Why herrrrrrowr there. :3

Enjoy this latest update!

Promises Not Made are Promises Never Kept

Flashback Seventeen – Falling

When the first light appeared in the sky, the group journeying to Andora resumed their trek, Patzu in front.

Tyra and her charge followed silently, with Zabuza and his two boys bringing up the rear. Ever since his interaction with the woman, the great man seemed to be in a constant state of suspended, exasperated rage. It put Haku and Sasuke on immediate edge, but all the same, it helped him fulfill his role as a slave-trader quite well, with all the yanking and the snapping and just, Gods the anger.

So angry…! Sasuke thought painfully as Zabuza jerked on his ropes again. You're so angry-!

But they couldn't ask him anything. Patzu took them into the mountains again, and sound echoed outrageously in the wide caverns he led them through.

"They say the monsters that live in these mountains are quite fearsome," Patzu informed them as they walked, almost proudly. Tyra raised an eyebrow, having quite successfully ignored the glowering, withering glares Zabuza had continuously sent her way thus far.

"Have you ever encountered any of them?" She asked, her charge silent upon her back. Patzu shrugged, the torches they wielded their only current source of light.

"Not me personally, no," he replied without looking over his shoulder at her. "But I've heard stories."

"Ah," she stated with a mild frown. "That's not particularly impressive then, is it?"

This time, Patzu turned to look at her.

"You dare challenge the power that resides in these mountains?" He asked her, eyes going wide as he tried to loom over her, attempting to strike some fear into her heart.

Unfortunately, he watched his attempt at intimidation crash and burn quite pathetically as she raised a quite not-intimidated eyebrow at him.

"I would challenge the Gods themselves if they had the nerve to show their faces to me, fool," she told him icily, with a wicked glare that had his toes curling in his boots. Scowling, he turned to look back at the front, and they continued without another word for a while.

"Careful here," Patzu told them after a while more. "Watch where you step. We're crossing a bridge."

A bridge? Sasuke asked silently. But there are no railings. It's impossible to see anything outside the light of the torches.

But suddenly as he continued to walk, he felt it. He could feel the road they walked on narrow dramatically, and all of a sudden he didn't quite feel as if he were on such solid ground as before. He couldn't see, but he could feel the ground beneath them open up into a deep, angry, hungry chasm, and he swallowed thickly as he resisted the urge to look down.

So badly, he wanted to ask how long the bridge lasted, but he bit his tongue as he glanced at Zabuza's back, forcing his breathing to remain calm.

I'm freaking out. He realized. There was nothing like knowing there was an unforgiving terror at your feet and yet be unable to see it. A fear that didn't have a face – that struck true horror into a heart. Reaching almost blindly forward, he clenched Haku's clothing in his hand and fought to keep from screaming.

The bridge was so narrow they were forced to go single-file. Sasuke could feel the scream of dread pressing at the back of his throat as he could feel bits and pieces of rock crumbling from beneath their feet and falling endlessly downwards, but he grit his teeth against it.

We're going to make it. He told himself. Oh my God. I am SO freaking out. Oh Gods!

The air seemed to get thicker as everyone realized how treacherous this portion of the journey was, and Zabuza seemed to clench his torch tighter, his steps becoming lighter as even Tyra began to tread more cautiously.

Suddenly the ground beneath their feet seemed to quiver, and they all simultaneously paused as they felt it as one.

Oh no. Sasuke thought, his eyes widening. Oh no, please no-!

The shivering began to turn into a violent shake-

"It's an earthquake!" Patzu called. "Make a run for it!"

Breaking into a dash as the rock roof above them started to drip crumbs; the group ran as fast as they could on such a narrow bridge to the other side that still remained in darkness. Behind them, they could hear the bridge collapsing-

Sasuke felt the ground give way beneath him. Reaching out, he clamped down onto Haku's clothing.

"NO!"

He felt himself fall down, down, down into the abyss as the torches lit the way, going out mid-descent as he vanished into darkness.

"HAKU! SASUKE!"

"MOLLY!"


When Sasuke awoke, it was only to wonder if he was dead, for blindness was the only thing that met his eyes. He was cold, and his entire body ached, and it was the pain that truly told him he was still alive.

Dammit.

"Sasuke?"

His eyes snapped open, and he lifted himself into a sitting position. He recognized that voice.

"Haku?"

The voice wasn't right next to him, but it wasn't far away either. He swallowed, closing his eyes against the darkness and becoming horrified when he couldn't tell the difference between the two.

"Yes. Are you all right?"

"Yeah. You?"

"I must say, I've been better."

Clothes rustled, and the entire area was thrown in a warm (bright) orange light as Haku pulled out an emergency glow stick from his clothes and cracked it. Sasuke felt the life come back to him with the light.

Haku was fine. Dirty and unhappy, but fine. Sasuke crawled over to him and wrapped him in a hug.

"That was terrifying."

"I know, my dear."

"Where's Zabuza?"

"I don't know. He didn't fall down with us. He must be in a separate part of the caves."

Sasuke withdrew from Haku and looked around, pushing himself into a stand. They were surrounded on pretty much all four sides by sheer rock walls. Loose boulders and debris around them were obviously from the collapsed bridge that had tumbled down right alongside them. It was a relatively large area, with at least enough room to stretch and walk around, but the cliffs on all sides were severely unnerving. Sasuke tilted his head upwards to stare up into the darkness, his heart sinking even as his eyes rose.

How in the fucking hell are we going to get out of here?

"Oh!"

At Haku's exclamation, Sasuke dropped his eyes to see that the small blonde girl had fallen down with them, miraculously unharmed with the ripped remains of the satchel wrapped around her. Her eyes were closed, but as Sasuke neared her to see if she was okay she opened her big, empty black eyes, silently moving as she pushed herself off her belly and into a stand, letting the pieces of satchel fall at her ankles without protest. Sasuke, even more unnerved at the coolness of which she did so, paused mid-step towards her.

"Are you all right?" He finally managed to ask her, not willing to get any closer. Blinking, she turned those great big eyes onto him, and Sasuke felt his stomach curdle beneath her gaze.

What is UP with this kid?!

"Yes," she stated monotonously, her voice as empty as her eyes. It made the hairs on the back of Sasuke's neck stand right up to attention. "I'm fine." Falling silent, her gaze swept the length of the cave to focus on a spot that Sasuke hadn't looked at yet. Her eyes narrowed the slightest bit. "Oh."

Sasuke, uneasy but at the same time intrigued, followed her gaze and let out a sharp gasp.

Patzu had fallen down with them.

End Flashback Seventeen – Falling

Woot. So, shameless advertising, but I wrote a KakaSasu spin-off from this same universe called Bare-Chested Suffering.

It's so sweet and wonderful. Please go read it an tell me what you thought? *puppy eyes*

Much love!

DDB