Categories > Anime/Manga > Naruto > The Youma Hunter
Chapter 24
0 reviewsLost in a strange world riddled with demons and with no way to get back home, a mighty warrior catches the eye of the Organization. Co-Written with Drunkmansquawkin.
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Within the Greenlands of Toulouse, Number 47, Clarice was running for dear life. Panting frantically as she ran past tree after tree. She let out a startled gasp when she heard the sound of something approaching. Fast. She leapt, and the ground she was standing on exploded in rubble, dust, and dirt.
"KYAAA!"
Clarice let out a scream as the explosion sent her to the ground with a thud! head first. She coughed, and slowly got up on her hands and knees. Several yards behind her was a humanoid Awakened One. It was grotesque in appearance; it stood around 15ft, had two arms with vicious looking clawed hands, the projectile was in fact, two sharp tentacles coming from its wrists. It stood on two bent legs and had a single head, but three faces. One being on its head and the other two on its shoulders. All three faces shared a maw full of jagged sharp teeth. The head had two wide eyes as if there were no eyelids and it was clicking, like a bug. It was covered in a plate endoskeleton from head to toe. It honestly looked like a bug that was stepped on one too many times.
With a groan, Clarice pressed her palm against the side of her forehead and looked at it. She bared her teeth when her head started to faintly throb in discomfort and the feel of blood dripping down her face. "Ug…" Then, she looked behind her and turned around on her back and froze out of sheer fear.
"Wh-WHY?!" The dismayed brunette cried out, "Why can't I sense youma energy now of all times?! This is…" Clarice was going to finish that sentence off with 'bad', but she never got to. As the Awakened One poised its arm to kill her, it suddenly found said arm lopped off and the limb landed a ways behind it.
It clicked in alarm and let out a furious roar as it turned and all four of its clawed fingers extended and struck an empty ground. Only, it wasn't. Miata had leapt up to avoid its attack and the Awakened One let out a surprised growl. Then, the young girl looked at it from the corner of her eye, her hair whipping around her.
The Awakened One felt sharp pains all over its torso. Then purple blood began to spurt out before the entire upper half of its torso exploded in a fantastic display of gore and blood, as Miata seemingly dashed through it. The girl landed on her knees as the corpse fell on its back behind her, blood gushing from its fatal wounds.
Clarice put her hand to her chest and let out a relieved sigh. Only to gasp in surprise and look at the much younger girl, when she heard Miata still attacking it. And sure enough, she was. The girl was stabbing the corpse repeatedly in a frenzy.
Clarice quickly got up and approached the girl. "Mi...Miata! That's enough! It's dead already!" She reached out and put her hands on the girl's shoulders. That was the trigger into calming the girl down as she immediately dropped what she was doing, turned around and wrapped her arms around the woman's waist while she buried her face against the woman's torso. Hugging her.
"Mama… Mama… Mama…"
Clarice let out another sigh and put her hand on the girl's head. "It's alright. I'm there for you so… let's complete our mission for now." Her expression turned grim, and slightly fearful, as she looked ahead of her and added, "The two of us… will take Galatea's head."
/
Sometime ago…
In Sutare, Miata and Clarice were standing amongst the council hall within facing the Elder and the other Handlers once more. Elder Rimuto was intrigued when he saw Miata and Clarice holding hands.
"Oh? You have won her over quite well. What did you do?" Rimuto asked, intrigued despite his neutral if not standoffish expression.
Clarice mildy blushed at the question, "Ah… Eh… No...Nothing in particular." She lied, and Miata turned and pressed herself against the woman humming softly to herself.
"Well, whatever. In that case, I will give you two a new mission." Rimuto said. Then he leaned forward on his chair and laced his fingers together in front of his chin. "I order you to execute Galatea. The former Number 3 who deserted from the Organization 7 years ago."
Clarice's mouth opened slightly in shock. She was staring at Elder Rimuto, hoping that he was joking… alas, he wasn't she quickly realized. He was very serious.
"EH?! The… the former Number 3?! There's no way I can do that…" She exclaimed. Poor Clarice was doing her best to keep herself calm and aloof but failed miserably at it. This was far beyond her capabilities!
"I didn't ask if you could do it. You just half to accomplish the mission I gave to you and Miata together." Rimuto said dispassionately. He continued, saying, "Miata always had the power to aim for Number 1. But up to now, she was rather useless due to her mental instability. Now that Miata's mind seems to have calmed down I expect her to handle jobs more suitable for her power."
/
Sometime later, Clarice, Miata and Handler Rado were walking outside and walking past several stone huts and buildings. Unlike the ones Clarice walked by to meet Miata, these ones were in a state of disrepair.
Both Numbers 47 and Number 4 were quiet as they listened to Handler Rado give them their mission debriefing. "Using several pieces of information and some clues, we have narrowed down her location. All that's left to do is to wander around in the area and look for her. But the target excels at youma energy perception in a wide range. Therefore, this time you will operate while using energy suppressants."
That had taken Clarice by surprise. "Eh? But then, we'll be unable to read youma energy too! How…"
"Don't worry." He told the brunette without looking at her. Rado knew full well what she was going to ask. "That is where Miata's unique ability will be of use."
The brunette frowned curiously and looked down at Miata for a moment, before looking back at Rado's back. "Unique ability?"
Here Handler Rado stopped and turned to face the two claymores directly. "Actually rather than being unique, it's a power fundamental to humans. No, to all creatures really. Hearing. Vision. Smell. Taste. Touch. Miata excels in these five senses. And can thus fight without relying on the 'filter' of thought, instead, she will be acting merely on instincts. And the sense that results from these highly sharpened five senses… a sixth sense to speak… is the special power that Miata has obtained."
"A sixth sense…" She trailed off and looked down at Miata from halfway over the shoulder. The girl was still humming to herself.
The brunette looked back to Handler Rado when he started talking again. "To illustrate it with words, one could simply call it 'quick perception'. But it is the fact that the number of actual results up until now makes these vague words sound inappropriate. In other words, your task is to give Miata energy suppressants in regular intervals. And constantly remind her to be conscious of Galatea's presence."
Clarice gulped nervously, but she nodded nonetheless.
His last words to them before they headed out on their mission was, "Spending the rest of their days miserably in solitude is the fate that awaits deserters. Understand that execution is actually salvation for them."
/
Within the mountains of Toulouse, Clarice and Miata were resting. Both of them had their plate armours removed. Currently, Clarice was in the middle of breastfeeding Miata after an undetermined amount of travel. It felt a little weird for Clarice, despite doing it rather often.
Unfortunately for Clarice…
"Ouch!" The brunette jolted with a wince when she felt a sharp pain on her nipple. Miata kept biting her accidentally, "Please Miata! Keep your teeth back!" Not wanting to upset her Mama, Miata did as asked and sucked against Clarice's nub without using her teeth. The brunette let out a sigh. This wasn't getting any easier…
/
Sometime later, Clarice was holding her hand out to Miata. A yoki suppressant was on her palm. The young girl was looking at it with a frown.
"Here. This is tonight's dose. Take it now." Clarice told the girl in a kindly manner.
Miata stubbornly shook her head. She was refusing to take it. She didn't like them. Not at all. She didn't want to eat them. They weren't filling. They are not tasty.
"Hey! Didn't you promise earlier? That you would properly take it later?" The brunette questioned the girl. She had a stern look on her face as she lightly, but firmly glared at the girl with disapproval.
"It's bitter… Smelly… Not yummy… Makes my head spin." Whined Miata.
But Clarice was undeterred. "But you promised! If you break your promises, I won't let you do that thing you did earlier anymore!" She exclaimed. Miata had to learn to not disobey...even if she could rip her limb from limb with little to no effort. But the young girl was just that: a young girl. And she was imprinted as her Mama… and she didn't want to disappoint Mama.
Hearing those words Clarice was surprised when Miata quickly took the pill and shoved it into her mouth. The brunette watched in silence when the girl bared her teeth, looking as if she were struggling to keep something in. Then there was an audible gulp when Miata swallowed the pill.
"Bitter. Smelly… Not yummy…" Miata softly complained, shuddering with her teeth bared. She looked as if she was trying to hold herself back from crying.
"She didn't have to chew it then." Clarice thought. Then she looked down at Miata when the young girl wrapped her arms around her.
Miata buried her face into the brunette's stomach and Clarice could feel her bodysuit getting damp as Miata started to cry. "Sorry… I'm sorry. Mama…" The little girl looked up, tears were freely running down her cheeks. "I'll keep my promises… so please don't hate me… mama…" she pleaded, trying her best to not sob. The poor girl was so scared that she made Clarice hate her with her earlier refusal and stubbornness.
Clarice let out a sigh. "Don't worry. I would never hate you Miata," she reassured the girl.
Miata gave Clarice a hopeful look. "Really? Really truly?" She asked, tears still flowing from her eyes.
"Really truely. Trust me, Miata." Clarice answered with what she hoped was a motherly smile. The girl beamed happily at that before a single eye grew wide and pushed a surprised Clarice away from her.
"Wh-what?! Miata?!"
The reason Miata had for pushing her away became all too clear. As Miata hopped back herself, four extended fingers impaled the ground the brunette was standing on. Prompting the brunette to snap her head upwards.
"Huh?" She breathed.
But Miata had already armed herself with her claymore. She leapt up and bisected a winged youma at the waist. Its corpse hit the ground as the earth itself was dirted by its purple blood, spurting out from both ends.
"Youma?!"
More emerged from the woodwork and soon Clarice and Miata both found themselves corned on all sides. And only Miata was armed! Fortunately for Clarice, she had her claymore and armour next to her feet. Unfortunately, the neither Clarice or Miata would have enough time to get into them.
"A group of youma?! Why are they all the way out here?"
Thankfully, these ones seemed to be the common ones. They were without wings or any other assortment of appendages that would have given them a slight edge. The youmas all gave out a roar before they charged at the claymores. Baring her teeth with narrowed eyes Clarice quickly got down and grabbed her sword, before she sliced one youma in half diagonally and the other on the shoulder. Purple blood sprayed from their wound and they fell to the ground.
Confident that they were down for good Clarice turned to see how Miata was doing. The young girl in question leapt into the middle of four, and with a blur of motion, she sliced all four of them into many bloody chunks.
"Amazing Miata!" Clarice praised with a smile. So focused was she on the little one, the brunette never noticed that one of the youmas she had cut down had gotten back up. She heard footsteps rapidly approaching and turned just in time to see both youmas coming at her! Baring her teeth with wide, panicked eyes Clarice deflected one of their slashes, only for the brunette to get knocked down on her back with a cry.
Her opponents both growled before one of them extended his digits and tried to impale her. Clarice leapt up and out of the way; as a result, the stretched fingers had hit the ground instead.
Clarice was doing admirably well to keep herself from panicking. "Even though I cut him… was it too shallow?!" She yelled. Clarice was angry at her own weakness. Was she so weak that common youma were stronger than her?!
Suddenly she was alarmed when both of them were midair. And both were above her. With a growl Clarice tried to bisect one, only to be startled when that one to grabbed her forearms and sent her back towards the ground. The Number 47 landed in a crouch and looked up as the youma descended upon her. When they landed, one on her front and the other behind, Clarice took the opportunity to attack first.
And dashed towards the one in front, "Take th-" she roared, only to cut her own words off when her sword met resistance. "Eh? Eh? Wha…" Then she looked and found the cause: it got caught halfway through a tree. "Oh, you have got to be kidding-"
"GRAAK!" The youma behind her dashed forth to gut her from behind, prompting Clarice to let out a terrified scream. Her breath got caught in her throat when a sword was thrown past her. The sharp end missing her face by mere centimetres. "GA…" The youma's roar was cut off when it found itself getting stabbed through the damn head, courtesy of the thrown claymore.
She gasped and looked towards the only person who could have done that with such accuracy.
"MIATA!" Cried out a horrified Clarice. The girl in question had one arm outstretched, and she was no longer armed. "MIATA! YOUR SWORD!"
Miata had just enough time to let out one word, "Mama…" before she was dogpiled by no less than six youmas at once.
"MIATA!" Clarice, understandably, was horrified by this. The poor woman thought she had gotten the Number 4 killed because of her lack of strength. Because she had made the little girl eat the yoki suppressants!
Just when she was about to fall into despair, all six youmas surrounding the little girl were quite literally torn apart limb from limb. It was so sudden, so unexpected, that Clarice outright froze as an unharmed but gore covered Miata emerged from the carnage.
"Mama mama,"
Seeing that the remaining two youmas did what anyone in that situation would have done. They turned and ran away as if the flames of hell were on their asses. Unfortunately for them, Miata had already taken notice and was already on the move. They didn't get far. The Number 4 leapt onto the back of one youma, and drove her fist through the back of its neck and out through the mouth in a brutal fashion. It was dead before it hit the ground. Then the little girl turned to the remaining youma and quite literally smacked its head off its shoulders. The headless corpse fell to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.
Clarice, who was no longer trying to dislodge her sword from the tree, just stared at the blood covered Miata with her jaw trembling. Now she realized… this was not just an ordinary little girl… this was a dangerous, and mentally unstable little girl who's absurdly strong… even when she's on suppressants.
Miata reached out to her and started to walk over, softly saying, "Mama mama mama…" then noticed she had her fingers lodged in the head of the youma she literally slapped to death. She stopped walking and childishly swiped her arm back and forth to get the head off her fingers, and once it was dislodged she started walking again, crushing the head beneath her foot. She didn't even notice.
Clarice stared down at the girl. Scared and speechless as she wrapped her blood-drenched arms around her waist again.
"Mama mama mama…" Clarice started shaking as she reached up, hesitated, before putting her arm around the back of her head. The other arm soon followed. "Mama mama mama…"
She didn't know if she could handle this kind of responsibility...
/
As the brunette and blonde claymores made their way to Galatea's location, Clarice was mentally recounting their journey.
"Since then… we have been fighting youmas and Awakened Beings countless times." an image of Miata and Clarice facing off a multiheaded worm-like Awakened One with jagged teeth came to the brunette's mind. That image was gone as soon as it appeared though as Clarice looked at the young girl holding her hand. "Somehow, even while unable to read youma energy, Miata keeps heading towards our destination, seemingly feeling the difference in the air around there with her eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin."
Other images flashed in Clarice's head; severed limbs, gore, corpses of youma and Awakened Ones, blood dirtying the floor. "In the battles, I was injured in, I've encountered many situations in which it seemed like I would lose my life. But still… I'm still alive somehow by taking my time and healing my body."
Clarice looked ahead of her and the image in her mind changed once more to herself… and Miata. They were leaned against a tree and the younger girl was breastfeeding again. It was something she was long used to by now. But…
"The impression of the small child I hugged when I first met Miata is long gone. Instead, there is something that can easily rip apart the monsters I am no match for, a presence beyond those monsters… To be… completely honest… it's Miata that scares me the most…"
The two claymores continued on their way to their destination, with Miata leading the way with her five senses.
/
At the end of their journey, Clarice stared at the settlement before her with befuddlement. There weren't many places in This World that had walls to protect them; the only ones Clarice knew by hand were Egon, Doga, Rabona, Morris, and Lacrona. The place she and Miata were in front of was the Holy City of Rabona, who has zero tolerance towards anything unnatural. And Claymores such as herself and Miata fall under that category.
The reason why Clarice was confused is that Miata's senses had led them both here. Which meant…
"Here?" Clarice asked aloud, then she turned to look down at the little girl holding on to her hand. "Are you sure about this, Miata? Even if you say so, that she would be in a city, it's more likely that she would choose mountains or forests to avoid human contact." as she talked Clarice raised her gaze to the mountains on their right. It made more sense for Galatea to remain isolated as that would mean there is a lesser chance for her getting discovered.
Miata shook her head. "She's here," she said softly, prompting Clarice to look back down at her with a surprised blink. The brunette could hear the conviction in the girl's voice. She was certain that Galatea was inside. "It's here. The smell… of a very strong Claymore."
Clarice merely stared down at Miata in silence. Then the brunette closed her eyes and let out a defeated sigh before turning her gaze back to the city in front of them. Well, Handler Rando did essentially say Miata's 'sixth sense' is sharpened to the point she can track her targets through her five senses alone. So if she said Galatea was inside Rabona's walls then she behind the city walls.
Now they were in a predicament: Rabona has zero tolerance towards anything unnatural and will attempt to kill claymores the moment they're spotted. So how are they going to get inside?
"Mama?"
Clarice gave Miata a reassuring smile and squeezed her hand, "I'm just trying to find a way to get us both inside is all." the brunette looked back to the city and frowned lightly. "I'll have to find us some cloaks to cover ourselves with. We can't have anyone knowing what we are or else bad things will happen." in the meantime, she can take that yoki suppressant pill; at least with her hair being brown she'll be able to move right on in with little to no suspicion if she's asked to show her face.
Miata didn't understand what her mama was talking about but she nodded nonetheless. If mama wanted to put a cloak on her to get inside then she'll put one on. With that the little girl allowed mama to pull her along as they sought out some hooded cloaks to wear.
"KYAAA!"
Clarice let out a scream as the explosion sent her to the ground with a thud! head first. She coughed, and slowly got up on her hands and knees. Several yards behind her was a humanoid Awakened One. It was grotesque in appearance; it stood around 15ft, had two arms with vicious looking clawed hands, the projectile was in fact, two sharp tentacles coming from its wrists. It stood on two bent legs and had a single head, but three faces. One being on its head and the other two on its shoulders. All three faces shared a maw full of jagged sharp teeth. The head had two wide eyes as if there were no eyelids and it was clicking, like a bug. It was covered in a plate endoskeleton from head to toe. It honestly looked like a bug that was stepped on one too many times.
With a groan, Clarice pressed her palm against the side of her forehead and looked at it. She bared her teeth when her head started to faintly throb in discomfort and the feel of blood dripping down her face. "Ug…" Then, she looked behind her and turned around on her back and froze out of sheer fear.
"Wh-WHY?!" The dismayed brunette cried out, "Why can't I sense youma energy now of all times?! This is…" Clarice was going to finish that sentence off with 'bad', but she never got to. As the Awakened One poised its arm to kill her, it suddenly found said arm lopped off and the limb landed a ways behind it.
It clicked in alarm and let out a furious roar as it turned and all four of its clawed fingers extended and struck an empty ground. Only, it wasn't. Miata had leapt up to avoid its attack and the Awakened One let out a surprised growl. Then, the young girl looked at it from the corner of her eye, her hair whipping around her.
The Awakened One felt sharp pains all over its torso. Then purple blood began to spurt out before the entire upper half of its torso exploded in a fantastic display of gore and blood, as Miata seemingly dashed through it. The girl landed on her knees as the corpse fell on its back behind her, blood gushing from its fatal wounds.
Clarice put her hand to her chest and let out a relieved sigh. Only to gasp in surprise and look at the much younger girl, when she heard Miata still attacking it. And sure enough, she was. The girl was stabbing the corpse repeatedly in a frenzy.
Clarice quickly got up and approached the girl. "Mi...Miata! That's enough! It's dead already!" She reached out and put her hands on the girl's shoulders. That was the trigger into calming the girl down as she immediately dropped what she was doing, turned around and wrapped her arms around the woman's waist while she buried her face against the woman's torso. Hugging her.
"Mama… Mama… Mama…"
Clarice let out another sigh and put her hand on the girl's head. "It's alright. I'm there for you so… let's complete our mission for now." Her expression turned grim, and slightly fearful, as she looked ahead of her and added, "The two of us… will take Galatea's head."
/
Sometime ago…
In Sutare, Miata and Clarice were standing amongst the council hall within facing the Elder and the other Handlers once more. Elder Rimuto was intrigued when he saw Miata and Clarice holding hands.
"Oh? You have won her over quite well. What did you do?" Rimuto asked, intrigued despite his neutral if not standoffish expression.
Clarice mildy blushed at the question, "Ah… Eh… No...Nothing in particular." She lied, and Miata turned and pressed herself against the woman humming softly to herself.
"Well, whatever. In that case, I will give you two a new mission." Rimuto said. Then he leaned forward on his chair and laced his fingers together in front of his chin. "I order you to execute Galatea. The former Number 3 who deserted from the Organization 7 years ago."
Clarice's mouth opened slightly in shock. She was staring at Elder Rimuto, hoping that he was joking… alas, he wasn't she quickly realized. He was very serious.
"EH?! The… the former Number 3?! There's no way I can do that…" She exclaimed. Poor Clarice was doing her best to keep herself calm and aloof but failed miserably at it. This was far beyond her capabilities!
"I didn't ask if you could do it. You just half to accomplish the mission I gave to you and Miata together." Rimuto said dispassionately. He continued, saying, "Miata always had the power to aim for Number 1. But up to now, she was rather useless due to her mental instability. Now that Miata's mind seems to have calmed down I expect her to handle jobs more suitable for her power."
/
Sometime later, Clarice, Miata and Handler Rado were walking outside and walking past several stone huts and buildings. Unlike the ones Clarice walked by to meet Miata, these ones were in a state of disrepair.
Both Numbers 47 and Number 4 were quiet as they listened to Handler Rado give them their mission debriefing. "Using several pieces of information and some clues, we have narrowed down her location. All that's left to do is to wander around in the area and look for her. But the target excels at youma energy perception in a wide range. Therefore, this time you will operate while using energy suppressants."
That had taken Clarice by surprise. "Eh? But then, we'll be unable to read youma energy too! How…"
"Don't worry." He told the brunette without looking at her. Rado knew full well what she was going to ask. "That is where Miata's unique ability will be of use."
The brunette frowned curiously and looked down at Miata for a moment, before looking back at Rado's back. "Unique ability?"
Here Handler Rado stopped and turned to face the two claymores directly. "Actually rather than being unique, it's a power fundamental to humans. No, to all creatures really. Hearing. Vision. Smell. Taste. Touch. Miata excels in these five senses. And can thus fight without relying on the 'filter' of thought, instead, she will be acting merely on instincts. And the sense that results from these highly sharpened five senses… a sixth sense to speak… is the special power that Miata has obtained."
"A sixth sense…" She trailed off and looked down at Miata from halfway over the shoulder. The girl was still humming to herself.
The brunette looked back to Handler Rado when he started talking again. "To illustrate it with words, one could simply call it 'quick perception'. But it is the fact that the number of actual results up until now makes these vague words sound inappropriate. In other words, your task is to give Miata energy suppressants in regular intervals. And constantly remind her to be conscious of Galatea's presence."
Clarice gulped nervously, but she nodded nonetheless.
His last words to them before they headed out on their mission was, "Spending the rest of their days miserably in solitude is the fate that awaits deserters. Understand that execution is actually salvation for them."
/
Within the mountains of Toulouse, Clarice and Miata were resting. Both of them had their plate armours removed. Currently, Clarice was in the middle of breastfeeding Miata after an undetermined amount of travel. It felt a little weird for Clarice, despite doing it rather often.
Unfortunately for Clarice…
"Ouch!" The brunette jolted with a wince when she felt a sharp pain on her nipple. Miata kept biting her accidentally, "Please Miata! Keep your teeth back!" Not wanting to upset her Mama, Miata did as asked and sucked against Clarice's nub without using her teeth. The brunette let out a sigh. This wasn't getting any easier…
/
Sometime later, Clarice was holding her hand out to Miata. A yoki suppressant was on her palm. The young girl was looking at it with a frown.
"Here. This is tonight's dose. Take it now." Clarice told the girl in a kindly manner.
Miata stubbornly shook her head. She was refusing to take it. She didn't like them. Not at all. She didn't want to eat them. They weren't filling. They are not tasty.
"Hey! Didn't you promise earlier? That you would properly take it later?" The brunette questioned the girl. She had a stern look on her face as she lightly, but firmly glared at the girl with disapproval.
"It's bitter… Smelly… Not yummy… Makes my head spin." Whined Miata.
But Clarice was undeterred. "But you promised! If you break your promises, I won't let you do that thing you did earlier anymore!" She exclaimed. Miata had to learn to not disobey...even if she could rip her limb from limb with little to no effort. But the young girl was just that: a young girl. And she was imprinted as her Mama… and she didn't want to disappoint Mama.
Hearing those words Clarice was surprised when Miata quickly took the pill and shoved it into her mouth. The brunette watched in silence when the girl bared her teeth, looking as if she were struggling to keep something in. Then there was an audible gulp when Miata swallowed the pill.
"Bitter. Smelly… Not yummy…" Miata softly complained, shuddering with her teeth bared. She looked as if she was trying to hold herself back from crying.
"She didn't have to chew it then." Clarice thought. Then she looked down at Miata when the young girl wrapped her arms around her.
Miata buried her face into the brunette's stomach and Clarice could feel her bodysuit getting damp as Miata started to cry. "Sorry… I'm sorry. Mama…" The little girl looked up, tears were freely running down her cheeks. "I'll keep my promises… so please don't hate me… mama…" she pleaded, trying her best to not sob. The poor girl was so scared that she made Clarice hate her with her earlier refusal and stubbornness.
Clarice let out a sigh. "Don't worry. I would never hate you Miata," she reassured the girl.
Miata gave Clarice a hopeful look. "Really? Really truly?" She asked, tears still flowing from her eyes.
"Really truely. Trust me, Miata." Clarice answered with what she hoped was a motherly smile. The girl beamed happily at that before a single eye grew wide and pushed a surprised Clarice away from her.
"Wh-what?! Miata?!"
The reason Miata had for pushing her away became all too clear. As Miata hopped back herself, four extended fingers impaled the ground the brunette was standing on. Prompting the brunette to snap her head upwards.
"Huh?" She breathed.
But Miata had already armed herself with her claymore. She leapt up and bisected a winged youma at the waist. Its corpse hit the ground as the earth itself was dirted by its purple blood, spurting out from both ends.
"Youma?!"
More emerged from the woodwork and soon Clarice and Miata both found themselves corned on all sides. And only Miata was armed! Fortunately for Clarice, she had her claymore and armour next to her feet. Unfortunately, the neither Clarice or Miata would have enough time to get into them.
"A group of youma?! Why are they all the way out here?"
Thankfully, these ones seemed to be the common ones. They were without wings or any other assortment of appendages that would have given them a slight edge. The youmas all gave out a roar before they charged at the claymores. Baring her teeth with narrowed eyes Clarice quickly got down and grabbed her sword, before she sliced one youma in half diagonally and the other on the shoulder. Purple blood sprayed from their wound and they fell to the ground.
Confident that they were down for good Clarice turned to see how Miata was doing. The young girl in question leapt into the middle of four, and with a blur of motion, she sliced all four of them into many bloody chunks.
"Amazing Miata!" Clarice praised with a smile. So focused was she on the little one, the brunette never noticed that one of the youmas she had cut down had gotten back up. She heard footsteps rapidly approaching and turned just in time to see both youmas coming at her! Baring her teeth with wide, panicked eyes Clarice deflected one of their slashes, only for the brunette to get knocked down on her back with a cry.
Her opponents both growled before one of them extended his digits and tried to impale her. Clarice leapt up and out of the way; as a result, the stretched fingers had hit the ground instead.
Clarice was doing admirably well to keep herself from panicking. "Even though I cut him… was it too shallow?!" She yelled. Clarice was angry at her own weakness. Was she so weak that common youma were stronger than her?!
Suddenly she was alarmed when both of them were midair. And both were above her. With a growl Clarice tried to bisect one, only to be startled when that one to grabbed her forearms and sent her back towards the ground. The Number 47 landed in a crouch and looked up as the youma descended upon her. When they landed, one on her front and the other behind, Clarice took the opportunity to attack first.
And dashed towards the one in front, "Take th-" she roared, only to cut her own words off when her sword met resistance. "Eh? Eh? Wha…" Then she looked and found the cause: it got caught halfway through a tree. "Oh, you have got to be kidding-"
"GRAAK!" The youma behind her dashed forth to gut her from behind, prompting Clarice to let out a terrified scream. Her breath got caught in her throat when a sword was thrown past her. The sharp end missing her face by mere centimetres. "GA…" The youma's roar was cut off when it found itself getting stabbed through the damn head, courtesy of the thrown claymore.
She gasped and looked towards the only person who could have done that with such accuracy.
"MIATA!" Cried out a horrified Clarice. The girl in question had one arm outstretched, and she was no longer armed. "MIATA! YOUR SWORD!"
Miata had just enough time to let out one word, "Mama…" before she was dogpiled by no less than six youmas at once.
"MIATA!" Clarice, understandably, was horrified by this. The poor woman thought she had gotten the Number 4 killed because of her lack of strength. Because she had made the little girl eat the yoki suppressants!
Just when she was about to fall into despair, all six youmas surrounding the little girl were quite literally torn apart limb from limb. It was so sudden, so unexpected, that Clarice outright froze as an unharmed but gore covered Miata emerged from the carnage.
"Mama mama,"
Seeing that the remaining two youmas did what anyone in that situation would have done. They turned and ran away as if the flames of hell were on their asses. Unfortunately for them, Miata had already taken notice and was already on the move. They didn't get far. The Number 4 leapt onto the back of one youma, and drove her fist through the back of its neck and out through the mouth in a brutal fashion. It was dead before it hit the ground. Then the little girl turned to the remaining youma and quite literally smacked its head off its shoulders. The headless corpse fell to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.
Clarice, who was no longer trying to dislodge her sword from the tree, just stared at the blood covered Miata with her jaw trembling. Now she realized… this was not just an ordinary little girl… this was a dangerous, and mentally unstable little girl who's absurdly strong… even when she's on suppressants.
Miata reached out to her and started to walk over, softly saying, "Mama mama mama…" then noticed she had her fingers lodged in the head of the youma she literally slapped to death. She stopped walking and childishly swiped her arm back and forth to get the head off her fingers, and once it was dislodged she started walking again, crushing the head beneath her foot. She didn't even notice.
Clarice stared down at the girl. Scared and speechless as she wrapped her blood-drenched arms around her waist again.
"Mama mama mama…" Clarice started shaking as she reached up, hesitated, before putting her arm around the back of her head. The other arm soon followed. "Mama mama mama…"
She didn't know if she could handle this kind of responsibility...
/
As the brunette and blonde claymores made their way to Galatea's location, Clarice was mentally recounting their journey.
"Since then… we have been fighting youmas and Awakened Beings countless times." an image of Miata and Clarice facing off a multiheaded worm-like Awakened One with jagged teeth came to the brunette's mind. That image was gone as soon as it appeared though as Clarice looked at the young girl holding her hand. "Somehow, even while unable to read youma energy, Miata keeps heading towards our destination, seemingly feeling the difference in the air around there with her eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin."
Other images flashed in Clarice's head; severed limbs, gore, corpses of youma and Awakened Ones, blood dirtying the floor. "In the battles, I was injured in, I've encountered many situations in which it seemed like I would lose my life. But still… I'm still alive somehow by taking my time and healing my body."
Clarice looked ahead of her and the image in her mind changed once more to herself… and Miata. They were leaned against a tree and the younger girl was breastfeeding again. It was something she was long used to by now. But…
"The impression of the small child I hugged when I first met Miata is long gone. Instead, there is something that can easily rip apart the monsters I am no match for, a presence beyond those monsters… To be… completely honest… it's Miata that scares me the most…"
The two claymores continued on their way to their destination, with Miata leading the way with her five senses.
/
At the end of their journey, Clarice stared at the settlement before her with befuddlement. There weren't many places in This World that had walls to protect them; the only ones Clarice knew by hand were Egon, Doga, Rabona, Morris, and Lacrona. The place she and Miata were in front of was the Holy City of Rabona, who has zero tolerance towards anything unnatural. And Claymores such as herself and Miata fall under that category.
The reason why Clarice was confused is that Miata's senses had led them both here. Which meant…
"Here?" Clarice asked aloud, then she turned to look down at the little girl holding on to her hand. "Are you sure about this, Miata? Even if you say so, that she would be in a city, it's more likely that she would choose mountains or forests to avoid human contact." as she talked Clarice raised her gaze to the mountains on their right. It made more sense for Galatea to remain isolated as that would mean there is a lesser chance for her getting discovered.
Miata shook her head. "She's here," she said softly, prompting Clarice to look back down at her with a surprised blink. The brunette could hear the conviction in the girl's voice. She was certain that Galatea was inside. "It's here. The smell… of a very strong Claymore."
Clarice merely stared down at Miata in silence. Then the brunette closed her eyes and let out a defeated sigh before turning her gaze back to the city in front of them. Well, Handler Rando did essentially say Miata's 'sixth sense' is sharpened to the point she can track her targets through her five senses alone. So if she said Galatea was inside Rabona's walls then she behind the city walls.
Now they were in a predicament: Rabona has zero tolerance towards anything unnatural and will attempt to kill claymores the moment they're spotted. So how are they going to get inside?
"Mama?"
Clarice gave Miata a reassuring smile and squeezed her hand, "I'm just trying to find a way to get us both inside is all." the brunette looked back to the city and frowned lightly. "I'll have to find us some cloaks to cover ourselves with. We can't have anyone knowing what we are or else bad things will happen." in the meantime, she can take that yoki suppressant pill; at least with her hair being brown she'll be able to move right on in with little to no suspicion if she's asked to show her face.
Miata didn't understand what her mama was talking about but she nodded nonetheless. If mama wanted to put a cloak on her to get inside then she'll put one on. With that the little girl allowed mama to pull her along as they sought out some hooded cloaks to wear.
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