Brace yourselves. Heavy shit is coming.

Promises Not Made are Promises Never Kept

Chapter Thirty-Four: Sooner than Expected

"Who... who are you?"

The sun was warm upon his skin, the sea breeze brisk and pleasant as it whistled through his hair. The man before him, a spitting image of himself, but with very key differences, looked at him with crystal clear eyes. They felt the same wind, sat beneath the same sky.

And yet they were separated by a plane of clear glass that stretched as far up as the eye could see.

"My name is Ragnarok," the man told him, a crown that resembled horns stretching up from where it sat on his head, his body swathed in richly colored clothes with white accents. "I am the one they told you about."

"You're the God?" Sasuke asked hollowly, still wondering of his fate. "Are you going to kill me?"

Ragnarok shook his head.

"No, Little Lion, I am not," he replied truthfully. "You are my host. If anything were to happen to you, I would be lost as well."

Sasuke blinked, slowly processing this as too good to be true.

"So... I'm just your meat suit?" He asked, almost bitterly. The man didn't smile at him, but those steely cool eyes seemed to grow rounder, less threatening.

"I would rather be honest and hurt you than lie to protect you," Ragnarok told him. "...Yes, to put it simply, yes. You are my provide flesh and blood and energy that allows me to live in this state. If you were to die, I would die too. Thanks to that ceremony, we are forever bound to each other."

There was a long period of silence as Sasuke simply gazed at him.

"So..." he began slowly. "You're not going to eat me. That's good, I guess."

Ragnarok shook his head. "I was never going to eat you. I feel the power within you. Taking control of this body for myself would be a waste of potential. Besides, even if I had your body..." an almost serene smile seemed to grace the man's face before vanishing, and he looked away to the sea. "I... I don't know what I would do with it anyway." He turned back to Sasuke. "Sasuke Uchiha... Terranova. You are my host. Whether we chose this path or not, we are partners. I am able to feel the wind on my face again because of you, to feel the chill of the sea on your skin. You offer me freedom after thousands of years imprisonment. You offer me the chance to finally once more feel feeling.

"In return, I will protect you and your own from all adversaries. Together, you and I will carve out a righteous path for you."

"Sounds too good to be true," Sasuke pouted. "I give you so little, to get so much in return? I don't buy it."

Ragnarok's lips tugged at the corners, and as Sasuke gazed into his own, grown up smiling face, he felt something pull at the back of his heart.

"I don't expect you to accept it right away," the great god told him. "But we have all your lifetime to understand each other, and maybe even a little more after that. After an eternity of nothing, everything is something." Sasuke raised an eyebrow at him.

"You don't seem like that angry god some of the tales speak of, but Haku DID said you were a benevolent being," he stated. "Does that mean..." there was a long pause. "Does that mean we might be friends?"

Ragnarok gazed at him for a moment before looking away.

"Again, I will not lie to you," he said. "I... would like that but," he shrugged, "odds are I will not grow to feel anything for you by myself."

Sasuke tilted his head at him. "Why is that?"

"You see..." the god's voice was quiet. "I am what you would call..." he rested his hand on his chest, and closed his eyes, "dead inside."

Sasuke's eyes widened as he gazed at the man, and he realized that he might have more in common with this great beast than anyone ever could have known.

Dead... inside...?

Sasuke managed to find Naruto's Chakra stationary towards the outskirts of the city, and as he felt the flames race and flare up - in fear? - he was worried.

But as he grew closer, another, more subtle Chakra met his senses, and his entire body froze where he stood next to a building, his fingers trembling where they touched the wall.

No. He thought, his heart racing. No. Not here. Not now. Not so soon.

Ragnarok sensed the same energy he did, and sat on it for a moment as Sasuke tried to compose himself, shrinking against the brick.

"Ah... I see..." He heart Ragnarok's voice in his mind. "That energy... is very familiar. Ah..." he could almost picture the beast looking at him in deep thought. "It is... much like yours was... the first night we met... before we converged."

"Yes..." he murmured bitterly, already feeling the tears at the corners of his eyes. "He's here in the city. My brother." No longer. The next word was like a curse. "Itachi."

"I can't say for sure if he would recognize you or not," Ragnarok said. "You have changed much since he left, since you left. Your Chakra is vastly different than it was before. But..." the deity's voice lowered. "I can give you some temporary Glamour. It will make it harder for him to recognize you."

"Don't bother," Sasuke bit out. "I can't do this. Not here. Not right now."

"But Naruto is with him," Ragnarok pointed out. "And by the feel of his panicked aura... he is in danger."

"I know!" Sasuke snapped. "Thank you, Captain Obvious! I didn't already know that!"

"So what will you do?" He asked. "What does your heart tell you?" Sasuke didn't respond, busy glowering into his hand from where his fingers were pressed against the crest of his forehead, and at the silence Ragnarok continued. "I think the answer is very singularly simple."

"Yes," his host admitted bitterly. "Go help Naruto. Of course that's the answer, but..." he closed his eyes. "What if I can't stop him?" He shook his head. "I should avoid conflict. Just get Naruto out of there and run!"

"Sasuke, you know the Akatsuki's prerogative for being here," Ragnarok reminded him. "They are after the Tailed Beasts, which means if Naruto is one of them-"

"They'll kill him to get the spirit," Sasuke breathed. "Yes."

"If that is their goal Sasuke, they will not stop hunting. Even if you do manage to lose them, there will not be one place on this earth that you could hide from them. Especially if they'll be using your old family's blood-power to hunt you. This conflict... is inevitable." Sasuke felt arms wrap around him, even though nobody else was there. "I am with you, Sasuke. You will not fail this time."

Sasuke's eyes opened, and he wiped the tears from them before pushing himself up into a stand.

After all, I've got surprise on my side. He thought, clenching his fists at his sides.

"Well then," he murmured, the spark back in his eyes. "This is definitely going to happen sooner than expected."

With that, he vanished in a flurry of vapor.

End Chapter Thirty-Four: Sooner than Expected

One more update today.

Much love,

DDB