Hello all. This is a quick one-shot that I thought of. I find that I do my best work when the story is a 'dark fic', and I fell in love with this idea the moment I thought of it. Although it's been sitting in my laptop for, like, over a year, I'm finally getting around to finishing it and others. I hope that you enjoy this as well, and that this story shows how much I've progressed as a writer. I hope you all like it, and please review!
This is an AU fic where, after killing his brother and learning the truth, Sasuke went mental instead of deciding that he'd join the war and become Konoha's Hokage and whatever other foolishness is going on in his mind. (No, Sasuke, you can't do that — don't fuck up the pre-determined fandom future.)
Disclaimer: I do not own the original characters of Naruto. I only own the plot, my character, and half of one of them.
Enjoy!
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Death Row
...Because his crimes were too severe to be punished any other way…
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It was a regular day in the early summer.
The village went about its usual business. The marketplace was crowded, as usual, and ninja reported to the Hokage Tower as they were summoned. From the windows they entered, and stood in front of the Hokage.
Nara Shikamaru, one of the most intelligent humans who had ever lived, swiftly gave the shinobi their orders, and watched as they left. There was no look of boredom in his eyes. That trait of his had left him years back, when he fully realized that he could no longer look at life as if it were troublesome, but rather something that he was now in charge of protecting.
Having become the Rokudaime Hokage (a/n: "Sixth Hokage"), he was burdened with many duties; the most important being to ensure that his people were safe and sound. And at the moment, that was exactly what he was doing.
He had ordered several ninja to guard each entrance of Konoha, and the gates of where the regular civilians lived. Since Konoha was rebuilt after Pein leveled it, years back, the entire structure of the village had changed. All of the civilians who held no knowledge of chakra to defend themselves, now lived in the center of Konoha, guarded by a large wall and gates. Outside of those gates were the homes of the ninja and their clans.
It really was the best plan for defense.
With ninja surrounding their households, the civilians not only held maximum protection, but the ninja were also able to go about their tasks freely, without having to worry about harming anyone who could not take a hit.
So far, it had been successful, and he was very glad that the village had been rebuilt that way.
After all, it allows him to keep certain pieces of information from civilian ears, and to go about his business much more swiftly. But most of all, it protected them. It protected those who could not protect themselves the way ninja could.
They were no longer vulnerable to attacks.
And that was the most important thing — especially today.
He sighed as he turned in his chair, and looked-out the window to the side of the room. It allowed him a clear view of the rebuilt walls of Konoha; which took advantage of the hidden village having been sunk deeper into the earth. The crater that it was now in provided natural barriers that helped keep the village more hidden than it had been.
The walls that were created not only went higher than the crater, but the guard posts were built inside of it, and a Genjutsu was always held-up by a specific group of ninja, to maximize protection.
(The last thing they wanted was another Pein incident.)
He watched as the ninja whom he had just given orders to, disappeared behind one of the entrances of the wall, and left to join the group of ninja whom he had sent out earlier.
Never had he needed to deploy so many shinobi at once, but this case was special.
He was certain that if he did not, all would go to Hell.
When she arrived home for lunch that day, there was an itching curiosity in the back of her mind. Shikamaru had asked her to perform physicals on all of the ANBU, at the last minute. She had no idea why, and Shikamaru was persistent on keeping her in the dark.
But after the failed attempts to probe him for some answers (he knew what she wanted even before she thought it), she stopped pestering him, and did her job. Over fifty physicals and all had to be completed before the evening. She had only managed to do around twenty, and only had three hours left to complete the remaining thirty or so, but honestly, she needed to check-up on her kids and have a quick dose of glucose before she headed back to the hospital and quickly performed those remaining physicals.
She estimated that in order to meet the deadline, she'd have to perform at least three physicals at once.
She heaved a tired sigh.
Entering her house, she quickly closed the door and called-out for her two daughters. "Haruko! Izumi!" She exclaimed.
"Mommy!"
Appearing from the entrance that led in and out of the living room was a pink-haired little girl. She was of the age of nine, but despite that, she still took great pleasure in calling her mother, 'mommy', something she'd always done and didn't seem to get ready to grow out of, anytime soon.
She was a beautiful child. Her hair was silky smooth, and went down to her waist. It was currently braided into two pigtails, and held together by red hair-bands that were placed before their tails. She was dressed in a simple white shirt, with a pair of black shorts and matching sandals.
Being as how she did not have to attend the academy on that day (all of the facilities were closed, for some reason), she did not need to dress in her regular ninja attire (clothing that mimicked those of her mother from when she was nine), and could freely dress simply. It was something that she preferred, since she mostly enjoyed relaxation.
Her eyes were pitch-black, and held life in them that her mother had always adored.
The young girl was not that tall, but her legs were nice and long, and she had a toned physique. She spent most of her time training to be a ninja, like her mother, and had happily seemed to inherit her mother's spectacular chakra control considering how she had gone up a level in the academy. She was a year closer to taking the Chunin Exams…
"Hello Izumi." Sakura said, smiling, as she looked at her youngest daughter. As usual, Izumi gave her a kiss on the cheek, before pulling back and asking, "Why are you here so early?"
"A quick lunch." Sakura said as she began to head towards the kitchen. "Where's your sister?" She asked.
"Nee-san went over to Namikaze-san's." Izumi said to her mother as she followed her to the kitchen, and began to help her mother prepare the lunch that she always, always ate whenever she had the opportunity to come home; ramen. It was a habit her mother had picked-up from years of spending time with Naruto and his ramen-addicted self.
Sakura frowned. "Why? She didn't ask me for permission." She stated as she got a pot and placed it under the rushing water of the sink.
Izumi grabbed a pack of ramen, and began to tear it open.
"She's asked Otou-san." Izumi stated. "He took her there before going to see the Hokage."
"Sai too?" Sakura asked.
"What do you mean?" Izumi asked.
Sakura waved a dismissive hand at her daughter. "Forget it." She stated. "It's not very important; probably just another mission. This has been a busy month."
For the past month, more shinobi have been going in and out of the Hokage Tower, than ever before. She had the numbing urge to go ask around why, but gossip was severely frowned upon, and if she was meant to know, she would've already been told.
But the urge to know was still in the back of her mind, and it was getting harder and harder to suppress with each little event that passed by. Especially since Sai was now involved.
Why would Shikamaru summon him? Sai had retired as a shinobi to pursue a career in art, and watch-over the children. He had sworn to her that he would never do a mission, ever again, and that was what scared her about the situation. What could possibly be going on that would require Sai to go back on his vow of not acting like a shinobi, and head to the Hokage Tower?
Calm down, Sakura, she said to herself as she began to add some spices and other things to the boiling pot of ramen. It's none of your business. Just focus on your job and the kids.
She finished setting her meal, and moved away from it and let it cook, while she tended to a few, minor things. Sitting at the island, she opened the unfinished file of a shinobi, and quickly added-in the information that she had managed to store in her mind, but not physically write down.
"Do you want some ramen?" She asked Izumi; who sat opposite her and looked elsewhere besides the file. She knew better than to peak at the personals of a shinobi. Her mother would surely scold her.
"Yes please." She said with a soft smile.
Sakura finished the files, and had lunch with her daughter, in less than an hour. She packed-up, and left the dishes to Izumi who was happy to do them, and began to head back to the hospital. It was as she was walking through a ninja district containing more high-level shinobi that she ran into Ino.
"Sakura!" Ino called-out.
The pinkette noticed how Ino seemed rather frantic as she headed over to her. Sakura thought that this was a stupid thing to do considering how Ino was eight-months pregnant and should not be running, at all. Her stomach was already huge and she looked ready to pop with the twins that she was carrying.
"Ino." She said with a frown on her face as her friend stopped before her. "You know you should be taking it easier than this. Your running could induce labor or something." Sakura said. She wasn't up to delivering a baby in the middle of the Shinobi District of Konoha. They were a good walk away from the hospital, and she wasn't sure if she could handle hearing Ino shriek as she suffered through childbirth. She's already gone through the experience four times, since Shikamaru was too busy as Hokage to get there for the births of his many children.
They're like rabbits… She briefly thought.
"Forget that forehead — did you hear?" Ino asked. At the ever-familiar sentence, Sakura immediately tried to get Ino to stop talking. She wasn't up for gossip; she had physicals to perform.
"Ino, no, wait — I can't gossip right now. I have a job to d—"
"They captured Sasuke!" Ino blurted out.
Sakura's green eyes widened as she heard this. For a moment, there was a ringing in her ears as she struggled to register just what it was that Ino had told her.
Sasuke, she thought. Has been captured? They actually managed to catch him?
It's been over two decades since she last saw the remaining Uchiha. The last thing she heard of him, was that Orochimaru had been resurrected by him, or something along those lines. Of course, this was around the time of the war, and she had been too busy to pay attention to this piece of irrelevant information since she had more important things to take care of, than focus on what he was doing.
Sasuke had been running amuck ever since, doing Kami-knows-what, and making quite a reputation for himself. She briefly remembered a time where a rumor was spreading that he had followed in Orochimaru's footsteps and had taken the liberty of performing unholy experiments on shinobi and civilians.
By that time, she had completely forgotten about him and no longer considered him important. Everyone was smart-enough to know that the Uchiha heir would never return to Konoha on his own, and that his crimes now made him a prime target. There was such a large bounty on his head that she's had to tussle with a few shinobi searching the earth for more information on their target, and had somehow learned that she was his former teammate, and believed that she could provide them with the answers they requested.
But overall, she'd moved on in her life and had not thought a word about Sasuke — until now.
"You've got to be kidding me." Sakura said.
"No, no, it's true!" Ino exclaimed. "I overheard Shikamaru telling Kiba about it. Sasuke was sedated and taken prisoner in his sleep, and they're bringing him back here to be tried!"
A light-bulb clicked in her head.
"So that's why so many shinobi are being deployed…" Sakura mumbled to herself.
"They're taking the security of the village very seriously. Sasuke's unpredictable and no one has any idea what tricks he may have up his sleeve." Ino stated. A protective hand landed on her stomach. She didn't like the fact that she was pregnant when Sasuke was returning.
What if he went rabid and killed both her and her babies? What would happen to Shikamaru and the stability of the village if his wife was no longer at his side?
Surely things would go to Hell.
Sakura sighed as she resumed her trek to the hospital. Ino followed beside her.
"I wonder if Naruto knows…" Sakura said.
"Maybe. I think Shikamaru told him already. I mean: I haven't seen him around all day." The Nara stated.
"I bet he's been deployed as well. But then again, I don't think Shikamaru would let Naruto see Sasuke, just yet. After all, Naruto might just break his jaw if he sees him…" Sakura mumbled.
Naruto had given-up on Sasuke a while after she did, and had grown to harbor nothing but hate and pity for the Uchiha. He disliked how the person who he once considered to be his best friend — his brother — had decided to fall deeper into darkness, and accepted the fact that there was no hope. Sasuke never coming back, he could deal with. But him following Orochimaru's footsteps and capturing innocents for sick and twisted experiments… why, with each case that went into his ears, Naruto grew to hate Sasuke as a whole. Not just as the person whom he became, but just the name, as well.
"Oh please. I doubt Naruto would let him get out of it that easily." Ino stated. They turned a corner and could see the tall hospital up ahead. But it was just an illusion; there was still a long walk ahead of them. "Do you think he'd kill him?"
"No." Sakura said; with nothing but assurance in her voice. "Naruto may want to do a lot of awful things to Sasuke — perhaps even what Sasuke did to those people — but killing him is out-of-the-question. I know that deep down Naruto still misses him, and wishes that things had turned-out differently. He can't kill Sasuke. No matter how much he may have convinced himself that he wants to."
"What about you?" Ino asked. "Are you ready to see him again? They're taking him through the Shinobi District when he gets here, since it's the only safe path to the underground cells. Thousands of shinobi all in one place — Sasuke would be an idiot to try and do anything."
Sakura paused for a moment to think about Ino's question; while she remained walking, her thoughts had halted before changing the topic.
Was she ready to see Sasuke again?
That was a question that she used to debate; back when she still foolishly believed that there was a chance that Sasuke would ever come back, of his own free will. That he would want to be with her, Naruto, Kakashi and the others, and want to be a Leaf shinobi, once again. Back when the world was gumdrops and rainbows, and she hadn't taken in that fresh breath of necessary air that kept her from believing idiocy.
But now, now she couldn't answer that question like she had easily been able to do so back then. The answer was no longer a: Yes, he will come back, and I will confront him. Now all that came to mind was a blank.
She was neither unprepared nor ready to see Sasuke once again.
In fact, she just… didn't care.
She shrugged.
"If I see him, I see him."
"Okaa-san!" Haruko called out.
The twelve-year-old girl, with short black hair in a layered bob, and eyes as black as her hair, swiftly entered her mother's office. She was dressed darkly, and in layers despite the overly-warm summer weather.
The long-sleeved black sweatshirt that she wore was hiding the two shirts that she had on, underneath. Her pants were rather baggy, and she wore boots instead of sandals, or even regular shoes. One would think that she'd die due to being in the sun for so long, and not wearing the appropriate clothing. But the little girl was always tolerant of heat, and by no means did she enjoying showing her skin.
Despite her tough exposure, she was about as shy as Namikaze Hinata — perhaps shyer.
There was a frown on her face as she entered. Her black eyebrows creased together. She paused for a moment as she spotted the shinobi that was there, and stood silently at the doorway for the shinobi to leave.
"Here you go." Sakura said as she gave the shinobi a letter personally handwritten by her, telling Shikamaru that she was in perfect health. To guard Sasuke, she thought.
"Thank you." The female said. She then poofed away, and Haruko was assaulted by her mother's glare.
"How many times have I told you not to barge into my office like that?" Sakura asked her eldest daughter. She frowned deeply at Haruko, who, having seen that look before, did not think much of it.
"I'm sorry but there's something I have to know, and I couldn't wait until you got home to ask." Haruko stated as she locked the door (much to Sakura's surprise and suspicion), and she headed closer to her mother's desk. Sakura quickly closed the file on the table and began to put it away as Haruko took a seat at the chair in front of the large, wooden desk.
"Make it quick. I still have a lot to do." Sakura said. There was only one hour left, and she needed to examine five remaining shinobi.
Her daughter was blunt and quick to the point; a trait of her father's. "Is it true that there's going to be a public execution tonight?" If she had been swallowing something, Sakura surely would've starting coughing harshly as she choked on it. What?
"Repeat that." Sakura said.
"Katsuro said that tonight some guy is gonna be executed in the middle of the shinobi district. Is that true?"
"You should know better than to listen to Katsuro, Haruko." Sakura said; finally having gained her composure. Honestly, for such a thing to be said was ridiculous.
No one was ever executed publicly. They were always "taken cared of" beneath Konoha, in the underground cells. It was the best way to keep the executions secret, since on a rare occasion they have been the result of a conspiracy that would have surely rocked Konoha down to its core. And the last thing they needed was another assassination, like last time…
Honestly, the things that little boy came-up with were ridiculous. She was honestly debating whether she should let Haruko remain being in contact with him. The only thing stopping her was that he was Hinata and Naruto's son, and that she did not wish to offend her two friends by not allowing her daughter to play with their son. But if Katsuro was born to any other family… she was certain that, by now, it would've been years since the last time Haruko talked to him.
"So it's not gonna happen?" Haruko asked; an invisible black eyebrow raised.
"Of course not."
"Then why are they setting-up a platform?"
Sakura paused in her work, and looked-up at her daughter.
"Excuse me?"
"They're setting up a stage and a bunch of stuff over there. I passed it on the way here. A group of shinobi is building stuff, and when I asked why, they said: 'You'll see later tonight'." Haruko stated.
Sakura couldn't believe it.
Standing from her chair, she went to her window. It held a direct view of the shinobi district (specifically put there for that reason), and she could very easily see that her daughter was right. There was a group of ninja setting something up over there. And by the looks of it… by no means was it festive.
It couldn't be… Sakura thought. Ino said that he would be tried before— no, no Sakura. Don't think that. For all you know, that could just be a new piece of public art… She was not about to jump to conclusions.
But at the same time, that didn't look like any piece of art she'd ever seen; and she's seen a lot since Sai took the liberty of always teaching her about it and showing her different styles and techniques. Nope. The things that she was currently spotting in the middle of the shinobi district were most definitely not of the arts…
Meaning—
"Go home, Haruko." Sakura immediately said.
"What?" Her daughter asked.
"Go home. I want you to go home and watch Izumi until your father and I get back. By no means are you allowed to go outside today." Sakura said sternly.
Haruko was uncertain of why her mother was behaving this way, but knowing that she had her reasons, and not being one to like getting into arguments (she was quite the Zen child), she nodded her head and stood from the chair.
"I'll cook dinner tonight." Haruko said, before unlocking the door and exiting.
Sakura remained at the window; staring at the contraption being built in the middle of the shinobi district. She let out a shaky breath to calm her nerves, releasing the fear that had built-up inside, at her daughter's news.
A public execution.
Sasuke was going to be killed in front of all of the shinobi district of Konoha (she severely doubted Shikamaru would let this news reach civilian ears). It was something that her daughters and their friends would easily be able to see, and the first public execution to take place in Konoha, in centuries!
I guess this is his only option. Sakura thought. He's done too much evil. There was never any hope of him living since he became like Orochimaru…
Her eyes saddened, and for the first time in years, she actually felt pain for the Uchiha.
She hadn't felt a thing for him, in decades.
And now, on the day of what appeared to be his execution, she pitied him and all that he had done. In the back of her mind, the part of her that she had believed died-out years back, whispered that none of this would've happened if he had just come back and not committed crimes against each Land. If only he'd remained the Sasuke she knew as a child.
Maybe then—
She silenced her thoughts; stopping old feelings from resurfacing.
There was truly no reason for her to be thinking such foolish things. Even if a part of her still hopes that Sasuke could have returned to normal, the idea was a waste of brain power, now, given what was gonna happen to him within a few hours.
There was no hope for him.
It had diminished the day he resurrected Orochimaru …
Turning away from her window, Sakura quickly went back to her work. She finished the examinations faster than she had originally planned, since she learned more of tonight's events and knew that Shikamaru wanted the ANBU ready for it as soon as possible.
She had been let-off early that day, orders from Shikamaru himself as a thank you for examining the ANBU so quickly, and was told to go home and watch over her children.
But Sakura knew better than that.
She knew that the reason why Shikamaru didn't want her at work wasn't because he was rewarding her. It probably had something to do with tonight. What exactly, she wasn't sure. But she knew that it wasn't just because.
She arrived home to find her daughters on the roof, and looking towards the center of the shinobi district.
"Inside. Now." She stated.
They left the area without a word, and Sakura sighed as she went to the edge where the railing was placed. She looked over the railing, and her eyes landed on what her daughters had surely been looking at, before she sent them back inside.
A platform had been erected in front of the fountain that was set in the dead center of the shinobi district. The beautiful decoration contradicted the reason why the stage was set there, in the first place. And placed atop the large wooden platform was a single, steel chair. She couldn't see much of it, but she was certain that there were restraints.
It was odd, though, the back of the chair was only two steel rectangular bars that were placed where his shoulders would land. Were they providing him a chance to slip away, or was it designed that way for a reason?
For the umpteenth time that day, she sighed and looked away.
Honestly, she should not trouble herself with such frivolous details. What did it matter that the chair was designed that way? Perhaps it was to provide discomfort? There was no support where it was most needed.
She shook her head; stopping all her thoughts.
This doesn't concern you, nor are you connected to it in any way. She said to herself as she began to head back down to the house. She entered the stairwell and went down about three flights before reaching her second-floor apartment.
She immediately located her two daughters. Haruko and Izumi were in the kitchen, cooking dinner. By the smell of things, salmon was going to be prepared.
"Be careful when you cut the salmon, Haruko." Sakura said as she entered the kitchen. "You don't want to cut your finger like last time." Her daughter nodded her head as she began to chop-off the freshly-cleaned salmon's head. The task would've been a difficult thing to do, but the young girl had always loved to cook, and picked-up on her mother's techniques, very easily.
"Don't worry Okaa-san. I'm being careful." Haruko said. She sliced the head clean-off, and noticed from the corner of her right eye the way her sister grimaced. "If it frightens you, leave."
"What are you talking about?" Izumi said; pausing in her cleaning of the rice. "It doesn't scare me! It's just—" She paused and swallowed as she watched the way her sister wrapped the fish head, and threw it away. "I don't like it when you chop-off fish heads. The guts and stuff spew out and—" She cringed. "It's gross."
Haruko began to tease her little sister on the statement, and Izumi fought back well. Sakura smiled at the scene. She always did like watching the two playfully bicker. It showed just how happy they were with each other.
It showed just how good a mother she was being.
And that was now her life: a mother and a medic, as well as one of Konoha's most respected kunoichi. Her life revolved around her duties to her family, friends and village, and nothing else.
There was no reason to bring in factors that would only serve to cause more trouble than control.
There was no reason to think of Uchiha Sasuke's execution.
Some dinner and a nice, scorching-hot shower later, and Sakura was just about to go over her children's daily progress with their kunoichi techniques, when there was a pounding on her door. She'd barely made it when it flew open.
She glared.
Her lock was most definitely broken.
"Da— Kiba!" She exclaimed. She wasn't one to curse in front of her children, and they were literally a few steps away. "You owe me a new door you moron! Have some patience!"
But Kiba didn't seem to care. Instead, the Inuzuka remained with the same determined look on his face.
"You've been summoned."
Before Sakura could ask why, he was gone in one rapid leap. She heaved a heavy sigh and ran her hands through her long locks. Fuck, she thought. She had to go to the Hokage Tower, and now her door was broken. How could she leave her children alone with a busted door? She certainly couldn't take them to the Hokage Tower; that was a very inappropriate place for little children to be, unless they were with their sensei.
Dammit Kiba, I'm gonna throttle you when I see you again. Sakura swore. But despite her anger towards the cause of the situation, she kept a level head and decided that she could plot Kiba's demise, later. At the moment, she had to—
"I'll fix it." She turned her head towards her daughter Haruko, who stood behind her with— a new lock still in its packaging, placed in hand.
"How—"
"He did this a couple times before. I figured it'd be best if I stocked-up on locks in case he did it again." Haruko stated. She walked forward and began to work on the lock; unscrewing the now-broken one.
"You're a life saver, Haruko." Sakura said. "I have to run to the Hokage Tower, and hopefully will be back soon. Watch over your sister, and don't go outside." Sakura warned harshly. She was still miffed that they had gone against her word, earlier, and did not hold the patience to deal with it again.
"We won't." Haruko said; breaking the plastic package holding the new lock.
Sakura slipped into a robe and a pair of slippers — furious at the fact that Kiba had come to her when she was close to falling asleep — and left her home. But first, she made sure that the sweet elderly woman, who lived next door to her, knew that she would be leaving for a while; she always took good care of her girls in those rare moments where neither she nor Sai could watch over the two. When the lady smiled at her and told her to go, Sakura thanked her and made her way onto the roof.
From there, she jumped to the Hokage building; peeking a glance at where the platform had been built. Sure enough, everything was set, and she saw that there were chakra cuffs and harsh leather straps attached to the chair in nearly every area of it.
It was an odd execution chair, but she was certain that it would serve its purpose; especially since some shinobi had already begun to gather there.
She slipped in through the window that most everyone used to get in there, and stood before Shikamaru in her fuzzy light blue robe with flowers sewn into it. He didn't raise an eyebrow at her nighttime appearance — this wasn't the first time she's done this.
"Get dressed, Sakura." He said in a stern voice. "I need someone to heal the Uchiha's minor injuries and stabilize his condition so that he can at least talk — the ANBU who captured him were merciless…" It seemed that there was more to the story of Sasuke's capture than Ino had told her. She suspected as such. Shikamaru was doing a good job of keeping the dirtiest, gruesome, and juiciest details from his gossip-hound of a wife.
"How long do I have?" She asked; feeling a bit depleted from everything that she had to do that day, and wanting to know if she had to get everything down now, or could wait a bit.
"An hour; they should be crossing into our territory as we speak." Shikamaru turned in his chair to look out at his window; past the gates of Konoha, until all he could see were the few trees that had grown back, beneath the dark, navy blue sky. It was such a beautiful, peaceful evening; the world completely unaware of the events occurring behind Konoha's walls.
"I'll be ready by then — the middle of the shinobi district, right?" She asked.
"Yes. Right beside Naruto…"
Sakura nodded, and without a word, she left his office and headed home. There, she quickly changed into her ANBU uniform (head of the ANBU Medical Department, might she add) and tied her hair back into a ponytail. It'd been getting a little too long, and she was sure that she'd have to get it cut soon, but there was really no time.
"Haruko, Izumi…" Sakura said as she entered the living room and caught the attention of both of her girls. "I'll be back when I can. Haruko, make sure to tuck your sister in for bed, by eleven." She stated.
"Where are you going?" Izumi asked.
"Don't worry. I'll still be in the village." She said. She gave her daughters a smile before leaving them with a few more instructions, and the apartment altogether.
"She's going to the execution." Izumi said.
Haruko popped a bubble of gum that she had blown. It was three inches in diameter — her best by far. "Yep."
"Do you think she'll be alright? I mean… I heard from Katsuro that this guy is supposed to be super dangerous and stuff. He was apparently friends with mom and Namikaze-san when they were little…" At this, Haruko's eyes widened.
"He… he's the Uchiha?" Haruko asked.
Izumi nodded.
Suddenly, her skin began to prickle with goose-bumps. Uchiha Sasuke was well-known as the boogeyman of shinobi. Parents would now use tales of him to scare their disobedient children into being more respectful of the things around them. Both of them had heard many stories of what he'd done, and were highly unnerved by it.
The very thought that their mother would be coming face-to-face with him soon—
She shook her head.
"She'll be fine." She said as she leaned back against the couch. "Kaa-san was the fifth Hokage's apprentice, you know, and she's the best ANBU kunoichi around. Besides, Tou-san is probably there, as well — he won't let anything happen to her."
She was certain that the entire shinobi district was there, when she arrived. The area was crowded with shinobi near the stage, on balconies, windowsills, rooftops, trees, pretty much anywhere where they could get a good seat and watch, all eager to see the final Uchiha.
She stood beside Naruto in his ANBU uniform, and was concerned over how he was acting. Naruto was stoic, stiff, his eyes cold and hard, his fingers clenched into a fist and constantly flexing — as if he were imagining holding Sasuke's neck in his hands, and literally squeezing the life out of the male. It was something that Sakura had never seen, and she felt uncomfortable about it.
But she took in a deep breath, and bore with it. Unknowingly, her heart began to pound as she started to summon-up the courage that she would need, to be able to see Sasuke again, after such a long time. She found herself twiddling with her fingers behind her back, as Shikamaru appeared before the crowd and began to speak to them all.
Her mind blanked during it. It wasn't as if he had said much, anyway. Shikamaru was straight to the point and didn't waste time making things flowery and beautiful and heart-warming and a load of bullshit promises that he couldn't keep. No. Instead, he spoke the truth and nothing but it. A short, fifty words or so, she was certain, but it was enough to get the crowd fired up as they cheered.
Briefly she smiled at the changed Shikamaru; not being able to help herself comparing the new version to the old version. She'd admit, she somewhat missed the lazy boy, but war did things to a person that could never be reversed. The psychological trauma that they had gone through was terrible, despite being ninja and trained for it.
No one was ever the same after that war. And while they tried to look past the things that happened, it was difficult to do when there were still so many reminders because of it…
She heaved a sigh; trying to stop the shiver that made its way up her spine as she remembered what happened. She was snapped back to reality when she saw Naruto begin to walk away from her, and head onto a roof in front of her. She was about to follow and see what was wrong with him (maybe he couldn't handle seeing Sasuke, she thought), when Shikamaru called for her. She went to his side.
"He's near the Hokage Tower." He whispered to her as he walked-off the platform after delivering the speech. "Go to where he is, and heal him — but not too much. We don't want him going crazy. There may be a lot of shinobi here, but he's unpredictable. Only heal his speaking ability." He warned her.
She nodded and left without a word; momentarily glancing at Naruto as she passed by the building he was at. He was directly in the path of the steel chair, from where he stood. This caused her to wonder why he chose such a place, but knew that it must be for extra protection. She had concluded that Sasuke would be seated in that chair, and she assumed that Naruto was in his path to stop anything that he might do.
It was a strategy that would work. However, she saw it as being more effective from behind. But Shikamaru had surely thought things through, and who was she to question the techniques of the man whose battle plans have yet to fail?
Removing her thoughts from what was surely another one of Shikamaru's brilliant positioning plans, she quickly headed over to the Hokage Tower.
It didn't take her long to spot the Uchiha.
He was being carried on a paladin, with chains of all shapes, sizes, and material, binding down his arms, legs, and feet. His eyes were blind-folded and his hands were chained as far away from each other, as possible. Over two dozen shinobi surrounded him; more, considering how there were some who were hidden in the area — she could sense their faint chakra signatures, and could clearly see her husband's animated drawings, crawling about.
One stopped near her, and she couldn't help but smile down at the rat. Sai could most likely see her, and had sent the rat as a means of protection. She knew. It was a sweet thing to do.
She headed down and stopped before the group of shinobi. They were being led by Hanabi, who had quickly become one of the youngest shinobi to become ANBU. She was doing good work, from what she's heard, and it was only a matter of time before she replaced Ibiki when it came to interrogation.
"Purpose." She demanded.
"Hokage's orders." Was her only response.
Hanabi nodded and Sakura got closer to her as she began to reveal some more information on what it was that Shikamaru wanted her to do. Hanabi scoffed at her words.
"Not happening. I don't care what he says." She hissed in a low whisper. "The Uchiha is not to be healed, in any way. The slightest reattachment of any joints, muscles, veins, etcetera, and he will gain the upper hand and destroy the village. It'll be much worse than when Pein leveled it."
"He just wants him able to speak for some sort of interrogation." Sakura said, trying to reason with the stone head. "I doubt you and your team were merciful."
"Damn straight we weren't." Hanabi said. "After all that he's done, do you expect us to let him go with a slap on the wrist? A simple chastising? No. Never. He's put not only us, but several other villages through Hell and he deserves every miniscule pain cell that is triggered in his body." Sakura would've corrected Hanabi on just what causes the human body to feel pain (it's not just a simple cell), but she knew that that would only further anger the Hyuuga.
They were getting closer to the center of the Shinobi District, and she needed to have Sasuke's condition stabilized, before they got there.
"I agree with you." She said, honestly. "He deserves it all, but Hokage's orders are Hokage's orders and—"
"Sakura." Hanabi hissed. She stomped her foot on the ground and momentarily caught the attention of other shinobi before they continued walking. "For once, stop trying to defend him and let things take their course. Crush all those female thoughts and think like a shinobi. You, as a medical professional, must be deeply-wounded by the experiments that he's carried-out."
Her eyes grew harder.
"All those innocent people… all those young, bright, life-filled souls forced to become specimens as he revived some of the dirty snake's old experiments. I know you've seen the files." Hanabi said with a quick glance at her. "I know you've seen every little example on just what he did to those people — to the Tsuchikage. How can you want to heal a man that's done nothing but kill and make others bleed out of pure insanity? You are a shinobi of Konohagakure and a medic — you should know what's best: killing him as fast as possible and trying to rid the world of the scar he created." She said.
Sakura sighed.
Oh, she remembered seeing those files. With every little piece of information that came forward in the experiments that Sasuke had been doing, she studied them thoroughly to see if there was a way to cure his "failed experiments" that the village had come across in its search for them.
They were the worse things that she'd ever seen — and she's watched her friends go through Hell and back as they struggled to keep the village from shattering after Pein's attack, the ninja war, and the death of their loved ones.
But never had she seen some of the things that Sasuke had done… they always tore her heart into pieces and she always went into a slight depression after seeing them. She simply couldn't handle it… and she supposed that that was evidence-enough that Hanabi was right.
Why heal a man that's done so much bad in his lifetime? Why heal a man that's done unholy, unspeakable things that were absolute monstrosities in the ninja world?
What was Shikamaru thinking?
"Hanabi…" She said softly. "I agree with you, but—" The Hyuuga rolled her eyes at the appositive. "Shikamaru asked me to heal him, and you know that Shikamaru's intelligence has calculated every possible outcome. He's taken into consideration what the healing session would lead to, and has decided that it's safe to heal him."
"I refuse to let your chakra anywhere near that monster." Hanabi said fiercely. Sakura caught eye of how her hand was closer to her weapon's pouch than it had been before. Hanabi was prepared to fight her to keep Sasuke injured…
"I don't want to fight you." She said.
"Then leave." Hanabi ordered.
She shook her head. "You do not order me around, Hanabi." She said in a low voice. "And I am healing him whether you like it or not — Hokage's orders."
She barely had the time to deflect the kunai with her own.
Metal clashed as Hanabi tried, once again, to slice her neck. She knew that she wasn't aiming for a fatal wound. Just something that would stop her and allow the ninja carrying Sasuke to get to the center of the Shinobi District and execute him without any healing involved.
Hanabi was a smart girl, and hadn't gotten to her position through sheer luck. She had studied medical files as much as she had back when she was young, in order to make her interrogation techniques more effective.
So Sakura knew that Hanabi knew just where to aim, and being the Hyuuga prodigy that she's always been, just how to make sure she hit her mark.
She didn't even need the byakugan, anymore.
"Get to the Shinobi District." Hanabi said to her team as she threw a set of three shuriken at Sakura. She had calculated where the kunoichi would land, and quickly had a few senbon attached to the building. The senbon exploded when Sakura came into contact with them — she was glad that a team had been created that specialized in new shinobi weapons. It was through their hard work that their success rate had risen to the point where Konoha was becoming the envy of the hidden villages. "Make sure the execution goes off without a hitch."
She threw more of the mime-like senbon in Sakura's direction. Catching the glint of the silver in the faint quarter-moon lighting, Sakura twisted her body in the air and allowed herself to fall in a different direction.
As soon as her feet touched the ground, she prepared some of her own weapons and got at Hanabi.
She didn't want to fight Hanabi, but it didn't seem like she had a choice… She prepared a chakra-enhanced punch and was ready to bring her fist forward as soon as she distracted the Hyuuga, when, out of nowhere, she was tripped.
She quickly dispersed the chakra in her hand so that it would not cause too much damage. She then looked for the source of her fall— and found Sai holding back Hanabi.
"Release me." Hanabi said.
Sai did as such and then turned his dark eyes to her. "You should know better than to let your emotions sway your judgment, honey." He said.
Sakura scoffed. "I don't need you to scold me, darling."
"I know." He said. He reached out his hand to her and Sakura took it. As he helped her up, he said, "You've gotten fatter."
"Sai~!" She groaned with a menacing glare. He shrugged.
"Enough of this." Hanabi said. Then, without a word, she headed in the direction of the middle of the shinobi district; her team having gone ahead while she fought with Sakura. Sakura was ready to go after her, but Sai stopped her.
"You're being foolish." He said.
"Sai, let me go." She demanded.
"Despite what the Hokage may want, I have to agree with her this time. It's best if the Uchiha not be healed in any way. He could gain the slightest advantage from it, whatever it may be. Have you not heard of the things he's done over the past few years?" He asked, looking sternly into her green eyes.
Sakura nodded.
"I've studied everything that came our way, about him. I've not only heard of it, but have seen and read it, too. Not to mention, I have memories of things that he's done to me. I'm well aware of the risks that come with healing him, and so is Shikamaru. However, Shikamaru still thinks it's a good idea and—"
"It's a trick." Sai said, surprising her.
"W-what?" She asked.
"It's a lie. A lie specifically created for you, Sakura." He stated.
"I don't understand."
"Our dear Hokage has come up with an elaborate scheme to keep you away from the execution. You see, there has been much controversy over this issue. There's been talk that when the Uchiha is found and returned to Konoha, his old teammates — you and Naruto — would do something to keep him alive, stating that he could change and help Konoha. Because of this, he's been receiving orders and suggestions to not let you two near him. He determined that Naruto was safe, but you were still the problem. And after debating things over, he came up with this plan."
"If that was true, then why—"
"That wasn't the Uchiha — that was a decoy. The real Uchiha was captured months ago and sealed beneath the grounds of Konoha. The public execution is today, yes, but the time lapse isn't what you think. While you were fighting the little Hyuuga and arguing with her, they were well underway with the execution. Listen."
"That's… ridiculous." Sakura said, unable to believe the words coming out of her husband's mouth.
But as the two went silent, she could finally hear it clearly. Cheers. Loud, loud cheers coming from behind her, in the direction that Hanabi's team had taken off. Not only that, but there were still shinobi hidden around the area. She had thought that they would go off with Hanabi. But as she thought of it more, it seemed to make more and more sense.
Those shinobi weren't there to keep "Sasuke" in line, they were there to keep her away…
"I… I don't—" It was hard to process.
This entire thing was a lie? This situation that she was in right now, about being asked to heal Sasuke and whatnot, was a lie in order to keep her away? So that she wouldn't interfere with the execution?
Did people still see her as that little Sasuke-obsessed girl years ago? Did they not see that she had moved on and had become stronger? Was all this really necessary? Did no one have any sort of faith in her? It was the most unbelievable thing she'd ever heard. To keep her occupied while they underwent the real execution without her presence.
That… that…!
"That's not all." Sai said. "While you major in healing and your judgment was based on that, Naruto majors in fighting, and his task is to…" He paused. Sakura could see the uncertainty in his eyes. Using her vibrant green orbs, she forced it out of him. "He is the one to execute the Uchiha in the center of the Shinobi District."
She felt her mind break.
It all makes sense, now… Sakura thought as she hurried to the Shinobi District. It all makes sense now… the reason why Shikamaru gave me the day off was so that he could give me time to think about this situation with Sasuke. He has Naruto placed where he is so that Naruto can run him through… Shikamaru, do you honestly have little faith in me?
It hadn't taken her long to get there, even with her husband intruding every step of the way — trying to talk her out of whatever crazy plan he assumed she had formed.
She would have none of it.
Ignoring his every word, she climbed up to the building where Naruto was. She had noticed that the chair that had been there all day was replaced with a high steel pole, and there were weapons lined up in a carrier beside it. Currently, shinobi went-up one-by-one to harm the Uchiha with their weapon of choice (he was defenseless and his chakra was surely being sucked-up or negated somehow to the point where he couldn't do a thing) causing an increase in volume as several ninja badmouthed the captive male and enjoyed his pain.
"Naruto." She said, approaching him.
But he did not turn to her. He kept his eyes stone hard and on Sasuke at all times. If he knew that she was there, he certainly didn't show any sign of it.
"Naruto are you really going to do this? Are you going to be the one to kill Sasuke?" She asked.
"Sakura." Sai said as he tried to approach her.
"Naruto answer me!" She exclaimed. "You've done nothing but distance yourself from me for the past months and now I'm beginning to think that it's because you knew that Sasuke had been here all along and that you would be asked to kill him when the time came. Is that it? Did you think that if you told me that I wouldn't be able to handle it?"
"Dammit Naruto! I'm married and I have two beautiful girls! I've moved on from my feelings for that murderer down there, and I hold no intention of being weak for him or anything related to him. So if you had told me that you would've executed Sasuke, yes, I would've been shocked and probably conflicted about how I felt about it. But in the end I would've seen that it was the right thing to do. Why is it that no one believes me when I say that I'm done with Sasuke and couldn't give a flying fuck about what he does?!" She shouted at him.
Inside, she knew that she was using Naruto as her personal punching bag. She was taking out all of her frustrations on him, and she shouldn't be. She should control herself, and let the chips fall where they may, but strike her with lightning if she wasn't sometimes ruled by her emotions.
(Odd, these times were always somehow related to Sasuke.)
"Naruto… why don't you trust me?" She finally asked.
"Why did you tell her?" Naruto stated, directing his attention to Sai.
"I felt that she needed to know. A husband holds no secrets from his wife." Sai stated. At this, Naruto turned to him and glared deathly at him. Sakura had never seen that face on him before; Naruto never wanted her know. He wanted to fully keep her in the dark, for as long as it took.
"Hm."
"Naruto…" She said softly. She said no words as she felt the spike in chakra around him. Looking down at his hand, she watched as he began to make a Rasengan.
It was the very move he had Jiraiya teach him, so that he could get one step closer to Sasuke all those years ago.
He's gonna take him down with a Rasengan.
"Naruto—"
"Stay out of this, Sakura. It isn't your place."
"But—"
"Shut up."
With the Rasengan fully charged, greater than she had ever felt it before despite its size still being smaller than a basketball, she couldn't help it as she moved back and away from her. Her mind was drowning in conflicted emotions. She was unsure as to how she should act.
She was glad that Sasuke was being executed — wasn't she?
(She was upset that Naruto had to do it and that this was how the tale of their friendship had come to an end. She was upset that people still had no faith in her and believed that she couldn't handle this. She was upset that so much work had to be put into fooling her because of these mysterious naysayers. She was upset that Shikamaru believed them, or went along with what it was that they wanted.
She was upset that after all these years, they still saw her as being weak.)
Naruto stood from his crouched down position, and the crowd had turned their attention to him. The light of his rasengan illuminated his face, and it was clear to see the unforgiving, shaded eyes that he had directed in Sasuke's direction. The Rasengan soon became the only sound in the entire shinobi district.
"Na—"
"He killed Kakashi."
She froze.
"He tried to destroy the village."
"He hurt all those people."
"He resurrected that bastard that killed the old man, and took over for him."
"He tried to assassinate the Tsuchikage and take over his land."
"He's tried to do nothing but create an army that would wipe out each and every Land and put it under his control — he wanted to carry on Madara's will of his version of a perfect world. Do you know the Hell we had to go through in that war?! Do you know all the shit we went through because of that plan? Because of that stupid dream?!"
While he may have originally been addressing her, now it seemed as though he was reminding the crowd of all the shit they'd had to go through because of Sasuke and his going-under.
She didn't speak.
"All that pain… that suffering… that blood and people that we love that can never come back because that asshole had to go around and fuck everything up!"
She could feel the tears begin to prick at her eyes.
Her heart was already crying out, but she refused to show it.
"But today… that'll never happen again. It'll all be over…" The Rasengan in his hand grew stronger and stronger. Eventually the chakra she felt was no longer his, but had the tailed beast's mixed in with it. As he took on the cloak and let his feral side get the better of him, the Rasengan morphed into something that she had never seen before. It's now tinted orange color grew darker and darker until it was black. "I'm sorry it turned out this way…" He whispered this, and she was certain that she was the only one that could hear it. It was what caused her cry. She got down on her knees and covered her hands — she didn't want to see this happen. It wasn't right.
Why… why did it have to turn out like this?!
"Take this and go to Hell, you bastard!"
.
.
.
So… what do you think? I'm not too certain if the plot was perfect, but I think that as far as "Sasuke Return" stories go, it helped to capture that while we want it to turn out all good and happy and for Team Seven to be reformed, that… may not be the case. I mean, I want it to happen, but I know that it probably won't end up that way. Hell, Kishimoto isn't exactly being merciless right now, you know?
Death Row is the third in my week-long one- and two-shot updates, so look out for my other unconventional stories being published this week, and check out the other two (Betrayal and The Things We Can Never Have) that go along with it.
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this and please tell me what you think. I love getting reviews since they're great ways to see how people react to this sort of thing and what I can improve on.
So please review!
~Chibi