I've had the title and the idea for this story saved on my computer for a long time but I just couldn't write it. A story of betrayals, forgiveness, and of seeing the bigger picture. And because Sasuke should be killed by a girl-namely Sakura.
Elysium
Haruno Sakura, you are sentenced to death for the murder of Uchiha Sasuke.
Disobeyed official orders.
Accessed restricted information.
Assaulted the innocent.
Committed murder.
The charges are numerous and grave but she sits there, perfectly serene. One wonders how she does it, how she can remain so calm in the face of such accusations. Can someone truly be that good of an actress? She is a kunoichi, after all, and to be a kunoichi is to be a performer. But why would she act as though nothing is wrong? As though the stakes aren't life and death and it isn't her life that's on the line?
The way she looks, you would never think her capable of cruelty. She's exquisitely beautiful; fine, delicate features, vivid green eyes, blush-colored hair. There's an ethereal quality to her, made real because she's the greatest medical ninja since the Godaime Hokage. She's a healer, a true angel for the wounded and dying on the battlefield.
How then, could Haruno Sakura be on trial for the murder of Uchiha Sasuke?
"What was Haruno Sakura's mission, Hokage-sama?"
"She was to go to Otogakure and heal the wounded. There had been a bloody civil war and many were critically injured or on the brink of death. They were desperately in need of medical attention."
"Was Uchiha Sasuke a part of the mission in any way?"
"No."
"So Haruno-san sought Uchiha Sasuke out against official orders?"
"…Yes."
The dungeons are dank and cold. Water drips onto the ground from a leaky pipe above. In another context, the rhythmic plopping of droplets would be soothing; here, it is only a reminder of the inevitable.
"Do you know how much it hurt me to testify against you?"
Her voice comes out in a strangled whisper. It is a choked sound, completely at odds with her usual image as the strong, vital leader of Konoha. But the persecution of her beloved protégé has taken a toll on Tsunade, and there is an agony in her words that is lost among the now silent screams of the dungeons' past prisoners.
"I forgive you, shishou."
"Describe what happened, Shizune-san."
"I-I came to work one morning and found the door to Tsunade-sama's private library blown open."
"What is in the Hokage's private library?"
"Tsunade-sama keeps important documents in there. Treatises and such. The Bingo Book."
"Was anything missing?"
"Y-yes. All files on Uchiha Sasuke were gone."
"And Haruno Sakura knows where this room is located?"
"No one besides her, me, and Tsunade-sama know of this room and its location."
"Could anyone have blown it open?"
"The chakra-infused door was decimated with a single punch. Only two people have enough strength to do that."
There is guilt written all over her face. It's present in the creases on her forehead, in the tight lines at the corners of her mouth. She's being torn apart by it.
"I didn't want to, Sakura, but Danzo and the Elders—!"
"It's okay, Shizune. You were just doing your job."
"Hatake-san, please explain to the jury the reason for your recent hospitalization."
"I had been poisoned."
"With what?"
"A prescription medical drug."
"A prescription drug, undoubtedly unavailable to most of the public. And how was this drug administered to you?"
"It had been put in my ramen."
"Do you go out to eat ramen with people often?"
"No. Only with my students."
"With Uzumaki Naruto and Haruno Sakura?"
"Yes."
"Was Uzumaki-san with you the day you were poisoned?"
"No…just Sakura."
There is a chasm of silence between them. He had never been a man of many words to begin with, but then again, what could he say after he as good as signed her death warrant with his own hand?
Those who abandon their friends are worse than trash. Oh, he was worse than trash alright. He was the lowest of scum. He didn't just sell out a friend—he sold out his own student, his own daughter. She had been with him since she was twelve, looking up to him for guidance and for support, and in the span of minutes he turned his back on years of camaraderie and of bonds forged from blood, sweat, and tears.
He deserves to die. Not her. Not her, with her hair and eyes as bright as the promises of life's possibilities, her name a reminder of how beautiful living is. She is so young. The world lies ahead of her.
A tear leaks out from the eye hidden beneath the mask. She smiles gently.
"Don't cry for me, sensei."
"Uzumaki Naruto, you led the team that discovered Uchiha Sasuke's body."
"Yeah."
"How did this happen?"
"We were sent to Oto by the Hokage as well. One night we heard sounds of a huge fight and we went to investigate. By the time we got there, it was too late. The fight had already finished. We found Sasuke's body."
"Describe the scene."
"Burning trees. Sasuke's fire jutsu. Deep craters in the earth…"
"And those are telltale signs of Haruno-san's immense strength, yes?"
"…"
"Yes?"
"…Yes."
He will never forget the day he found Sasuke's dead body lying in the dirt. The pale flesh had been marred by purple bruises and streaks of dried blood while the limbs were bent at impossible angles like some sick contortionist experiment gone wrong. It wasn't the most brutal death by shinobi standards, but it was gruesome enough to send him reeling backwards before retching in a nearby hole. Only when he finished and recovered from his initial shock did he realize that the hole he had vomited in was more than a little pit—it was a goddamned crater.
The truth dawned on him then.
He didn't believe it at first. Nobody did. They all looked at the scene before them, questioning their own sanities as they arrived at the only possible conclusion one could draw from Sasuke's corpse and the deep fissures in the ground.
"It appears Sakura defeated Sasuke," Shikamaru had whispered, cold logic barely trumping disbelief and the counter-intuitiveness of it all.
Counter-intuitive because it was Sakura and Sasuke. Sakura, who had been in love with Sasuke since their days in the Academy. Sasuke, who was powerful enough to have killed some of the greatest shinobi in existence. There were just so many things wrong with the picture that even the old adage "seeing is believing" wasn't enough.
But counter-intuitiveness seemed to be prevalent these days. Like him testifying against Sakura. He had loved her his entire life and now, he was feeding her to the dogs. He wondered if their situation was a parallel of hers and Sasuke's.
Her green eyes sparkle and one shackled hand slides between the bars separating them to take one of his own.
"It's going to be okay, Naruto. Everything's going to be okay."
"Has the jury reached a verdict?"
"It has, Your Honor. The jury finds the defendant guilty as charged. Haruno Sakura, you are sentenced to death for the murder of Uchiha Sasuke."
Death is inevitable in our profession. It comes for us more quickly than it does for others, lured by the scent of all the blood staining our souls—the blood of the many we have killed. It takes some peacefully and others violently. Ultimately, it's a blessing. Because only in death is there no pain.
From my seat in the stand, I can see the faces of those who loved and betrayed me. Guilt. Shame. Remorse. Resignation. There is no shock anymore—that was reserved for before, when I was first arrested and the charges were announced. Now, they are jaded by what they've heard. There is only a painful acceptance of the fact that my fate is sealed—and of the part they played in it. They didn't want to testify against me. But the vow of shinobi to put their country first trumps the bonds between teachers, teammates, and friends and they had no other choice. I forgive them. But they will never forgive themselves and my death will hang like a dark cloud over their heads for the rest of their lives.
And beyond the pain is confusion. They still don't understand why I did it. How is a matter of technicalities; turns out a prodigy can be beaten with an ingenious combination of physical and mental skill. But why? She loved him, they think. Why would she kill the one she loves?
They fail to see that it was because of my love for Sasuke that I did what I did. He was beyond saving, so wrapped up in his anger and pain that he was consumed by it. He was blinded by a darkness as black as the remains of his heart and nothing—not Kakashi's words of wisdom, not Naruto's fists—was going to open his eyes again. There was no other way. I had to kill him…to save him.
Elysium. The resting place of the brave and the honorable, the heroic and the virtuous. I take comfort in knowing it is there I will spend the rest of eternity.