Into the Darkness (OCXOBI)

Part 4

Last night was pretty enlightening for me to say the least. I had this new found sense of security and freedom being around these people that I ran into by chance.

Strange, isn't it? Still, I'm no where near ready to tell them the truth about what I can do yet but maybe after a while I would find a way to be more open with people.

It made me a little sad though, thinking about that fact that after today I probably wouldn't see Shirayuki and Obi for a while because they had to go back to Clarines later this evening.

"Maybe they will come to visit me when they come back to Tanbarun, that would be nice. I think I will start coming to visit Mukaze and the others more too." I wondered to myself as I left from the room I had slept in and headed to Mukaze's house.

As I walked through the village, a few people that I had met last night waved to me saying hello. All of a sudden someone dropped from the trees landing in front of me.

I let out a small shriek in surprise. "Obi! What in the world are you doing?! You almost gave me a heart attack!"

"Hey there, Miss Ruby I didn't mean to scare you. Are you excited for your first adventure into town?" Obi said falling into step with me as I walked.

"I am actually. I still feel a bit nervous though, I'm just happy that you're coming with me." I smiled sweetly to him rubbing the back of my head.

Now that I was seeing him in the light of day, I noticed his features more clearly. He was very attractive. When he noticed I was staring at him I felt my face heat up with embarrassement.

When I looked away I saw him give a small smirk from the corner of my eye.

"Hey Obi... Why do you call me Ruby anyway?"

He took a moment to answer. "It was just the first thing that came to my mind when I saw your eyes... When I was still young, someone I used to work with from time to time showed me a bright red gem. He said it was called a Ruby." He putting one hand in his pocket and the other behind his head. "I don't really mean to call you that, it just kind of comes out when I see you."

I looked over to him and there was a light dust of pink that covered his cheeks. "Oh... I see. So does that mean you think my eyes are pretty?" I asked him jokingly looking upwards to the sky that was just beginning to brighten with the morning sun.

"Yeah... They are." He looked at me out the corner of his eye, trying to avoid eye contact. "But anyway, I didn't think you would be awake this early."

"Why is there a heavy feeling in my chest all of a sudden? Did he really think that my eyes are pretty?" I thought to myself brushing off the thought.

"Ya know, I usually am always awake before the sun rises. I love watching at world wake up and come to life. It's a pretty amazing thing to see." I spead my arms wide and closed my eyes, stopping to feel the wind hit my face.

*Obi's POV*

I couldn't help but stare at her for a moment when she said that, I watched the wind whip through her long white hair and wrap around her small frame.

I've never met anyone who looked so fragile before but, there was a look in her eyes that showed raw strength, she was able to laugh and smile, no matter the circumstance.

It was beautiful. There was something about her makes me want to be near her and see her smile. I didn't feel like that often.

"You're pretty amazing yourself." I noticed her open her eyes to look over at me with an confused expression. I didn't really know why I had said that, all I could do was turn away from her to hide my reddened face.

I cleared my throat and began walking again. "So, The Miss should be at Mister Mukaze's place saying her goodbyes to everyone. We should really get going."

Some of the walk was somewhat akward until, I noticed she was smiling which in turn made me relax a bit. I put my hand on the back of my head and listened to the leaves on the trees dance as the wind blew through them.

Each time I glanced over at her from the corner of eye, the sun hit her face perfectly. It was almost breath taking.

When we finally arrived to our destination, I saw Kazuki and Itoya standing beside Mukaze who was talking to Shirayuki.

When they noticed our presense they all gave a smile and a wave, greeting us then Kazuki ran over to the red-eyed girl by my side slamming her into a hug.

"Arisa! Please make sure you come back to visit us anytime you want! I would really like to hear you play more songs on that flute." He smiled pulling back from the embrace.

Poor girl looked almost uncomfortable for a moment at his request and the breif moment of affection he gave her.

"I promise I will." Arisa said, starting to tear up a bit. "Thank you all so much for having me here. It was one of the best days I have ever had!" She then bowed her head to everyone in the group.

I wanted to know more about her and why she reacted the way she did. Was she really that lonely for years that a simple hug brought her to tears? She reminds me a little of myself before I met The Master.

I turned to face the rest of the group with a smile and told them that it would be best to head out soon. Everyone agreed and the three of us gathered arouned the horses.

Soon after Mister Mukaze walked over to us with a a beautiful black horse with a silky looking white maine in tow.

"After the talk we had last night, I wanted to give this to you as a gift kid. Her name is Aiya. This way it will be easier for you to travel anywhere you would like to go... And you could come visit here more often too... if you wanted to that is." Mukaze looked to the ground slightly embarrassed then handed to reigns to Arisa.

She hugged him tightly, and whispered a small thank you before letting him go he then patted her head before turning to leave.

Then we mounted our horses, me and Shirayuki on my horse and Arisa on her own, and started on our way.

"So, Miss Ruby... I was wondering why you have never left the mountains before." I asked.

"Yeah, I've been wondering too. Do you mind telling us?" Shiayuki said as she looked over at Arisa.

"Well... My mother only ever came down here once a month but said it was too dangerous for me to come, and then after she died I never came because I was scared." Arisa spoke nervously.

Why would her mother say it was dangerous to come into town but leave her alone in the forest? That was a little strange to me, there had to be more to this than she is telling us.

I won't push her to say anything else until she is ready, because there is a lot I haven't told The master and the others yet either.

Even after talking about her past, which seemed like a touchy subject, I would look over at Arisa who had a wide grin on her face.

As we made closer to town, I could see her happy expression fall slightly for a moment before returning.

"This is the capitol city of Tanbarun!" Shirayuki said spreading her arms wide.