Disclaimer: Don't own Claymore. I wish I could draw like Norihiro Yagi, though…
Continuity: This takes place in Manga Volume 6, after Claire encountered the Male Awakened Being but before she fought Ophelia. There is a coda scene for volume 1, Claire's flashback to her outcast days.
Dessert by Nathan Yuen
There was no escape, and Claire was sure the yoma knew it. Yet the monster still ran. They always ran or fought, but it made no difference. They all died in the end, especially with Claire honing her senses to their keenest.
This particular yoma scrabbled for an escape among the mazelike alleys of the grand city of Kassin, with Claire hot in persuit. Being half-yoma herself, she easily kept pace with the green muscular beast until he had him right where she wanted him – flushed out into the street.
Sword in hand, she skidded around a corner to find the monster blinded in the noontime light. Wasting no time she severed his body, left shoulder to right hip.
The crowd gasped and cheered as the yoma exploded with wet crimson drops. In the aftermath, the armored amazon stood alone, golden neck-length locks blowing gently in the breeze. Around her, awed whispers began to form. "So that's a Claymore." "Never seen someone move so fast…"
In a downward chop she swung the sword that was her namesake, cleaning the weapon by splattering the ichor on the ground. Sheathing the weapon on her back she proclaimed, "the job is finished. A man in black will appear later to pick up the money." With that, she began walking away.
"Claire!"
She turned at the sound of the voice to see a sandy-haired young man emerge from the crowd. Clad in traveler's clothes and carrying a large travel sac on his back, he approached Claire, winded but eager. He only came up to her chest, but spoke to her on equal terms. "Wow, that was fast. You made quick work of that yoma!"
Claire nodded in agreement. Ever since she met Mira, Deneve and Helen, she'd been trying to hone her sensitivity to yoma energy. It was the only advantage that she could get over Awakened Beings. "Our work is done."
Raki looked downcast. "Oh… I see."
Claire looked down at him, silver eyes softening slightly in the sunlight. "We'll take the day to rest," she said. reaching into her waist pouch, she gave him twenty of the golden sticks - beras, the currency for the continent. "You can walk around and shop if you wish."
Raki eyes widened with astonishment, then brightened. "Really?"
"Really. I will be at the southern gate, waiting for you."
If he wasn't burdened with the sac, Claire was sure he would have leapt in the air with joy. "All right!" He whooped, then ran off.
Claire smiled ever so slightly at the boy's retreating back. Like with her yoma detection skill, she was improving in reading the boy's mood. Raki had been eyeing all the different shops as soon as they stepped inside the large city of commerce, and Claire knew exactly what he wanted. After all, they had been traveling in the wilderness for months now, eating nothing but dried meat that they had hunted and wearing their traveler's clothes almost threadbare. While this wasn't a problem for the young swordswoman – her armor was replaced regularly – for Raki he had nothing but the clothes on his back.
It will be good for him to go find something for himself, she thought.
Wiping the smile from her face, she continued on toward the rendezvous.
Raki didn't know which way to turn as he meandered down the shopping strip. He knew very little about the geography of Kassin, and why it was so rich with trade. All he knew was that never before had he seen such bounty.
Spit-shined armor hung in the windows, alongside newly tanned leather gear. In the next shop over, wanderer's cloaks of all types were displayed prominently, to catch the eyes of passers-by with their incandescent coloring. Blades glittered in the window of a weapons dealer. Juicy roasted pork shanks were hooked in the window of a restaurant.
All this Raki walked by in awe, but he did not touch. Instead, a question grew in his mind like a weed, and he became troubled.
That question was, What do I get Claire?
He and Claire had been traveling for some months now, and never in all that time did he think that he properly repaid her for taking him in. It was a guilt that weighed heavily on his mind – how many times had she saved him from monster attacks, and he had done nothing in return? Especially those first few weeks, when he foolishly held her back from killing, even though in retrospect it was absolutely necessary.
It feels so inadequate, so one-sided, he thought as he brushed on through the crowd. I want to be by her side, to help her out… or at least cheer her up.
To that end, he bent all of his of his mental faculties to the problem. New armor? But Claymores get the best equipment. Leather? Same. Jewelry? Not enough money, and I don't think Claire would think it's necessary anyway. Food? Claymores don't eat much, and it'll spoil. Notebook? He asked himself as he spied a black leather bound pocket tome in the window, Ha! Don't make me laugh!
Then he went to the next window over, and he saw it. The perfect gift.
At least, that was his first impression. But his second and third impression agreed with it. It's expensive, but it's probably quite good too. It's small, so she could carry it with her. And she probably hasn't had one in years, if ever.
Gripping the money in his hand, he opened the door to the shop. All right, let's get it!
He's back sooner than expected, Claire thought as she opened her eyes looked up. She had been sitting against the wall, arms crossed and eyes closed as the warriors known as Claymores had been trained to do by the Organization that they served. She had surprisingly gotten few stares and leers as people walked by the gate; apparently, people were too busy to get where they were going to notice her. Still, she could pick out Raki's distinct footfall from the rest of the crowd as he approached. She rose, expecting him in some new clothes or at least having some trinket in his hand.
She frowned as Raki came through, looking the same as when he left her. "Did you find anything you wanted?" She asked. It's impossible to think that he would go out with some money and not come back with something new, not in a place like Kassin, she thought.
"Um…actually, I got something for you." The blushing Raki produced a paper box, held it out for her to take. She did, and carefully opened the top. She reached in and took out the item, trying not to let her surprise show when she realized what it was.
"It's a chocolate handcake," Raki said with pride, "I didn't hear much about Kassin, but I know that the bakery I stopped at is famous for them. I thought you might want to try it while we're here."
She looked at the dessert, turning it over in her palm. The foodstuff was brown, rectangular with a slight hump rising in the middle, still moist and warm from the oven. Claire could imagine the sweet honey inside, promising gustatory bliss.
But all of that was distant to what Claire was remembering. The handcake brought memories back to Claire, memories of happiness.
And Claire wanted to fight those memories.
With an ever so trembling hand, she replaced the cake in the box and restrained herself to pressing it back in Raki's palms. "I don't need it," she said tartly, "I expected you to use money more wisely than this. But there's no more time to go shopping for what you need; let's go." With that, she made her way out the gate, not waiting for him to walk beside her.
"Claire? Claire!" Raki called after her, struggling to catch up. "What's wrong?"
"There's nothing wrong," she said archly.
"Don't lie. I saw your face back there. Something's wrong; I know you better than that."
"I don't want to talk about it."
"Well, I do!" The only reason Raki was able to grab Claire by the shoulder and turn her around was because she was fully caught by surprise by his actions. "Claire, this is really important. All I'm asking is for you to try the cake. I just thought it'd be good for you to have a new experience. I mean, what's so bad about the cake that it's inedible? Is it bad-looking?"
On that dusty road, standing just a few feet away from the city, Claire stood there regarding the boy in front of her. He was wide-eyed, and several expressions fought for supremacy on his features – curiosity, concern, sadness. This boy… Claire thought in wonderment, all he wants for me is my well-being.
Claire stepped off the road to sit in the grass, and Raki followed suit. "I have never told you about my family before, have I?"
Raki shook his head, not wanting to interrupt.
Claire looked back, preparing herself for the flood of memories and emotions… it seemed somewhat bearable to have someone to talk to about it, though. "My father was a sword smith, and my mother was a baker when I was really young. They were well liked by the village, and I had a lot of friends when I was little. It was nice, waking up to the smell of freshly-baked goods in the morning.
"But my older brother… well, he surpassed my mother, especially in the making of handcakes. Whenever he made them, children and adults alike would flock to our doorstep to buy some. But always, no matter what, he would give me the first of a fresh batch, even if it meant waiting for me to finish my chores, even if it meant that the crowd had to wait for their handcakes. 'You're going to have to wait for Claire to get hers,' I remember him once saying as I ran up to the house, 'she's my little taste-tester.'
"When the yoma attacks started happening, people came less and less, but my brother always churned out hotcakes regularly, and he always gave me one. I remember how he would smile down at me and pat my head as I ate it, even though it burned my tongue a little. One day, I told him, 'You must be the best handcake maker in the whole wide world!' And he smiled down at me and said, 'Not yet, Claire, but I'm glad that you think so. I want you to remember this moment; because one of these days, I'm not going to make handcakes anymore.'
"I didn't realize what he meant by that last part, but I remember that I felt sad at his remarks. And now, I know what those words truly meant – they were his last words to me as my brother.
"That night, he turned into a yoma. He slaughtered my parents in their sleep and was about to kill me when a warrior from the organization killed him. After that, the village cast me out because they were afraid that I was a yoma too. And after that…" Claire waved a weary hand, "I became a warrior of the organization."
A long silence passed between Raki and Claire as they each sat in contemplative thought, the wind blowing rustling the blades of grass around them.
Then Raki looked up, and his blue eyes were clearer than Claire had ever seen them. "Claire…I'm not your brother."
Claire looked at him in puzzlement, and Raki coughed.
"What I mean is, I'm not a yoma. I'm sure that if you sensed any yoma energy in me, you could kill me on the spot. But you know me; you've protected me all this time, and I just want to see you happy."
He rose and walked to her, and presented the box again. "I'm sure that if your brother were here, he'd tell you to eat the handcake – not to remember that one brief moment when he was a yoma, but to remember all the good times that came before… and all the good times that will come to you in the future."
Claire rose, and carefully pried the box from Raki. She opened it, and seeing Raki's expectant gaze, brought the still warm handcake to her lips. After a moment's hesitation, she bit into it.
Tastes flooded her senses; the soft moist chocolate cake mingled with the honey cream filling, flavored with a hint of cinnamon. Her tongue tingled at the sensation, and a sense of warm contentment ran from her mouth to spread throughout her entire body. A part of her mind screamed in fear, half-expecting the memory of the night that the yoma attacked to flood her vision…
But all she saw in front of her was Raki, half-fearful, half-pleased.
She finally spoke. "It is good," she said as she placed the partially eaten cake back in its container.
"You're not going to eat the rest of it?" An alarmed Raki asked.
"Not right now," Claire replied, walking back to the road with him, "But I plan to savor it over the next few weeks." And I hope to keep the memory of this moment with me for a long, long time…
They both looked ahead, gazing off into the horizon. Though it would be a long and thorny road, they would walk it together…
And in the end, that was all that mattered.
THE END.
Author's Postscript: Just my luck. The Claymore section just had to open during my finals week, and instead of studying, I'm writing Claymore fics. Go figure.
Actually, this was already partially written; I had the idea on the bus, and wrote it down in one of my notebooks. The whole thing about Claire's past was completely unplanned, though – I thought it would just be Claire's first experience with desserts, but it turned into a moment where Claire and Raki get to know each other better.
As for handcakes… I completely made them up. There's no such thing in Claymore Manga, and I suspect there won't be such a thing in the Anime. If you must envision them, think of your typical Sara Lee brownie – square, a little hump in the middle. Whatever you do, don't think of twinkies (ugh)
Not preread; written in two hours. Feel free to leave any constructive criticism about OOCness or pacing in a review.