Greetings, earthings.
Prepare to have your mind blown. *heart*
I know, I know, I've been bad. And I also know I say that every time you hear from me. :_-D But yeah, sorry.
Unfortunately, this is probably going to be the only story updated tonight. Fortunately, it's going to get updated a few times! (YAYYAYYAY!)
Lucky for you guys the infinite hiatus of my roleplaying guild has given me plenty of time to pay attention to you guys. Sniffle...
But anyway, enjoy! :D
Promises Not Made are Promises Never Kept
Flashback Nine – Alone
"Very good, Sasuke. Very good!"
Haku barely had the opportunity to land on his toes before he had to leap to the sky again, needles slicing the air to stab the tree he had just passed by. Sasuke's eyes were blazing red, the three tomoes spinning rapidly with each movement they caught and absorbed.
It was the spring of the second year they were spending together, the winter chill beginning to fade and the ice slowly thawing. New buds began to peek out of the tree branches, and green grass started to nervously poke out and rise upwards. The earliest-blooming flowers had already raised their heads high. The air was crisp and sharp, but not cold. A perfect early morning for warming up bodies chilled by the winter freeze.
He's advancing much faster than we expected. Zabuza thought as Haku and Sasuke exchanged blow for blow, moving in blasts of snow and water through the trees. Haku is barely a challenge for him anymore. Give it another month and the brat will know what he's doing before he will. He sighed. Haku's prediction is coming true, sure enough. Dammit.
"Ah!"
Zabuza looked up at the outcry to see Haku face up on the wet earth, Sasuke solidly straddling him with a needle at the older boy's throat. Zabuza's immediate instinct was to leap up and throw Sasuke off, but he paused when Haku laughed, albeit painfully.
"Very good, Sasuke," Haku crooned as Sasuke got off him, reaching a hand out to help him up, which Haku graciously accepted. "Those eyes of yours… they're amazing! And it doesn't help my odds when I lose my footing. Congratulations; you officially won that round."
Sasuke beamed at him, his Sharingan fading with little trouble at all.
"You need to figure out some new moves, Haku," he told his elder, almost proudly. "Soon I'll know all the ones you got before too long."
Haku smiled at him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders.
"If beating me means it's harder for other ninja to beat you, then I will gladly accept being beaten," he replied happily. "But you're right. Together, we can only become stronger."
"Next time we're hunted we'll let you handle them, Sasuke," Zabuza stated as the two neared him. "Haku will throw up his ice cage and you can have a field day."
Sasuke smirked, his eyes twinkling mischievously.
"Heh. Sounds like fun."
Zabuza took a moment to eye his young charge, noticing how – though the boy was still so young – he was already so old.
That massacre… stripped away the child in him. I wonder who he had in the Village Hidden in the Leaves that cared about him like family after that.
Or was there… anyone at all?
"Haku, I have a question."
"Yes, Zabuza?"
They were at a hot spring near their lonesome cabin, Sasuke at the other side of the pond in heavy meditation – something that had been a pain to get him to learn and enjoy, but once learned, was enjoyed immensely – with his two older caretakers at the other side. Zabuza relaxed his sore muscles in the springs, while Haku remained clothed and on the lookout with Zabuza's weapons and his clothing. They would switch places after Zabuza was finished soaking.
"Do you think there was anyone else besides us?" He asked his younger partner. "After his entire family was murdered. Do you think… if it wasn't for us… he would be alone?"
Haku paused in his internal muses to give Zabuza a thoughtful look.
"Hmm… I don't know," he replied after a moment, looking across the pool at Sasuke. "We never asked about his life before us. And he never talked about it. From what I have heard, the Uchiha were a very reclusive clan. They weren't fond of outsiders and bred within themselves constantly. But they were forever loyal to each other. To think that an Uchiha killed his very own clan… it's troubling to think about."
"Do you think Sasuke knew the guy who did it?" Zabuza asked.
"I'm sure he did," Haku replied. "The Uchiha was a big clan, but they were also like one big neighborhood. Everyone knew everyone – at least that was the impression I got. There are only a couple of books on clans like that, but they exist."
"Of course they exist," Zabuza answered gruffly. "The Sharingan is one of the most potent bloodlines in all five Lands. Everyone wants a piece of the power, and if they can't have a piece, they at least want to understand it so that they one day might."
There was silence between them for a moment as they both thought.
"Zabuza," Haku began. "I have a question for you now."
"Speak."
"When we first captured him…" the younger male breathed. "Did you… Would you… would you have killed him if he wasn't an Uchiha? Was saving him and making him ours a way of getting a piece of that power?"
Zabuza opened his eyes; gazed up at the barely cloudy sky as he thought back to a year ago, when they first met the Uchiha.
"You know, if you had asked me that a year ago, I would've been able to give you a definite answer," Zabuza replied honestly. "When I first took him from his group… I didn't know his name or who he was. But the fire in his eyes, the eagerness when he leaped up and ran at me – sure, it might've been out of desperation because his teacher was trapped in a bubble like a bitch, but still. He was prepared. He was ready. He knew I could kill him and would kill him but didn't care. He did what he felt like he needed to do. You don't see such conviction in kids his age. It was… striking." Another moment of silence as Haku smiled. "I looked at him… and I saw myself."
"I don't think he's quite like you, Zabuza," Haku teased mildly. He reached down and stroked Zabuza's hair. "But he does have your eyes."
Zabuza snorted mildly at the comment, but didn't grace it with a response. Haku sighed, looking back over to Sasuke.
"I would like to think we made his life better," he breathed, making Zabuza open his eyes again. "I like to think that taking him away from such horrible memories was a good thing. I hope that we have given him a chance to heal and become a better person than he would've been otherwise." His eyes narrowed painfully. "I hope we saved him from being alone."
"It's sad to think about, huh?" Zabuza murmured, his eyes closed. "Such a big family, and then suddenly, poof. It's all gone." He chuckled wryly. "And now all he's got is us."
Haku chuckled softly.
"We're better than nothing, I think," he mused. "And we're better off with him around, too."
"Tsk, sure," Zabuza stated dryly. "Now that he's started pulling his weight."
Haku merely rolled his eyes and smiled.
They don't know.
Sasuke didn't move from where he sat across the pool, still half meditating, but alert enough to barely catch the voices.
They don't know that it was…
Red eyes and long black hair flashed in his memory, but he pushed them back, forcing his Chakra to maintain an even flow.
Yes, Haku, Zabuza. You're right. I was alone.
Barely, he opened his eyes to look at them, the mists above the water making everything a little hazy around the edges. His eyes stung, and he blamed it on the steam.
But not anymore.
End Flashback Nine – Alone
BAAAAAAH SO CUTE
Anyway, please review if it made you smile? :3 Or if it gave you any sort of reaction at all?
Thank you so much! LOOOOOOVES!
DDB
