Chapter 13

The 13th chapter of Claymore by Norihiro Yagi, first published in the May 2001 issue of Shonen Jump.

Short Synopsis
Teresa tries to sleep in a hotel room, but she finds the bed uncomfortable and prefers to sleep against her sword. The people try to reward her for her trouble, but she refuses to accept it, saying that the request came from another village. She is then distracted by the girl the Yoma was using as the child grasps her cloak. The village chief theorises that the Yoma forced her to travel with him to throw any Claymores off his scent, abusing her so much that she lost the ability to speak. Still, the girl tries to cling to Teresa, despite being rejected verbally and physically. That night, the girl follows Teresa into the woods, where a gang of bandits attack. Despite Teresa severing one bandit's hand, their leader is still not scared, knowing the iron-clad law that Claymores cannot kill humans. Teresa soon puts an end to their lewd desires by showing them the deformation on her torso that is typical of Claymores.

Leaving Theo
Teresa is next seen sleeping on a bed in a fine hotel. However, she finds the bed uncomfortable and vacates it, putting on her uniform. She then stabs her sword into the floor and leans against it, thinking about how "pathetic" it is that she has no use for fancy food or a soft bed. Later on, a man knocks on the door to Teresa's room with a call for her dinner. To his shock, she breaks down the door with her sword and declares that she does not want any dinner, for she is leaving.

Outside, the villagers begin to gather, surprised that the "Silver-Eyed Witch" isn't going to stay the night. The village headman meets Teresa as she is exiting the hotel, and he tries to give her the payment for the Yoma she killed. However, she rejects the money, for the request for the Yoma hunt came from a different village. If this village had ordered the hunt, the sum they want to give her would have been ten times itself and then another seven times more for each of the Yoma. The headman is surprised, but he does not attempt to argue.

Suddenly, the young girl from earlier grabs onto the edge of Teresa's cloak. Both the villagers and Teresa are momentarily surprised, but the warrior quickly snatches the cloak away, causing the girl to fall to the ground. Teresa asks the crowd who the girl is and what her motives might be, but the headman claims that the girl is not from the village, nor is she related to the Yoma. He further explains that though the child can't speak, so they don't know anything for sure, the general consensus is that she knew what the Yoma was and was forced to travel with him as a cover. When Teresa inquires how they would know all that if the child is mute, the headman says that the girl's body is covered in several scars, meaning that she has been beaten many times.

After hearing this information, Teresa summizes that the girl suffered as the Yoma's toy and that she thinks the warrior is her savior. Teresa quickly rebuffs this belief, saying that she did not come to save the girl - killing Yoma is simply her job. Nevertheless, the girl rises and embraces the warrior, but, this time, Teresa kicks her away. As she hits the ground, the villagers are shocked, but no one tries to intervene. Teresa then tells the girl one more time to go away, that she is not her savior; however, the girl once again rises to her feet. Frustrated, Teresa asks the headman if the girl is "touched in the head," but he says no. The child simply took so much abuse from the Yoma that she closed herself off, both verbally and emotionally, and wouldn't respond to anyone - except Teresa.

The girl takes a step toward Teresa, but the warrior coldly says that if she tries to get any closer, she'll be kicked for real. There is no response, and one of the villagers implores that someone step in and help, but one of his neighbors shuts him down. He argues that there's no point in getting involved because there's no one availiable to take care of her, especially because she lived so long with the Yoma. If the Claymore were to kick the child to death, there's no reason for anyone to speak up. Thus, when the girl takes another step, Teresa gives her a savage kick to the chin that tosses her away, and no one tries to help. This time, she does not rise.

Teresa gives a final scoff to the girl before readdressing the headman. She tells him that while she doesn't think the seventh Yoma was part of the original request, she would not charge for it anyway because she killed him of her own volition. Again, the headman does not try to argue with her. With a last smile, Teresa says that Theo is a very lucky village, and she takes her leave.

Bandits in the Forest
Late that same night, the girl is seen wandering in the mountain forest outside of the village. While walking through the trees, she stumbles upon Teresa, who is camped by a fire. Before she can do anything, though, Teresa suddenly vanishes, appearing behind her, and places her sword by the child's head. The warrior almost praises the child for being able to keep up after such a distance, but she does not like having someone tagging along after her. She reiterates that it was her job to kill the Yoma, that she did not kill the thing to save anyone, and also that she does not need a pet. Then, Teresa threateningly offers to simply end it all for the girl, right there.

Suddenly, Teresa is alerted to movement in the trees. Pushing the girl behind her, she jumps out of the way as a humanoid form lands in her former spot. The warrior is surprised that it could be Yoma, because she did not sense anything, but then another figure appears behind both Teresa and the girl. Teresa turns to attack, but she stops at the last minute when she glimpses her assailant's face and realizes he is human. The girl then screams as someone grabs her shoulder, and Teresa whirls around and severs the man's hand. He falls to the ground, grievously injured, and the confrontation stops.

Teresa and the girl are now surrounded by strange men, and the group soon recognizes Teresa as a Claymore. In turn, she recognizes the men as bandits and tells them that neither she nor the girl have anything worth stealing. She also advises them to look after their friend, since he is bleeding badly.

However, the leader of the bandits steps forward, making light of his comrade dying. Additionally, he says he'd never thought he'd meet a Claymore in the forest and then, crudely, compliments Teresa on her physique. Another man steps up beside him, cautioning him that Claymores are also known as "Silver-Eyed Slayers" and that approaching her would be far too dangerous. But the leader replies that he doesn't care, for he's heard that Teresa and her kind have a law against killing people. He then fully reveals the iron-clad rule of the Claymores, that they cannot kill humans for any reason, even if the act is completely accidental. If a Claymore should break this rule, then the other Claymores will come to take her head. The leader then comments that the rule is simply the only way to get normal humans to trust Claymores, for the warriors are unanimously feared for being half-breeds.

After hearing this information, the other bandits quickly begin to lose their fear of Teresa, believing that she is now afraid of being punished for (perhaps mortally) injuring a human. They then begin assessing her body, lusting over how beautiful the Claymore before them looks. The girl begins shaking in fear of them, but Teresa only chuckles. Addressing the bandit leader, she tells him that if they simply wanted her body, then all they had to do was ask from the start, and she wouldn't have resisted. She then tears open her uniform's shirt, revealing her Stigma to the bandits and saying that if they don't mind her body's condition, then they can do as they please. The bandits are utterly taken aback by the Stigma, and many are outright disgusted. Teresa continues to taunt them by saying, "Behold the body of what your kind calls a Claymore. If this is what you want, then help yourself!" Of course, all the bandits turn away, repulsed by the horror on Teresa's body. Behind the warrior, the girl stands in silence, confused about what is going on.

Seconds later, the bandits all take their leave, and a couple of them stop to pick up their wounded comrade. Clutching his severed arm, the wounded man vows that he will not forget Teresa and what she did to him, but he goes on with the rest. Teresa and the girl are now left alone, and the former re-sheaths her sword. The warrior then tells the child that she should go, too, for she is not wanted. Teresa goes on to claim that she is a monster and cannot be the child's babysitter, so the girl should just go and get lost.

Characters In Order of Appearance

 * Teresa
 * Clare
 * Rig

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Capitolo 13