Within The Light

Abrupt Visitor

"Ruri," he spoke clearly, his voice was deeper since the last time we met. "You've grown."

"Nozomi," I breathed, glaring back at him. A glare filled with rage. "What are the likes of you doing here?"

"So, you found your bark?" he noted. "Last time I saw you, you were shaking in your boots."

"What do you want?" I ignored his taunting. I quickly realized my current position in the water left me vulnerable and I had to find an opportunity to remove myself from it.

"I just want to talk," he shrugged. "Think you can spare me a couple of minutes."

"Leave," I snapped.

"Don't be like that, Ruri," he sighed. I hated my name when it came from his mouth. I hated how his eyes resembled mine. I hated my history with him, how he abandoned me, and took my hope with him. He left me for someone else to pick up the pieces.

'So, he's alive?' Ren voiced. My eyes widened slightly at his sudden inquiry.

"Hm," Nozomi mused, noticing my facial expression. "So, you've been united." How could he possibly know? He didn't, right?

"I said leave!" I yelled, jumping out of the water and jumping over him. I landed on my feet and he didn't hesitate to throw a punch.

I ducked under, but he simply kicked his foot into my face. I was knocked back several feet, skidding to a stop. Adrenaline had me right back on my two feet, glaring at him. He wasn't at all fazed by my rabbid look, more so annoyed by my insubordination.

"I guess if you won't cooperate, I'll have to just make sure you get the message," he said quite tiredly. It was as if he was dealing with a petulant child, stuggling to make them listen.

It wasn't long until I had engaged into one on one combat, a battle I knew I had little to no chance of winning. He was older, stronger, faster, more experienced. Every odd was against me, but I was angry and stubborn. I wanted nothing more than to rid myself of him. He was a piece of gum that had stuck itself onto the sole of my shoe for too long.

I had received more punches than I had given, which were none. Still, I dodged and blocked profusely, trying my best to keep up with his movemnets.

"Don't you want to know about Ren?" he asked and I moronically paused for a split second, allowing him the chance to slam me right into a tree. He stepped back, watching as the wind was knocked right out of me.

"What the hell... do you know?" I spat in between ragged breaths.

"More than you at the moment, huh?" he retorted, tilting his head to the side. He leaned down ever so slightly, patting the top of my head patronizingly. I snatched his hand off with a growl. "Poor, ignorant, Ruri. I'm afraid there is much you don't know."

"I don't care-,"

"You think you're going mad," he cut me off. "That you're not over Ren's death. That's why you're hearing his voice."

"How do you know?" I questioned, distress mixing with anger in my voice.

"Should have listen the last time we spoke," he rolled his eyes. He pulled out a scroll from his pocket, the same one that he left in my room. The one Gaara had kept in his room after I told him I wanted it out of my sight.

"How did you-."

"You should tell that Kazekage he needs to work on his security," he mocked. "That or fire some people... Anyways, why don't you open it and find out some more about this clan."

I was wary, but I was also starving for answers. My eyes lingered over the scroll, wondering what I should do in that moment. The smart thing or the impatient thing? I knew it was stupid, but I knew nothing and he knew everything.

"Go on, I don't bite," he said ironically. "If you want some explanations, first you have to learn to become a real Fuyu."

"Real Fuyu?" I repeated.

"Believe it or not, I'm trying to help you," he said, but it was hard to believe any of the words coming from his mouth. "There's more of us out there and none of them are to happy with you or Ren."

"Why do you wanna help us?"

"Once again, you've forgotten my words from all years ago? It appears you have the habit of altering your own memories," he shook his head in mock disappointment. Altering my own memories?

"What memories?" I asked and he chose to ignore my question.

"Go on and take it. If you choose to open it, I'll tell you everything, but you must commit to the deal within it."

"What's the deal?" I asked.

"Open it and find out," he said. "Or remain ignorant, your choice."

'Take it, Ruri,' Ren began to push. 'Open it and see what it is.'

"Remember, ignorance often leads to death," Nozomi advised me. "There's more to Ren's sudden presence than just you going crazy. There's more to me being here than just wanting to pay you a visit."

'You wanna know what happened to me?' Ren persuaded. 'What happened to us? Open it.'

How did I know I could trust Nozomi, or Ren for that matter? Was this information really as valuable as the two of them made it out to be? I wanted it to be and I wanted to know. The offer had become too enticing to decline and I soon found myself reaching out to grab the scroll. That was until sand began to whirl around, cutting me off from the answers I so desperately wanted.

"Nice of you to interrupt, Gaara of the Sand."

Alright, so here is a delayed update. Guess who's working full time for the summer? Oh, me. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and am hoping to write more soon!