Ruri's POV
When I departed from Kiba and Yoshi I began to wander around the village. The two suggested we eat at the ramen shop I failed to find the first time, but I declined. I wanted to go visit Gaara before he could decide to hunt me down. Actually, I was surprised Kankuro hadn't shown up to drag me to the Nara household himself.
'You think they know something's up?' Ren asked, but there was no concern laced in his words.
'What do you think?' I snapped in my head. Once again I was arguing with my own conscience. But what else was there to do? Ignoring it has proven to be pointless. 'It was clear 'something's up' the moment I almost blacked out during the prelims.'
'Heh, sorry about that,' he apologized unapologetically. 'So what'll the excuse be? Honestly, if you cared for these people you wouldn't have involved yourself in the first place."
'You think I didn't try?' I snapped. 'I tried, but they wouldn't give up on me. They're family-."
'They're not family," he corrected. "Not even those who share our blood were family. It was just you and I. It still is.' It was hard to believe this was Ren, who used to be a loving boy. He loved our parents, was more close to them than I had been. There were times I believed they loved him more than me. They often sheltered him more, coddled him more. I knew it was because Ren was more vulnerable, but sometimes they protected him at my own expense. I knew it was silly to think about it now, especially since I was sure I had only good memories of them.
I stopped walking on the path I was on, deciding to take a detour through the woods. This is where multiple training grounds were located, spaced out between each lot. This way was longer than the one laid out for me, but I decided I rather spend more time alone.
'You're gone,' I shook my head.
'Taking a detour?' he ignored my words. 'Why?'
'I need to clear my head,' I answered.
'Clear it of what? Of me?' he pestered on. 'We've gone through this already.'
A stream came into view and I decided to crouch down next to it, taking in the peace nature had to offer. It seemed that all my problems lied within my head and everything else in my environment was balanced. Sure, the life of a ninja was chaotic, but I had a life that was so happy and peaceful. A bit of fighting was worth it. It had all to do with the people I allowed in my life, now I had to make sure I wouldn't be the one to ruin it.
My reflection became my next focus, trying to ignore Ren's pestering voice. Also stalling the inevitable explanation I had to feed my family, one that I haven't even come up with. My mind was searching for any idiotic excuse and none of them fit, especially with a father who knew me like the back of his hand.
'He's not-,' Ren began, but suddenly stopped. It took me aback, he never missed an opportunity to remind me I had no blood ties with my family. 'Something's not right.'
What wasn't right? Before staring into my own eyes, the reflection morphed into a person I had tried to wish away many times before. Grey eyes, snow white hair. He always kept coming back when I felt the most safe, when I believed myself to be secure. I turned around, my arm blocking a kick, but his weight was too strong for my body to hold and I was thrown right into the stream.
I was shaken and almost forgot I could swim. Quickly, I swam up, coughing as soon as I broke out of the surface. Water had made it's way to my nostrils, leaving an uncomfortable, burning sensation. I gasped for air, looking back to the land. He watched me with an amused smirk. One I wanted to wipe off his smug face
"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!