A/N: Sorry for the lack of updates, guys. My old laptop had an unfortunate meeting with my bedroom floor back in November and I didn't have any of my stories backed up, so I haven't been able to continue them. Fortunately sometime in the next week or two I'm going to be getting my files transferred to my new computer. Until then, enjoy this new story. (:
"Has the jury reached a verdict?"
Six words that Sasuke Uchiha never thought he would hear in person. He especially never expected to be the one on trial.
"Yes, your honor," replied a female juror as she stood from her seat. "We the jury find the defendant, Sasuke Uchiha, not guilty on all three counts of murder..."
Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief. He knew he would be found not gui-
"...by reason of insanity."
Sasuke's head snapped up as the woman sat down. He felt like the entire surface of the earth was caving in beneath him, and he was falling into a bottomless black hole. He knew his lawyer was going to go for the insanity angle, but he never thought the jury would need to resort to that. It was clear he didn't kill his family! He had no motive! Sasuke was still in shock as his lawyer stood to his right.
"Because my client is a minor and would only be put into foster care now, given his situation, I trust you'll take our psychologist's advice and have him institutionalized?"
"Yes," the judge replied, his firm voice causing Sasuke to flinch slightly in his seat. "Sasuke Uchiha will be sent to the Pineridge Asylum for Young Adults to be treated for Acute Stress Disorder with suppressed memories, and any other condition the asylum sees fit to diagnose him with." With a bang of the gavel the entire courtroom stood and began filing out the door at the back of the room in an orderly fashion. Sasuke, however, remained rooted in his seat, unable to pull himself up, until his lawyer did it for him.
"You're very lucky," the lawyer muttered to Sasuke as they left the courthouse.
"Hn?" was all Sasuke could manage to reply. The man put his arm around Sasuke's shoulders as they neared the front door, to protect him from the news crews and cameramen who were undoubtedly waiting outside. The Police Chief's entire family was murdered in their own home, with the exception of his youngest son. Of course it was the biggest story in Konoha.
Just before he opened the door the lawyer whispered, "Pineridge is the best place for people like you." And then the door was opened and Sasuke was ushered out into the bright sun, the flashes of cameras, the screaming and shouting over the 'not guilty' verdict - some agreeing, some opposing - and the mass of people trying to get at Sasuke. Some wanted to take his picture, some wanted to ask him questions, some probably wanted to beat him to death for what he had allegedly done to his family. But Sasuke knew he wasn't guilty, he was found not guilty - even if it was because they thought he was insane - and he simply kept his head up as they walked to the car. His lawyer took care of all the, "No comment"s and the "No photos, please"s.
After what seemed to Sasuke like ages of battling through the crowd, they finally made their way to the car. Sasuke was pressed into the back seat and the lawyer climbed into the front seat, already dialing a number on his phone as they pulled out of the courthouse parking lot. Sasuke tuned the words out, not paying attention unless he heard his own name. Of course the man in the front of the car was talking about him, even if he didn't say his name, but Sasuke didn't care to hear what was said. He only cared whether or not his lawyer was speaking to him directly.
It took about half an hour to get to the asylum from the courthouse. On the way there Sasuke gazed out the window, at the familiar landscape flying by and changing into unfamiliar territory. Sasuke knew there was a large asylum on the outskirts of town, but that was about as far as his knowledge went. He'd never known it was specifically for young adults, or even what it was called. Although he'd heard that it was impressive, Sasuke was still surprised by the size of the establishment as they pulled through the front gates and up into the parking lot. There were two buildings: the main building, which looked to be about three stories tall; and a second, smaller building which was only a single story tall.
There was an orderly waiting for them in the parking lot outside the main building, a man with messy platinum blond hair and a medical mask covering the bottom half of his face. The lawyer pulled into a parking space and put the car in park, and the waiting orderly opened Sasuke's door for him.
"Sasuke Uchiha, correct?" the man asked. Sasuke could see in his eyes that he was smiling, although his mouth was covered by the mask. Sasuke opened his mouth to reply, but before he had the chance to speak his lawyer answered for him.
"Yes, that's him. Is the social worker here yet?" The lawyer leaned his head out of the open driver's side window without getting out of the car, or even turning it off, as he spoke.
The orderly cocked an eyebrow as Sasuke closed his mouth and threw a glare at the lawyer. "Yes, she's in the intake office already," the orderly replied, stepping away from the open car door and allowing Sasuke to step out of the vehicle.
"Good, good," the lawyer replied as the orderly closed the back door. "Good luck, Sasuke," he turned his head toward his client as he put the car in reverse. "I hope this place helps you." Sasuke only nodded in response. Even if he had tried to speak, the man was already backing out of the parking lot. Part of the Uchiha wanted to spit on the shiny hood of his worthless lawyer's car as he drove away. The lawyer wasn't worth the money he was paid. Just like the police, he refused to even hear Sasuke's side of the story. Everyone just assumed that the Uchiha heir was guilty. From the moment he was assigned to the teen, he was working on the insanity defense. As badly as he wanted to defile the man's car, Sasuke managed to restrain himself; he figured that wouldn't exactly be a good first impression to make in an insane asylum.
"Well then, Sasuke," the orderly turned toward him once more. "My name is Kakashi Hatake and I'll be giving you your welcome tour, but first we need to get you signed in." Sasuke nodded and Kakashi started walking toward the main building. 'Welcome tour?' Sasuke thought to himself. 'He makes it sound like I'm staying in a hotel or just got a new job...'
They entered the building and Sasuke immediately found himself in what appeared to be a waiting room. He stood in the doorway and looked around the nicely decorated room as Kakashi walked over to the small desk where a lone nurse sat. The orderly and the nurse talked quietly for a few moments, then Kakashi turned back to Sasuke.
"Take a seat. I'm going to go make sure they're ready for you, and I'll be back soon." The man exited the room though a door behind the nurse's desk and Sasuke sat down. The nurse smiled at him and he nodded politely, then started looking through the magazines spread out on one of the nearby end tables to avoid conversation.
Surprisingly, it didn't take long for Kakashi to return and call Sasuke back. They went through the door behind the nurse's desk again and down a wide hallway, Kakashi leading the way. The third door on their right was open, and that was where they turned. In the room was the social worker that represented Sasuke all throughout his arrest and trial and a middle aged woman with blonde hair in pigtails. Sasuke recognized his own suitcase on the floor next to the chair where the social worker sat.
"Please, take a seat," the social worker instructed, motioning to a cushioned chair next to her own, opposite the blonde woman's desk. Sasuke moved toward the seat as Kakashi stayed standing next to the open door. "We just have a little bit of paperwork for you to sign, then you'll be shown around." Sasuke nodded silently as the blonde woman slid a stapled stack of papers across the desk toward him.
As he flipped through the paperwork Sasuke saw that, unsurprisingly, the social worker had already signed on a few lines. It shook Sasuke to realize that an almost perfect stranger was now his legal guardian, and he dropped the pen he had been handed onto the desk. Swallowing thickly, he picked the pen back up and continued flipping through the packet, trying to hide the wave of depression that washed over him. The last page of the packet was the patient intake form, which listed Sasuke's symptoms, medical history, and any possible risks to other patients.
"Excuse me," Sasuke said, looking up at the blonde woman that he assumed was in charge of the asylum. "This is wrong. I didn't kill my parents. I don't know who did but... I didn't."
She peered over her desk at the paper, then her light brown eyes met Sasuke's black ones. "Regardless of whether or not you were the murderer, your subconscious is still suppressing the memories from you, which is something we need to take care of." Her voice was calming yet firm, leaving no room for discussion. She leaned back in her chair before continuing. "Anyway, that's something you'll need to talk about with your therapist, not us."
Although he could tell no one in the room believed what he'd said, Sasuke merely nodded. He signed the bottom of his intake form then flipped backward through the packet, signing and dating all the lines that were still left blank. When he was finished he handed the packet to the blonde woman on the other side of the desk, who smiled at him. "Welcome to the Pineridge Institute for Young Adults, Mr. Uchiha." Sasuke silently cocked an eyebrow as he stood and shook hands with his social worker for the last time. If he hadn't been the one getting checked in, he would have found it slightly amusing that the judge had called the establishment the Pineridge Asylum, while the asylum themselves evidently preferred the word 'Institute.'
The social worker quickly departed and Kakashi waved for Sasuke to follow him, which the young Uchiha did after collecting his suitcase. As soon as they were out in the hallway the door to the blonde woman's office shut loudly behind them, causing Sasuke to jump slightly. Instead of laughing, as Sasuke expected him to, the older man merely turned toward the new patient and explained, "Tsunade is the warden. She likes her privacy whenever possible." Then he turned away and continued walking down the hall, in the opposite direction of the room where they had entered the building. Silently, Sasuke followed.
"The first floor is what everyone calls the unisex floor. Down here we have the administration offices, the infirmary, the cafeteria, and the therapists' offices." Although he mentioned all of these rooms, Kakashi didn't actually show Sasuke where any of them were. It didn't take long for him to realize that Kakashi was leading him toward the staircase, rather than around the first floor. As he pulled open the door leading to the stairwell, Kakashi continued, "Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays you will have classes in the smaller building next door. Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays are therapy days. Although tomorrow is Wednesday, you'll probably be called down here for your intake evaluation anyway. Tonight you can rest."
By this time they had made it to a landing with a door, which Kakashi pulled open for Sasuke. "This is the second floor, the mens ward. The third floor is the womens ward, but access is restricted to staff and female patients only." He leaned in near Sasuke as they started down the hall and said quietly, "It's the exact floor plan of this ward except a little more nicely decorated. Don't try to go exploring, it won't be worth the punishment." At that the man chuckled quietly as he pulled away, and Sasuke merely nodded.
By now Sasuke could see other patients roaming the halls, along with nurses and orderlies, and it comforted Sasuke slightly to know that he wouldn't be locked in a room all day, only allowed to leave for therapy and schooling. Kakashi waved to a few of the patients as they passed and the boys greeted the man by name. "I'm in charge of the mens ward and I live on site, so I'll always be here." Again, Sasuke replied with a nod. He considered asking the orderly where he lived, but thought it may be an odd first question. Besides, he wasn't in much of a talking mood. Instead of speaking Sasuke decided to look around as they walked, trying to memorize the layout of the surprisingly there wasn't much around. The walls were lined with identical white doors - he assumed, patients' rooms - and all the walls were all a pale blue. Not far ahead the hallway turned ninety degrees to the left.
When they rounded the corner the scenery changed. Where Sasuke expected the left wall to be was instead a long counter, extending the length of this patch of hallway, the actual left wall about ten feet behind the counter. Two nurses sat quietly on the opposite side of the counter filling out paperwork, while another nurse tapped away at a computer keyboard. As expected, Kakashi announced, "Here we have the nurse's station. To your right, you'll see the living room, where everyone hangs out." Sasuke turned his eyes from the nurses station to the wide, open archway in the center of the right wall. Through the entryway he could see a large room with two couches and a few arm chairs circling a fairly large television that was mounted on one wall; another couch and a large bookshelf against the opposite wall; and a small table where a few boys sat playing cards taking up the remaining space in the room. To Sasuke's relief Kakashi didn't introduce him to the crowded room, or in any way draw their attention. They quickly moved on, down the hall.
When they got to the end of the nurse's station the pair turned another corner, to find the third and apparently final leg of the ward. It was almost identical to the first hall, with the exception of four numbered booths set into the right wall. "These are the phone booths," Kakashi explained. "All you need to do is sit down, pick up the receiver and ask a nurse to connect you, then dial the number you wish to call." Sasuke couldn't think of a single person he would call now that his family was gone, but it was still nice to know he could if he ever needed to.
The tour only lasted a few more steps. Kakashi stopped in front of the fourth door on the left and told Sasuke, "This will be your room," before knocking on the door and pushing it open. The room was small, but not tiny. It was just big enough to fit the two twin beds, two dressers, two night stands, and have a comfortable amount of walking space between it all.
"Hey, Kakashi!" greeted a boy with bright blond hair and a wide smile who sat upon one of the beds. "Who ya got with you?"
"Naruto, this is Sasuke," Kakashi introduced. "He's our newest patient, and he'll be your roommate." The orderly turned to Sasuke. "Sasuke, meet Naruto. You're lucky, he's a very pleasant roommate."
The blond boy laughed as he stood up from the bed and approached Sasuke to shake his hand. "Ah, thanks Kakashi! It's nice to meet you, Sasuke!"
In light of Sasuke's recent experiences, Naruto's smile seemed too wide, his voice too bright. He seemed all-around too happy, especially for someone who was confined to an insane asylum. Nevertheless Sasuke shook his new roommate's hand and replied shortly, "You too."
"Well Sasuke, I'll let you unpack your things, and you two can get to know each other," Kakashi said, and although his mouth was still covered by the medical mask, it again appeared to Sasuke that he was smiling. He examined the man's face curiously and thought he saw a faint scar over his left eye, but before he had the chance to look closer the orderly was bidding them farewell and leaving the room. Sasuke shrugged it off and set his suitcase down on the open bed, Naruto having already sat back down upon his own bed.
"It's good to have a roommate again," Naruto said as Sasuke opened his suitcase and began unpacking. "It's been pretty quiet around here..." The blond continued chatting pleasantly, Sasuke replying whenever Naruto paused long enough to allow it - which wasn't often. Sasuke mainly focused on going through what his social worker had picked out for him, wishing desperately that they would have allowed him to choose his own clothes. She had somehow found probably two weeks worth of outfits that he hardly ever wore.
By the time he was completely unpacked and had sat down on his bed to face Naruto, who was now bopping his head along to the radio that had been playing since before Sasuke came in, Sasuke still couldn't figure out what was wrong with his roommate - other than the fact that he was far too happy about everything.
"So what did you do?" Sasuke asked, figuring it must have been a one-time thing that got Naruto into the asylum.
"Eh?" the blond replied.
'Eloquent,' Sasuke thought to himself. "To get in here. What did you do?"
Naruto blinked, staying quiet for a moment. He stared at the wall as though he were looking out a window. "Officially," he started, making sure to stress the word, "I have multiple personality disorder and schizophrenia." He turned back toward Sasuke, a blond eyebrow cocked. "What about you?"
To Sasuke's great relief, a knock came at the door right as Naruto asked the question, and Kakashi poked his head back into the room. "Dinner is in half an hour. Naruto, you'll show Sasuke to the cafeteria, won't you?"
"Sure, Kakashi," Naruto replied with a smile. The orderly gave him a small salute before backing out of the room again. Before Naruto had a chance to repeat the question, Sasuke stood from his bed.
"We don't have bathrooms in our rooms?" he asked.
"No," Naruto replied, seeming to forget they already had a conversation going. "We have public bathrooms. The doors are marked with those little stick figure men that you see on public restrooms in malls and stuff. Didn't Kakashi show you where they were?"
"No, he didn't show me where much was," Sasuke said, realizing for the first time that it was true. "I didn't notice them marked either. Where are they?"
"Well, there's one on each of the long halls in the ward. They're both right around the corner from the nurses station. The one on this side is where the bath tubs and the showers are, and the one on the other side is where the toilets are. The bathrooms are big and nice but it kind of sucks because when you shower you have to-"
"Okay, thanks," Sasuke interrupted. "I'll be right back." Naruto furrowed his eyebrows as if he didn't understand where his roommate was going, then his eyes widened slightly with realization and he nodded.
"Don't flush yourself down the toilet!" the blond called after him, chuckling at his own joke as Sasuke fought the urge to roll his eyes on the way out the door.
Sasuke walked quietly back up the hall, making sure to look for the 'little stick figure men' that would mark the bathrooms. Sure enough the last door on his right before the hallway turned, straight across from the phone booths, was a door with the symbolic blue man seen on public mens restrooms worldwide. He made a mental note of the door and continued on, turning the corner. Sasuke walked quickly past the open entryway to the living room, thankful that nobody called out to him or seemed to notice him. Little did he know, someone in the room had taken great notice, and followed after Sasuke not too long after. The Uchiha turned the final corner and found yet another marked restroom, in the exact same place as the other. Wondering how he had missed the doors on the tour, he entered the bathroom.
The bathroom looked just like any public restroom he had seen, in school or in a store or restaurant, but a little on the larger side. Along the left wall were about eight stalls, and along the right wall were five urinals. There were four sinks on each wall. Since it appeared nobody else was in the bathroom Sasuke approached a urinal, pulled down his zipper, and began to relieve his bladder for the first time since early that morning, before he had to appear in court to hear his verdict. He was almost finished when another person entered the bathroom.
"Hey new guy," the other boy greeted. Sasuke looked up at the strange boy, who simply stood by the door, leaning against the wall. "Nice shlong." The boy gave a wide smirk, showing off a mouthful of teeth that looked far too sharp to belong to a human. Sasuke quickly shook himself off and closed up the front of his pants. He couldn't tell if the other was being complimentary or sarcastic, but either way the comment made him uncomfortable. Sasuke wasn't one to frequently allow strangers to look at his 'shlong,' as the other boy so tactlessly put it.
"Hey, hey, don't get offended," the boy whined, pushing himself away from the wall as Sasuke silently chose a sink and began washing his hands. He watched in the mirror as the other boy approached him from behind. He had light blue-gray hair and vibrant purple eyes. Sasuke couldn't imagine a stranger looking individual. "The name's Suigetsu," the odd boy introduced himself, leaning against the sink next to Sasuke. "Now, your turn."
"Sasuke," he replied shortly as he rinsed his hands and turned off the water, moving over to the paper towel dispenser that was mounted on the wall next to the door.
"Great! You can talk!" Suigetsu exclaimed, sounding genuinely excited as he pulled away from the sink and followed Sasuke, leaning instead on the wall next to him as he dried off his hands. "So what're you in for?"
Sasuke paused and looked over at Suigetsu. There was something about the way the other boy looked at him that made Sasuke realize there was no way he was getting out of this question. He would have to answer it sooner or later. With a sigh he replied, "Acute Stress Disorder. My family was murdered and everyone thinks I did it because I don't remember what happened that night. They say I'm suppressing the memories of killing them."
Much to Sasuke's surprise, Suigetsu laughed. "Ah! So you whacked your own 'rents, huh?" He threw an arm around Sasuke's shoulders and continued to laugh.
"No," Sasuke said firmly, shrugging his way out of the other boy's grip. "I don't know what happened that night but I know I didn't kill them!" He threw his used paper towel into the trash bin and tried to move past Suigetsu, to the door.
"Okay, okay, if you say so," Suigetsu said, although he was still laughing. He moved with Sasuke, continuing to block the Uchiha's way. "Look though, it's okay. Whether you did or didn't its okay. You're with people you can talk to here okay? People who can help you." As he spoke is voice got calmer, almost soothing, and he placed a hand on each of Sasuke's shoulders. Surprisingly, it did make him feel better. Then Suigetsu smirked and added, "And I don't mean the shrinks either." He laughed again as he pulled his hands away from Sasuke's shoulders and crossed his arms over his own chest. He leaned in so that his face was mere inches from Sasuke's and whispered, "So you wanna know what I did to land myself in here?"
Sasuke shrugged. "Sure," he said.
The smirked turned to an evil grin as Suigetsu pulled away. "No," he said softly, "you don't." And with that, Suigetsu turned quickly and exited the bathroom, leaving no room for discussion. Sasuke's eyebrows knitted together as he watched the bathroom door swing closed as Suigetsu disappeared from sight. After a few moments, Sasuke shrugged and left the room as well. He was surprised to see Naruto waiting outside.
"What are you doing here?" Sasuke asked.
"Waiting for you of course! Kakashi told me to show you to the cafeteria, remember?" Naruto said with a smile, although it seemed forced. His eyes lingered on Suigetsu as he walked calmly up the hall. When he noticed Sasuke was giving him an odd look, the blond moved closer to his roommate. "I guess you've met Suigetsu," he said quietly.
"Yeah," Sasuke said. "Why does it matter?" He hadn't exactly gotten close with the boy but it still rubbed him wrong that Naruto was so concerned with who he'd met.
They began walking slowly in the direction of the staircase, Naruto making sure they stayed well behind Suigetsu. "It's hard to avoid him once he's set his eyes on you, but I don't think you should get too involved with Suigetsu," the blond warned.
Sasuke could have rolled his eyes. Just because this schizo kid had a grudge, he was going to try and convince Sasuke not to be friends with Suigetsu? "Why? What's he done?" Sasuke asked sarcastically, not really caring what the blond had to say.
Naruto stopped walking then, and looked around to make sure there was no one in earshot. They didn't have to wait long for the hallway to be clear, everyone was already heading to the cafeteria. "My last roommate was a guy named Juugo. He was Suigetsu's best friend. He's not here anymore because he killed another patient. He got moved to another hospital, a high security isolation asylum."
Sasuke was slightly shaken to know that someone that bad had lived where he now lived, had slept in the bed that was now his, but he didn't see the connection to Suigetsu. Rather than asking outright, he instead asked, "So why did he kill him?"
With a steady, hard look that Sasuke had yet to see on his new roommate, and would never again see thereafter, Naruto replied, "Because Suigetsu told him to."