fields no matter where they looked. It was a welcoming change of scenery and one person was very vocal about it.

“WAHOO!” Helen cheered her joy. “It’s been a long time since I saw blue skies and green fields! I was so totally sick of a world that was pure white everywhere I looked!”

“Calm down, Helen.” Deneve said to her friend.

“C’mon! The landscape has colour! I can’t get enough of it!” Helen let out another joyous laugh as she spread her arms and spun around while taking in the scenery.

Naruto was in full agreement with Helen. After spending seven goddamn years in a landscape that was nothing but ice and snow, and sheet, he was more than a little happy to be somewhere that’s warm and has freaking colour! Because he won’t be freezing his balls off anymore! Goddamn the cold sucked! He was lucky he didn't get hypothermia or worse, frostbite. Those heat generating seals worked wonders - he was more than a little jealous of the girls. They can walk around buck ass naked and they wouldn’t even notice the cold.

He saw Flora, Miria and Jean of all people do it a few times in the past while they were hiding. He had no idea if it was for training purposes, or what, he would bet his arm on it if they were doing it for the sole purpose of enticing him.

Speaking of Miria, she looked to Tabitha and said, “Tabitha.” with expectancy in her voice. Everyone else quieted down and waited.

“Okay.” The woman knew what her captain wanted and she closed her eyes and used her newly used wide range yoki sensing. After a moment Tabitha relayed what she had discovered to the others. “Within the range I can sense, I don’t see any Awakened Ones or Creatures of the Abyss. I sense twelve warriors… As for the ones that might be single digits, two are straight ahead, two are at my 2 o’clock and there is one more at my 10 o’clock. With the two straight ahead, there are the auras of two more, for a total of four. I think that they probably just finished an Awakened Being hunt.”

“I see… So the conditions inside the Organization don’t seem to have changed.” Miria stated; if there was one thing she was happy about, it would be that. While she may no longer be their captain anymore, she did put their safety above her own and didn't like unknown variables.

“What happened to the remaining Awakened Beings we fought in the North?” Helen asked; that was one thing that’s been on her mind for a while ever since Naruto told them about it. “As Naruto pointed out nearly three weeks ago, they couldn’t have gone unnoticed. And if they headed to the Organization, their numbers would have been too much for them.”

“All we can do is speculate at this point in time.” Miria replied. “However, the most probable outcome is that they had ran rampant and were later killed by the new generation of warriors one by one.”

“Another outcome is that Isley could have split them in half while he and Priscilla went south. Send one half to distract the West and the other half to distract the East.” Naruto added. “And since he hasn’t been seen in the North since then, it’s safe to say Isley did just that and usurp the South from Luciela while Riful and the Organization was distracted and by the time they realize what Isley’s planning it would be too late. I wouldn’t be surprised if Riful and Luciela tried to team up against the threat Isley posed to them thanks to him having Priscilla by his side…” He paused and a look of realization slowly grew on his face as he turned to regard Jean, “...and if that’s the case, then that might have been why Riful was trying to get you to Awaken Jean, and why she had killed many claymores before you.”

“She was trying to muster a force of her own in order to combat the threat Isley posed to her.” Said Jean as she had came to the same conclusion as he did.

“And by getting powerful claymores to Awaken and on her side, she would be able to combat him. But if what Elda said about Priscilla being able to fight all three Abyssals at the same time and win, was true… it would have been futile in the end.” Naruto let out a sigh and crossed his arms while he thought in contemplation. “But, as Miria said before, this is just speculation on my part. But if Isley did go to Mucha…” he let out a sigh as a hint of worry seeped into his voice.

“...” Quite a few women were giving him suspicious looks as they picked up on it.

“...You sound kinda worried for the Abyssal One of the South.” Queenie said aloud with suspicion in her voice.

Naruto blinked and looked at her. Sure enough, the blond was getting some odd looks from the other women. “...uh… that’s because… I… am?”

“...Why?” While she wasn’t giving him an accusing look, Flora was curious. Sure Elda was an Awakened One but that was a completely different thing. She came to him and established herself as… ‘relatively’ harmless. Even if she did originally intend to see if he was a threat to other Awakened Ones. Luciela, however…

“I…” Naruto took in a deep breath and exhaled. “I guess it had to come out eventually. I met Luciela before. This was three months before Flora and I hooked up mind you, and I had no idea what she was at the time. I treated her as a friend and she did the same back, and well, we became fast friends. That’s why I’m worried: she’s my friend.”

“Woah Woah Woah, back up a minute here.” Zelda quickly said, “Let me get this straight: you met the Abyssal One of the South, and didn't get eaten?”

“Admittedly, that might have been my insane luck,” Naruto replied with a shrug. “But yeah, I met her, became friends, and didn't get eaten.”

“...Did you fuck her?” Lily asked with an innocent look on her face.

“No!” Though, in hindsight, that was not for lack of trying on her part. He was just too oblivious to understand the hints she was giving him. Thankfully, the Abyssal One found his naivete to be rather cute. Were that not the case, their relationship might have soured rather quickly.

“Ah. I see. So you aren’t a beast of a man that sticks his dick into any woman then.” Lily said with a sagely nod of her head.

Naruto blinked and gave her an odd look. “Oi… if anything it’s you ladies that are tempting me to do just that.”

“Unabashedly, no less,” Flora teased. To her amusement, several of the other ladies turned beet red along with Naruto.

“You’re just as bad as they are Flora.” Naruto deadpanned at her after he got his blush under control. “Out of everyone here you're the one who’s goading me into fucking ‘em. Granted, I flirt with them, but that’s because it’s better to make them feel good about themselves rather than make ‘em feel disgusted with the way they look.”

He was very tempted to ask about that time he saw her, Miria and Jean naked in the snow that one time, but held his tongue. No need to bring that up now.

“Guilty as charged,” the former Number 8 giggled.

Naruto let out a sigh and looked to Miria. “You’re still the leader here, despite relinquishing your command; so where should we go? Continue heading in the same direction while avoiding the other claymores, or go elsewhere?” While he did want to check on Luciela, he wanted to see what Miria would say first.

Everyone, even Elda, watched Miria in silence as she contemplated on their next move. No matter what decision she would make, everyone would follow her. On a whim, Tabitha went back to using her Wide Range Yoki Sensing just so she could keep an eye on the four claymores ahead of them; that was when she sensed it.

Two yoki auras got within her range. And they were massive. “Wait just a minute!” Tabitha cried out, as she grit her teeth in order to mask her fear, “J-just now! Two yoki auras just got within range! Th-they’re massive!”

As if the door to a damn had opened, what Tabitha just described washed over everyone else. And many of a woman were outright shaking. Four people recognised the aura of the first one.

Sweat began to drip down Clare’s face. “Wha… what the…?”

And as for Naruto, he recognised the aura of the second one.

//

Deep within the woods, metallic like ribbons tore through the bark of trees like they were made of wet paper and turned them all into splinters. Off to the side a silhouette of a person could be seen running alongside the ribbons. And the sound of breaking trees caught the attention of the Claymore group… because those very ribbons were heading directly for them!

“What the hell?!” the girl with the ponytail shouted with a look of genuine alarm on her face.

//

Back with Miria and the others, Tabitha was continuing to relay what was happening to the others. “Straight ahead, the Awakened Being Hunting Party is being approached by two large yoki auras. They’re fast. And...and...they’re t-too big…”

Miria shuddered with wide eyes; now that she can actually sense them the woman could tell Tabitha was not lying.

“You gotta be kidding me!” Helen cried out in disbelief, “Wh-that the hell is with these youma auras?! They’re huge!” It was bigger than anything she sensed before.

Clare, Flora and Jean all shivered as memories they had tried so hard to repressed was forced back to the surface. “...ful… Riful...of the West.” Clare was outright shivering out of fear. Had the option been on the table she would have soiled herself.

Jean was trembling, on the verge of tears as she collapsed. The screams… those haunting screams… they just won’t stop! She couldn’t move if her life depended on it!

“C-captain!” Natalie cried out in distress, tending to the former Number 9 without hesitation.

“Riful of the West is one of the three great Awakened Ones! You gotta be kidding me! We leave the North and this is the first thing we run into!?” Helen ranted for the sake of letting out all the stress she was beginning to feel lest it overwhelms her.

Clare didn't say anything, save for gritting her teeth. And Miria, was actively shaking now as the situation dawned on her. “This… is a creature of the Abyss?” That monstrous yoki… for someone to have that much… it seemed unfathomable… and there was someone else out there who was much, much stronger than the Abyssal Ones?

Naruto took a step forward, “...I want you all to stay here and appraise the situation. I know who that second yoki aura belongs to.” He did not look forward to his reunion with RIful, but perhaps Luciela can help mitigate that…? Hopefully? One thing was for damn certain if that wasn’t the case: Riful would not hold back, this time… and he’d be hard-pressed to blame her.

“Who is it?” Miria asked, no, she demanded.

“...It’s Luciela of the South.” Naruto answered, drawing gasps of shock from the others. “It seems the Abyssal Ones of the South and West are working together. But she looks to be on the sidelines for the moment.” Then Naruto pulled his hood over his head to conceal his face, “Wish me luck you lot.” He was going to need it...

With that, Naruto bent his knees and leapt off the hill they were on and made a mad dash for the claymores. He took to tree hopping to make himself go faster, as it was a more efficient way of travelling in his personal opinion. Not to mention the very act gave him nostalgia.

//

Before the Awakened Being Hunting Party, the amorphous mass of ribbons had morphed into the torso of a woman who appeared to be in her early twenties; her eyes were now in the form of glowing pits of pink, while several ribbons formed her hair. Her torso appeared to be about twice the size as that of a normal human and the remaining ribbons grew in length, and stabbed into the ground to make her tower over the other women.

The four women were silent. Two of the weaker ones were staring up at her in stunned silence, as the severity of their situation slowly dawned on them.

“Good day, Awakened Being Hunters.” Riful politely greeted the four women in her metallic-like voice. Off to the side the silhouette of Luciela could be seen; no one noticed her yet because she was actively suppressing her yoki… and Riful was more ‘exposing’ than she was so everyone’s attention was on her.

“I’m so happy to meet you. It’s always nice to meet the new generation.” The awakened woman’s stance was rather calm and unthreatening, despite her imposing presence, though; her hands were folded before her and she had a pleasant smile on her face as if she were talking to young children. She giggled. “Especially…” Riful began as several of her ribbons came a-crashing down at the feet of two warriors in particular. “Since you two seem absolutely delicious~!”

Those two warriors happened to be Audrey and Rachel, the Numbers 3 and 5. The two of them looked rather calm, and assured of themselves despite being in the presence of an Abyssal One

“To start, why don’t we all introduce ourselves? The Single Digit first would be delightful.”

“Hold on…” The butch woman began. “Who are you? You can’t just appear out of nowhere and start then babbling like an idiot.”

Riful was visibly taken aback by that. Well! This one’s quite rude, isn’t she?

“Hold on Ray,” Audrey reprimanded. “Even if she’s awakened, she was still once a comrade of ours. You should show respect to your seniors.”

That… made her feel old, but the Abyssal One appreciated the sentiment, nonetheless.

Audrey turned her attention to Riful and pressed her left arm against her chest introductively, and gave the Abyssal One a kind smile. “I am Audrey, Number 3, and she is Rachel, Number 5. And judging from your appearance, I assume we are addressing to one of the Creatures of the Abyss, known as Riful of the West. How do you do?” The woman was polite, and respectful even in the face of an enemy such as the one before her.

“My, what a polite child you are. I’m surprised to see than children these days have such good manners.” She took a moment to give them an appraising look as she thought aloud, “Numbers 3 and 5… how wonderful.” Riful then gave them another polite smile and introduced herself. “My name is Riful. So pleased to meet you.”

Rachel huffed. “So this is a creature of the Abyss…?”

Audrey smiled ominously.

“What’s the big deal?” Rachel asked nonchalantly, taking Riful by surprise once more.

“Such a potty-mouth as usual,” Audrey chided lightly. “Even if you think such things, you shouldn’t just say them outright like that.”

“Can’t be helped,” the Number 5 replied, drawing her sword. Her knees bend and the tip of her claymore touching the ground behind her, Rachel then took on what looked like a sloppy rat tail guard, greatly confusing Riful. “But, this old hag needs to learn that times have changed.”

//

“One single digit is drawing her sword.” Tabitha informed her comrades, and the sole Awakened One amongst them. “She plans to fight.”

Miria grit her teeth, “Nh…” She hoped Naruto would get there in time. None of those women stood a chance against an Abyssal One. Not the way they are now.

//

As for the blond in question, he kept hopping from branch to branch. He could sense that one of them had drawn her sword and was preparing for a fight. “Tch… idiot. Riful is suppressing her yoki to make it seem she’s like an average Awakened One, and none of those Single Digits picked up on it yet!”

Those two were part of the new generation? What a rookie mistake! Granted, he’s one to talk since he fell for the same trick, he realized that now that he looked back on it. He was told by Riful herself that she was the strongest of her generation, and she’s obviously lived for a long time. Long enough for her to pick up some tricks.

But still, those two were severely underestimating their opponent! And Luciela hasn’t come out from her little hiding place yet. He pushed a little faster; the more that woman plays around with Riful the quicker her demise will approach.

//

“What an unusual stance,” Riful commented. Sure, for a longsword, it would have been somewhat functional, if a bit silly with her left elbow so glaringly exposed, but a greatsword was simply too damn long to properly utilize such a guard. “Just what do you intend to do with your sword like that?”

Ignoring the Abyssal One’s question, Rachel called out to the other two warriors. “You low-rankers are in the way. Back off!” Her yoki flared as she grinned menacingly. “I’ll take care of this crazy octopus woman.”

Riful returned the smile with one of her own, her composure unphased as several of her ribbons slithered upwards like snakes coiling for a strike. “Alright,” she giggled. “Since it’s come to this, I’ll just have to teach you some manners.”

With that, several of the bladed ribbons shot forth at the Number 5 with blinding speed.

“Maybe that won’t be necessary,” Rachel shot back, her sword digging into the earth and then… Her eyes turned gold, with the irses slanted like a cats.

Riful was caught by surprise at the sight and sensation of the woman’s sword cleaving straight through her ribbons like a hot knife through butter. “W-wha…?!” The only time she had her ribbons sliced through like that was by Naruto seven years ago. But still, this was very surprising! “You cut me? How...?” Then, she spotted the trench and she connected the dots in a flash. “I see...You dug your sword into the ground and used the resistance to accelerate your strike’s speed and strength beyond the ordinary. That’s how you did it.”

“Good call,” Rachel commented. “Not bad for a Creature of the Abyss.”

Riful perked up in surprise as she felt Audrey try to strike her from behind. Alas, the woman’s mighty thrust bounced off the back of Riful’s head. “Too bad,” the Abyssal One giggled. “Looks like you can’t penetrate me.” Then, she turned her full attention to the woman and sent dozens of ribbons her way… only to be pleasantly surprised when Audrey gently deflected them all with seemingly no effort. It was like she had deflected her ribbons with the slightest touch, it was dare she say it: gentle.

Audrey leapt back and landed on the ground in a kneel. Riful sent her ribbons Audrey’s way, and they slithered and coiled around each other to make a sharpened point. Like a pike. Audrey merely calmly stood up and stared up at the mass of ribbons coming towards her; she smiled, and pointed the tip of her claymore towards it. Then, to Riful’s amazement, she calmly redirected the massive spike and with a harsh swing, she sent it back.

As they came flying backwards, the ribbons scattered and imbedded themselves into the ground behind Riful.

“Hey, watch it!” Rachel cried out as she was forced to evade several of them.

The Abyssal One, however, bore a look of utter shock as three of her own ribbons had ended up impaling her.

“Though my sword can hurt you, it would seem that you can be cut by your own blades,” Audrey observed. They were just flesh wounds from the look of it, but it was a start.

Riful just pulled her own ribbons out of her body and the holes sealed themselves up like they were never there. The Abyssal One observed the two women below. The other two are at a small distance away from them, it would take but a moment for her to catch up but right now she has two fascinating women.

Luciela was still off to the side, actively suppressing her yoki while she observed from the shadows. Knowing her, the auburn-haired woman was rolling her eyes at the theatrics she was doing.

“This has been a real surprise. What a contrasting couple you two are.” Praised Riful, she turned her attention to Rachel. “One plugs her sword into the ground, and then hacks down everything before her with a Strong Sword.” The Abyssal One then turned her gaze to Audrey. “And the other meets all attacks without resistance or strength, and turns their strength against them to form her own attack using a Gentle Sword.” A small grin spread across her lips, “I’m honoured, to have met the Mighty Number 3 and Number 5.” Then Riful’s tone turned a tad, condescending, and haughty. “But unfortunately the Gentle Sword won’t pierce me. And the Strong Sword can’t reach me. It was close, but the two of you can’t take me down.”

Rachel just smirked up at the Abyssal One. It was full of confidence, overconfidence maybe. “You old hasbeen. You can’t understand that times have changed.” Then, both she and Audrey shot up like rockets, bolting towards Riful’s upper body and using the ribbons that held her up as footholds. As several of her ribbons shot forth in a counterattack, Audrey deflected them just as cheerfully as all the others.

“You fool,” Riful cried out upon seeing Rachel wind up for another attack. “Without some resistance, you have no hope of cutting me!”

Rachel’s smirk turned to a half-grin half-smirk, at that declaration, looking as if she was about to prove her wrong. “The fool… is YOU!”

Rachel had her arms bend behind her head and her sword behind her. Audrey was in midair behind the Number 5, and she had the edge of her sword pressed against Rachel’s. Both women’s eyes were were turned gold and looked distinctly cat-like and veins could be seen on their faces.

The Abyssal One of the West could have attacked the two of them right then and there, because they were leaving themselves wide open to an attack. But she didn't for a simple reason… she was deceiving them. Testing them. And those fools were none the wiser. Audrey was still smiling as she used her yoki to hold Rachel’s sword in place and amplify the speed and strength of her swords attack.

Rachel roared with victory in her voice,. “This… is the new power!” With that declaration, Audrey released Rachel’s blade and the latter brought it down with terrifying force. The sword cleaved into Riful’s shoulder, and down her torso.

“Im… Impossible... this...” Riful cried out. Her eyes were wide with obvious pain, and she was gasping as if struggling to breathe.

“Heh. Too bad. While you were sleeping in your deep pit, the world progressed.” Rachel mocked the ‘wounded’ Abyssal one.

“Stop… One more attack and… I will…”” Riful pleaded. Her acting was so genuine that Luciela herself had almost believed she had been hurt. Of course, the Abyssal One of the South was familiar with Riful’s Awakened form. So she knew that girl wasn’t really wounded.

Rachel pulled her claymore out of the Awakened One’s torso with a look that was so assured in her own victory. “Sorry but this is the end.” She tried cutting off her head with a single stroke, but her strike was weak and it bounced off harmlessly. “Ch-”

“PLEASE STOP!” Cried out a begging Riful, “If you hit me with a strong attack like the one before… I will…” That was obviously a hint, a bait; and both Audrey and Rachel fell for hook, line and sinker.

“Audrey!” Rachel called out.

“Right!” The woman needed not hear another word; she knew what to do. They performed the same did they did before, but instead of the strike intending to cleave, it was meant to cut off Riful’s head in a single stroke. “TAKE THIS!” She struck… and Riful ducked under it, surprising the Number 5 as it was a move she had not been expecting in the slightest.

“No, not that one. I’ve seen that already.” Riful gently scolded the woman, her previous panic and agony all but gone. “That technique has so many flaws. In addition to its prep time, that attack is very easy to read. Attacking the enemy while their guard is down like that will work but once.” She lectured the two women, like a teacher to a student. “I’d like something else. There must be something else, right? Some attack so mighty it can defeat me with just one more hit.”

The women just stared at her in befuddlement.

“Oh?” Riful was a little disappointed, really. “You can’t mean… that was all you have...?”

Then, suddenly, Rachel roared as she hacked away at Riful with all her might, only for her attacks to harmlessly bounce right off.

“I told you, you cannot cut me with normal attacks.” The Abyssal One lectured the Number 5 with boredom in her voice.

Audrey made a dash behind the Awakened One, using her ribbons as a makeshift platform. Then took aim with her sword and lunged forward in an attempt to pierce her wound from the back. Only she came to a stop just inches from landing a hit. She was shocked as if she had come to a sudden realization… or something had just come to her senses.

Riful looked at the Number 3 from over the shoulder and smirked at her. “Backstabbing an open wound. I think the concept is good.”

“The...this is…” A bead of sweat dripped down the side of her pretty face.

Rachel let loose another battle cry as she brought her blade down in a vertical strike with all her might, seeming to cleave Riful in two from her head to her navel. “Yes!” she cried in elation “Just look at yourself, now!” But, then… she realized that something didn’t seem right.

“I’m sorry,” Riful said. “I didn’t mean to deceive you…” Then, her body split open in five more places, the pieces spreading out like a paper fan. She was grinning. “But, truth be told, this is just the kind of body I have.”

“Wha…” Rachel was staring at Riful completely flabbergasted. The Number 5 was wide-eyed with an open mouth and everything!

“W-wait a second... “ Audrey muttered shakily. “This…”

“Oh, you noticed?” Riful cooed. “The last ones I fought noticed right away. But then again, two of them excelled at reading youma energy. I suppose that’s the difference between claymores. Though the Youma Hunter knew what I was almost immediately.“ While she talked Riful was reforming herself.

“Oi! Audrey! What’s wrong?” Rachel called.

The woman was shaking, a look of terror was on her face. “What we sensed… w-was just an outer layer of youma energy. Below the aura of a normal Awakened Being… she was hiding her real youma energy…”

The three women, even the hidden Luciela all jumped when they heard a newcomer, a young man, shout out in expasteration. “FINALLY! It’s about TIME you noticed if you ask me!”

Walking out of the treeline, a hooded figure emerged. His face completely hidden. Behind him the other two claymores Rachel had sent away were behind him.

"Who the hell are you?!" Rachel demanded.

Riful, meanwhile recognised him…

/

Back with the other girls, every last one of them felt like death itself loomed over them as the cold, unadulterated rage smothered them from afar. It was hard to breathe and they all fell to their knees at the terrifying sensation.

/

Naruto chuckled nervously as Riful turned to address him with a sickly sweet grin that promised an eternity of pain. “Uh… is it too late to apologize…?” He had to get those two down from there… seriously, how could they not comprehend how far up shit creek they put themselves by using Riful’s body as a foothold?!

“Yes… Seven Years to late.” Riful chirped as a shower of death came down to impale the blond.

Naruto just grabbed the two women behind him and threw them out of the way, before hopping aside from the ribbons of death. Naruto made two clones… and as he dashed around the pissed off Abyssal One, they quickly swapped places with Audrey and Rachel, surprising the Single Digits when they found themselves back on the ground. The clones that took their place were promptly dispelled when the Abyssal One of the West ran them through.

“I couldn’t exactly take you with me!” Naruto yelled to her while he narrowly avoided the many ribbons that came close to hitting him.

“We had a deal! And you went back on it!” Riful repeated, her composure slipping. “The Organization would have avoided you with me in tow, anyway!”

“Seriously what the hell did I miss?!” Luciela called out, finally deciding to emerge from the treeline.

“Hi, Lucy!” Naruto actually took a moment to stop running and wave to her cheerfully, when she emerged from her hiding place. “I was wondering when you would come out.” He yelped as Riful tried to impale him once more, narrowly avoiding the half-dozen ribbons she’d sent to do just that.

“...What the hell is happening right now?” Rachel was trying to understand what was unfolding before her very eyes.

“...I have no idea.” Audrey answered. Why was Luciela of the South here? Wasn’t she supposed to have gone missing when Isley usurped Mucha, seven years ago? Hell, that cloaked man apparently had some history with both Abyssals. And how was he moving so fast without using yoki? Was it just natural speed?

Then, to their amazement, he completely vanished from their field of view and Riful went utterly stiff. Looking back to her, their jaws dropped at the sight of Naruto kissing her, one hand cupping her cheek, the other kneading one of her breasts.

The liplock was long and sensual, sending shivers up their spines and pangs of jealousy through their hearts as Naruto took Riful’s breath away. Then, he withdrew and said in the warmest, most charming way she or any other woman present ever heard, “I’m sorry.”

Riful just stared dumbly at him for a moment and then…

The sound of a loud smack and thud could be heard for miles as Naruto found himself face-down, hood down, ass up with a large, sizzling lump on his head. “Yeah, I kinda deserved that… ow…” Then he slowly laid flat on the ground. His cloak was sprawled out around him like a quilt.

Riful, meanwhile, huffed grumpily, her arms crossed with a childish pout. “We’ll discuss how you’ll make it up to me later. I’m busy.”

Luciela just walked on over and hefted Naruto up off the ground. The corners of her lips quirked in amusement when she saw the swirls figuratively spinning in his eyes. “So… care to explain what the hell happened? The last news I heard from you was that you had been killed when Isley’s army rampaged through Pieta.”

Naruto blinked repeatedly. “It’s a long story.” Then he turned to Riful and said, “And let me guess: you being busy has something to do with combating the threat this ‘Priscilla’ woman represents isn’t it?”

“It does,” Riful confirmed, seeing no point in hiding that.

“I thought as much. So Elda was telling the truth.” He never doubted the words of the elf woman, but sometimes it helps to have outside sources confirm it too. He looked at Luciela apologetically, “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you. I would have come, but to make a long story short: Isley’s second in command managed to get a good hit on me and knocked me out. By the time I woke up everything was in ruins and everyone else was dead.”

He wanted to keep everyone else’s cover intact. He’s fair game since he revealed to that Claymore team nearly three weeks ago that he was the Youma Hunter. Luciela nodded to show she understood. She didn't blame him, when Isley drove her out of Mucha and hurt her to the point it was difficult to maintain her awakened form, the woman was lucky enough to have come across Riful and Dauf, who were coming to aid her.

“It’s fine.”

Naruto let a sigh of relief at that. Then he turned his attention to Audrey, Rachel and the other two Claymores behind them. He narrowed his eyes a slight tinge before redirecting his gaze to the Abyssal One of the West.

“Riful, can you let them go?” He politely asked of her.

The woman in question glared at him. “I’d ask what’s in it for me, but your word has been established as worthless. You didn’t uphold your end of our last bargain, after all.”

“I don’t blame you, to be honest.” Naruto admitted. “I’ll admit, when I told Flora what I had done, she actually said she would rather have you travelling with us than having a vengeful Abyssal One having a grudge against us.” The blond sighed. “It’s my own damn fault for putting myself in this position.” Thinking long and hard about it, he asked, “Can I make it up to you? Within reason, of course.”

“Rumor has it that he’s a beast in the sack,” Luciela chimed in, much to Naruto’s utter shock. “I’ve overheard many a warrior claiming that he nearly fucked two single-digits to death. I’m rather jealous, actually.”

“Oh my god, she’s like Flora,” Naruto thought. “I have no idea where you heard that from, but that’s completely false… I fucked three single-digits, actually... and not that harshly!” He corrected her before realising that it was spoken out loud. And to his dismay, he saw an intrigued look on Riful’s face.

“Three Single-Digits? My, my, I’m impressed!” Luciela praised him with a catty grin. “Together or one at a time?”

“I ain’t gonna answer that…” Naruto said, before contradicting himself after seeing the doe-eyed look Luciela was giving him. That look was pure evil… “Okay, fine, sometimes it used to be one at a time, and sometimes together.”

“Used to be…?” Luciela giggled. “You’ve found yourself some new companions, then?”

“No. I came alone. Everyone else is dead.” He lied.

“Oh, sweetie, you don’t have to hide anything from me,” she whispered.

“The Organization thinks the others are still dead.” Naruto whispered back into her ear. “Right now, I’m probably the only one they’re aware of that’s still alive and I want to keep it that way around potential eavesdroppers.” He pointedly jerked his head towards Audrey’s team who were still watching them warily.

Luciela smiled and nodded in understanding. “Oh, don’t worry,” she cooed, hugging him tight and burying his face in her bosom. “I’m here, now and I’ll make you feel so much better~!” She then turned to Riful and said, “I’ll make sure he keeps his promises, this time. Let’s humour him for now and let them go. There’s a few other high-level warriors nearby, after all.”

“...Yes...yes, I suppose there is.” Riful let out a sigh and shooed Audrey’s team away. “Go on. Shoo. Consider yourselves lucky that you are walking free this day.”

Not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth, Audrey grabbed Rachel’s arm and started tugging her away. There was no way in hell she was sticking around! The other two women followed after the Single-Digit warriors like a bat outta hell.

“...By the way Riful, you look pretty sexy like that. Nice set of tits too.” He complimented the Abyssal One of the West.

If she could blush woman in question would have at that, not at all used to such compliments. Even Dauf was never so forward!

And why was he complimenting her? It’s kinda his thing. It’s fucking someone other than Flora that’s a no-go for him… though he may have to make an exception this time. Naruto let out a sigh of relief, though.

That was one problem down. Now he needed to deal with another: two Abyssal Ones. One of whom is his friend. But there was another reason why he came to them.

They may have information he and the other girls need.