Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto.
The shock on his face was not evident; it only showed through the slight widening of his eyes. It was not really a surprise, the results of his trial, but nonetheless, it broke his heart. Broke his heart to know that all the healing and time it took for him to return from the brink of death was for nothing. Broke his heart to know that all the work Sakura and Naruto did was not enough to save him. Broke his heart that he had been manipulated his whole life without a chance to make his own decisions. Broke his heart that the Hokage could not overpower those corrupt elders yet. But most of all, he had failed his clan, his family, his friends, his village, and would get no opportunity to change it.
"Sasuke Uchiha, you have been found guilty on all counts and have been sentenced to death. Your execution will be exactly two weeks from today: July 20th, at noon."
The Hokage's words were like poison; they burned and hurt every part of him. He did not want to look up, but he could not look away from the Hokage's face. He felt so vulnerable before her.
"During this time, he will remain in isolation, with no visitors..."
She could see it; he knew she could see it. She had to have realized that she was completely disconnecting him from Naruto and Sakura; now he would have no way to explain himself, no way to have some form of closure with them. Each passing word was another stab in his back. It was as if he was dying right there, in the middle of the trial.
"That is all. Court dismissed. May God have mercy on your soul."
And that was when he knew it was all over for him.
Sasuke sat alone in his cell. The ringing sound from the lights gave him a headache, and the breezes sent in by the air system gave him goosebumps. He had heard, once or twice in the three days since the trial, arguments unfolding just outside his cell door.
Obnoxious shouting and complaining, with a couple attempts at bribery. Oh Naruto. You really think you can try to fight your way in?
Sasuke slowly lowered his head to rest on his hands.
"There's no hope for me now; I am lost forever."
Lots of time to think. Too much, if you asked some people. Waaay too much time to think...
He thought of many things: memories of his childhood with the Uchiha Clan, their violent massacre, the feeling of revenge always bubbling in him, his numbered missions with Team 7 before his betrayal, his-
A thought stopped him. He really missed them. He felt like it had been years since they brought him back, promising to take care of him and bring him back to the life he wanted to live. With them. With the village.
Slowly, Sasuke sat up. More voices outside... When will they give up? How much time did he have left? A week? Only a week left...
He stood and approached the door, where there was a small one-way window. He knew he was not looking his best, and he did not feel well either, but he stood right in front of it anyway. Immediately, the voices quieted.
Carefully, he rested his forehead against the door, his hand on the window. They were out there. Sakura and Naruto, the only two people who had not completely given up on him. He could not see them, but he knew they were there, still fighting for him, and that was enough to bring tears to his eyes.
"You need to be more careful, or else you're not gonna survive these last four days to your execution," a sarcastic voice said, causing an echo in the cell. Sasuke immediately knew who it was. His eyes quickly opened, and he shot up to a half-sitting position, the best he could do with what little energy he had left.
There she was. Standing in front of the door as it slowly closed and locked behind her. Her eyes red, her hair a little curly at the ends from lack of attention, a sad smile on her face.
"Sakura..."
"Ah, so you still haven't gone mentally insane. With the way you blankly stare at nothing all day, everyone was pretty convinced you'd lost what little you had left in the first place." She let a small laugh out as she approached the bed and sat down on the edge. She had a tray of food with her.
"What's the point, anymore?"
Sakura shrugged casually. "Don't shoot the messenger; I'm just here to help."
Slowly, he turned to look at her. "I'm dying..."
"I know." She pushed the tray toward him. "Cuz you're not eating."
He did appreciate the lighthearted tone she was using, but he didn't have the motivation to show it. He closed his eyes.
"There were so many things..."
"I know."
"I didn't even know I had wanted..."
"I know."
"Is there really no hope for me...?" He turned to her, an inexplicable emotion in his eyes.
She paused. "Trust in your friends," Sakura whispered, "and let them be your beacon of light to the future..."
With that, she stood and left.
It was the day before the execution that he finally cracked. He started pacing around in circles in his cell, still trying to think of a way to escape. His obstacles all came back to the seals on his hands, preventing the flow of chakra. He punched the door in frustration.
"Hokage!" he yelled, "Hokage! You guards out there, get me the Hokage!"
There was no answer, but he knew they were out there, listening. He started pounding on the door.
"Hokage! Shinobi! Guards!"
Tears came down his face. He could not sit with his thoughts any longer. He wanted his execution now. He wanted to be free.
His shouts were ignored.
The day came in silence. Sasuke could not sleep all night. He twitched when he heard the locks being undone, not moving as three guards entered the room. They handcuffed him and forced him to his feet. He did not know how long he was dragged, or how far, but he soon found himself in an interrogation room. He turned to question the guards, but one pointed to the table in the middle of the room.
"Don't get the wrong ideas. You're just here to change into those. We'll be back in five minutes." With that, the three guards left the room.
Sasuke cautiously unfolded the set of clothes resting on the table. A black cape with a hood, with a matching yukata and sandals. Ah, black, how nice of them to know his favorite color.
As he pulled his shirt off, the door creaked open. He turned to find Naruto standing in the doorway. "Naruto, what are you-"
"No time to explain," Naruto interrupted, placing a backpack on the table and quickly opening it, "just hurry up and get dressed, we don't have much time."
Sasuke did as he was told, but not without quite a bit of internal questioning. Why was he here? How did he get in? Where was Kakashi? What about Sakura? And why was he dressed in all black like that?
As he finished clipping on his cape, Sasuke asked, "What's going on here?"
But Naruto ignored him. "Pull up the hood and take this." He handed him the backpack. Naruto creaked open the door to peek out. "The coast is clear."
He opened the door completely, Shikamaru waiting on the other side. Wait, Shikamaru? The ninja stood casually with his hands in his pockets, but Sasuke could tell from the look in his eyes that he was alert.
Naruto turned to face the Uchiha, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Teme, you're my best friend. Now go out there, and don't let me down, got it?"
Sasuke still did not understand, but his teammate pushed him out of the room toward Shikamaru. He followed silently, glancing back at the door several times before it disappeared from view.
It was about two minutes later when Sasuke suddenly blacked out. He could not remember how or why, only that he found himself lying in the shade near the old training grounds.
His body was sore, but he forced himself into a sitting position. Looking around, he was shocked. Everyone was there; Shikamaru, Hinata, Neji, Chouji, Ino, Shino, Kiba and Akamaru, Tenten, Lee. They were all there. For him?
"What's going on...?" he asked in a raspy voice, trying to push his headache away. That was when Kakashi and Sakura approached him. The girl smiled.
"You're safe now, Sasuke. Everyone is here for you, we all joined forces to prevent you from being executed."
The Uchiha stared at her and then looked down for a moment. They all teamed up to save him. He was sure that the others did not care so much about his execution, and that they only did it for Sakura and Naruto, but they were still risking a lot for helping him escape. But there was one thing he still could not answer.
"Where's Naruto?"
Everyone tensed, glancing at one another nervously.
"Umm... What do you mean...?"
"Sakura, where's Naruto?"
And then it clicked. Naruto was serious, dressed in black... like him. And he's basically famous for his transformations... and he's dumb enough to do it. Sasuke shot up to his feet and started to run toward the Hokage tower.
"Wait, Sasuke! Where are you going?"
He didn't respond to the shouts. Instead, he whispered to himself, "I'm not gonna let anyone die for me! Least of all Naruto!"
Sasuke ran through the streets toward the Hokage tower. It was almost noon, so everyone was already there, waiting for the execution.
The Uchiha heard footsteps behind him and glanced back to find Sakura following him. He slowed down just enough for her to catch up.
"What's the setup of the execution?" he asked her.
"Sasuke-"
"Just answer, Sakura. We don't have much time."
She paused. "The criminal is usually walked from the prison to the gate, where he's marched down main street all the way to the execution stand in front of the Hokage's tower. Then they read out the crimes, and at exactly noon..." She let the rest if the sentence fade away.
Soon they spotted the crowd gathered around the stand. He noticed some jounin ninja standing guard at each end of the audience. Slightly worried he would be noticed before being able to stop the execution, Sasuke pulled his hood around his face. The two teammates wove through the spectators. They saw a hooded figure being led up the stairs. The Hokage stood off to the side, reading a list of crimes.
"...leaving the village without proper permission..."
The hooded figure was led to the center where there was a mat and he was forced to kneel. His hands were handcuffed behind him, his head bowed in shame.
"...allying with one of Konoha's greatest enemies..."
Sasuke and Sakura fought their way toward the front.
"...attacking and attempting to kill Konoha shinobi countless times, as well as planning the destruction of Konoha."
As she finished the list, Tsunade looked at the audience with a grave expression. She glanced back at the elders before continuing.
"Let us not forget the service he has done our village by ridding the world of Orochimaru, Kabuto, and Itachi, and also helping with the destruction of the Akatsuki. And-"
"Hokage. It's time," one of the elders interrupted. The Hokage pressed her lips together in frustration, but nodded in agreement. At that moment, Sasuke and Sakura reached the edge of the stand.
"STOP!" Sasuke yelled as they jumped onto the stage and stood next to the Hokage.
"Uzumaki! Haruno! What on earth are-"
Sasuke interrupted the elder by pulled down his hood. The crowd gasped.
"Naruto, stop this nonsense! We know this is just one of your silly transformations!" Sakura yelled at the hooded figure, though he did not react.
"I am Sasuke Uchiha. This," he pulled down the other boy's hood, "is Naruto Uzumaki!"
As expected, there was another Sasuke kneeling on the stand. By now, the whole crowd was confused. The rest of the shinobi were waiting on the roofs of nearby buildings. The second Sasuke stood.
"Naruto! What are you doing?" he yelled, which made the first Sasuke jump in surprise.
"Me? What are YOU doing, you idiot!"
"Enough of this nonsense!" the Hokage exclaimed, causing the crowd and everyone to quiet, "I want to know, this instance, who is Sasuke and who is Naruto!"
There was a pause, and that was when the first Sasuke figured out a flaw. He reached down and pulled up the second Sasuke's handcuffed arms as far as he could.
"Here is your proof, Hokage-sama. I have the chakra seals on my hands and he does not." Sure enough, the black seals covered the first Sasuke's hands, but not the second one's, meaning the second could use chakra and do a transformation. He transformed back into Naruto and looked up at Sasuke in shock.
"Why did you come back...?" Naruto asked in a small voice.
Sasuke looked annoyed. "Why did you pull that stupid stunt?"
That was when his friend grinned. "I heard a saying, that people who die for their friends are heroes, and I needed something to hold over your head forever, right?" Sasuke inwardly facepalmed himself. Then the guards unlocked Naruto's hands, and that was when the real problems started.
"The elders are corrupt!" Naruto started, shouting out into the crowd. "Look at Sasuke, how he came all this way back even though he was basically home free!"
Sakura joined in as well. "They have mistreated the village and its citizens! Everything they do is for themselves and their pockets."
During this time, Sasuke just stood awkwardly to the side, glancing at the Hokage to see her calm and collected stance. Suddenly, she stepped forward.
"Guards, escort these three to my office. Everyone else, please report to your respected representative halls for the vote."
Immediately, three guards appeared around Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto. They were restrained and forced off the stage as the crowd became chaotic.
"The vote?" Sasuke tried to ask, but he was pulled away without a response.
It was in the evening when the Hokage finally came to her office with a grin on her face. "Well," she began, taking a seat behind her desk, "looks like our little plan worked."
"What plan...?" Sasuke asked as he watched his two teammates high five.
"We were having a vote on whether to change the council system. The villagers have decided to remove the elders from power and give citizens the right to vote on rules and crimes, like a jury. And the first decision they have made," she pointed at him, "was to remove your death sentence and return your citizenship."
Sasuke's eyes widened. They were basically letting him off the hook? She didn't mention his status as a ninja, but the fact that he was allowed back on the streets of Konoha was unbelievable. "What...? I don't understand..." he said slowly, not comprehending.
"Everyone was in on it this whole time," Naruto said with a grin, "all the ninjas, we've been on this extra super important mission for the past three weeks, since a scandal was leaked about the elders and their activities."
Sakura added, "And with their decision to have you executed, we've been passing around propaganda against them. If there were a few of us, they could have arrested us, but we literally had the entire ninja population doing this."
"And thanks to everyone's help, the villagers have been convinced, and the elders have been removed from power. We'll be conducting an investigation as well, to see what they have been doing, what trouble they have been causing..." The Hokage turned to Sasuke. "You've been a great help. I'm going to have to give you a new punishment, but I promise it won't be too harsh." She turned to Naruto. "I have some matters I need to discuss with the clan leaders, so if you can go fetch some guards to escort Sasuke back to his cell-"
"But-!"
The Hokage laughed at Sasuke's reaction. "Just for a few days, while we find a place for you to stay and everything; just be patient."
With that, Naruto and Tsunade left the room. Sakura turned toward the Uchiha with a smile. "Well, congratulations."
Sasuke slouched down in his chair and rolled his head toward her, an exasperated look on his face.
"I don't even know what to think anymore, honestly..."
This made Sakura laughed. So much change in so little time, and the way she looked at him, with a sweet expression, full of understanding, made him edgy. A blush rose to Sasuke's cheeks as he sat up straight. "Pretty... Complicated plan you guys had here..."
The girl nodded. "But it was worth it. It worked out beautifully! Even the guards and the executioner were in on it."
Sasuke jumped at this comment. "The executioner?"
"Mmhm!" She grinned. "Naruto was never in any real danger."
At this, Sasuke rolled her eyes and massaged his temples. A growl from his stomach interrupted them.
"So I guess you never took my advice to eat?"
Sasuke glared at her, unamused. Sakura smiled and stood, reaching out her hand.
"Come on, let's sneak out and grab some ramen before Naruto comes back with the guards. I'm sure Tsunade won't be TOO angry!"
Agh, ramen...? Sasuke's frown turned into a smirk. He could use some new Team 7 moments. He paused for a moment. There was something different about Sakura, but he could not put his finger on it. Was it her calming aura? Or was it just the way he viewed her now, since she was no longer that weak teammate, always needing protection? He stared at her hand; Team 7 moment or...?
He took her hand and stood. With that, the two disappeared from the room.