HOI GOISE
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Promises Not Made are Promises Never Kept
Flashback Twenty-Nine – Decision
"Are you sad?"
Blearily, he opened his eyes. The room was misty, and he remembered being in pain but knew he wasn't anymore. Slowly, he turned his head towards the voice.
Tyra sat there beside him, legs crossed with her weapons nowhere to be found. Her fierce red hair seemed to blaze in the foggy air.
"No," he replied – even his own voice seemed to echo as he looked up at her. "I'm angry. I'm upset. But I'm not sad."
"You lost something good," she stated simply. "How could you not possibly mourn?"
"Andora was not good," he bit out – not as sharply as he would've liked. "What I was learning there, yes. But not itself." He pursed his lips. "You and that girl… Molly… you two destroyed me."
"No we didn't," she murmured as she gazed at him. "We simply revealed you. And soon the whole world will know."
"I'll take it with me to the grave," he snapped. He tried to sit up, but found that he could not. His arms remained motionless, eagle-spread on either side of him as he stared up at her.
"You were meant to be feared, little lion," she breathed to him. "Don't fight it. Accept it."
"My brother is feared," he found himself admitting suddenly. "He is feared throughout the world. But I doubt that makes him happy." He looked away from her. "He's probably… alone somewhere, sulking."
"To be feared is often to be great," Tyra responded solemnly. "And to be great is to be lonely. You have to make that decision for yourself. Will you be great? Great enough to destroy your foes and eliminate your fears? Or will you be simply human?"
He could only gaze up at her, his heart feeling empty.
"Why do I feel like that decision's already been made for me?" He breathed softly. Tyra didn't respond suddenly – but she gave him a twisted smile, her eyes twinkling in glee. Raising a hand, she touched his chest softly, and he sucked in a breath.
"Now you're catching on," she whispered.
He awoke in darkness, sucking in a breath as he stared upwards at a dark ceiling. It took him a moment to recognize he was tied down on a stone platform, arms and legs spread wide.
This is it then. He thought in horror. I'm going to die. Haku and Zabuza are probably already dead. And it's all my fault. Sucking in a breath, he let out a soft sigh. But I suppose to just end it now and get it over with.
"If they're not alive, then there's nothing to live for," he murmured, shocking himself with the solemnness of his own voice in the unshakable dark.
"Well, good for you they're still alive then, hm?" A voice asked. Twisting his head, Sasuke tried to peer through the darkness to find the source.
"Who's there?" He demanded. "Where am I?"
"You are in the Village Hidden in the Mist, little Uchiha," the voice breathed – it was a man's. An older man's, by the sound of it. "How incredible of a find. The accepted truth that the youngest living Uchiha was dead is actually a lie."
"He IS dead," Sasuke defended. "I'm not an Uchiha. I am a Terranova!"
"Oh, really now?" He felt a presence near him then, as a hand softly touched his face and he flinched away from it. "What an interesting coincidence then, that your unknown bloodline carries the famous ability of a famous bloodline. Tell me, did you steal those eyes then? That would make you completely useless to us, and I should simply kill you and those other two right now."
Horror pierced Sasuke's belly, and he choked on his own windpipe.
"What-no!" He barked before he could control himself. Defeated, he slumped back against his bonds. There was a chuckle from the blackness.
"No what?" The man asked. "No, you really are an Uchiha? Should I tell my executioner to put away his axe, then?"
Sasuke knew that the lives of the people he loved the most were at stake now. He sighed.
"What do you want from me?" He asked softly.
"The truth," the man replied simply. Sasuke could feel him walking in circles around him. The soft movements told the boy that he was wearing heavy robes. "That is the all-important conquest."
This is it. Sasuke thought. You or them. You know which one is more important.
"My blood is of Uchiha," he started slowly, making sure to choose his words carefully. "But I have… disowned the name."
"Well, lucky for you we don't care about the name," the other person in the room stated dismissively. "Your genes are all we require."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Sasuke asked slowly.
"You are ruled by the two rogue ninja. And they, by the heavens' good graces, are ruled by you," the older man stated simply. "Which means that you three will do anything we ask of you to keep the other two alive. This… is very good… for us."
"Who is 'us'?" Sasuke asked cautiously.
"The ones that are going to decide your fate," came the simple reply. "Little Uchiha – oh, excuse me, what did you say you were going by? Terracoba or whatever? Yes, that. How far are you willing to go to protect them? How much pain are you willing to endure? Because we have a few mighty plans for you."
"What are you talking about?"
"You see, there is a… creature, that we came about several years ago." The man paced around Sasuke, and the boy's skin crawled as the voice circled him, surrounding him – swallowing him whole. "We have tried to find him a proper host, but all of the previous ones have been… how could I put this? Inadequate." Sasuke could almost taste the disappointment in the man's voice, and could only wonder what the man meant by the word. "But we have made a recent discovery that could change all of that. And with your… anger issues, he will provide great balance. We have seen how strong you are. You are the best candidate we have at the moment."
Sasuke flinched as the man mentioned the beast within him, and he felt rage swell in his breast at the words.
"I do NOT have ANGER ISSUES!" He spat, his voice echoing outrageously loud throughout the room and making him cringe at the sound of his own voice. There was a chuckle next to him, and Sasuke fumed as he realized what he had just done.
"Anyway," the man stated, unfazed – maybe sounding even a little proud. "You truly have only one choice. Accept the beast unto you and become one with it. Your loyalty will remain forever with the Land of Waves, and you will reproduce and spread your seed among our people. The power of the Sharingan will be ours."
"And if I agree?" Sasuke breathed, swallowing thickly. "What happens to Haku and Zabuza?"
"They will be pardoned of all crimes they've ever been accused of," the man replied in glee, knowing that this is what Sasuke wanted to hear. "They will be allowed to live freely in the Village Hidden in the Mist. Zabuza will even be allowed to be your teacher, while the boy will become your teammate. You will be free to live the life you've always wanted. You get the freedom of a new name, and your bloodline becomes ours."
"How can I trust that you'll do what you say?" The boy asked, turning his head to follow the voice as it kept turning around him. A cold hand reached out and set itself on his throat, making him suck in a breath as every single alarm in Sasuke's head started going off.
"Let me put it simply for you, little boy," the man breathed icily. "You can't trust anything I say. But your choice is still easy to make." He increased the pressure on Sasuke's throat, tightening his fingers around it and making the boy gag. "You can accept my terms and maybe, all three of you might live. But if you don't…" Sasuke found he couldn't breathe as the man began to ruthlessly choke him. The Terranova, bound and tied tightly down to the stone beneath him, couldn't move to stop him. "It is assured that all three of you will die. So." Suddenly, Sasuke could breathe again as the man released his grip, and he began to cough raggedly. "I assume I know your answer?"
Sasuke was quiet for a moment as he thought.
You must do everything you can do save them.
Closing his eyes, he wished he could see them. Wished he could speak to them and talk to them and be held by and hold them one more time before he gave his answer. He was too young, too afraid for something like this.
A beast… what on earth did the man mean?
At least, if you say yes, you have a chance at doing all of those things.
The man was right. His choice was, ultimately, very, sadly, easy.
Haku, Zabuza, I love you.
"Yes," he breathed, not even recognizing the sound of his own voice. "I'll do it."
End Flashback Twenty-Nine – Decision
Ooooooh yeah. Awesomesauce.
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DDB
