Chapter 2
Day 62: The Verdict
"Why do you want to come back?" Morino Ibiki asked from across the cell.
Sasuke glared at him. This was the fifth time he'd had to talk with scarface and it was getting, for lack of a better word, annoying. "Don't you have anything better to do?"
"There's no one to torture at the moment. It's been a slow week. Although, if you keep holding back answers that might change. It'd make my day." His smile was unsettling, even to Sasuke, not that he'd ever show it.
With a sneer, Uchiha told him to find someone else to bother.
Ibiki grinned, "Why would I go through the trouble when I've got you right here?" His face grew serious again, "Now, just answer the damn question boy, it's not a hard one."
"This is where my clan lived."
"You want to come back because the family roots are here? Bullshit."
Sasuke leaned against the cold wall of his cell. Ibiki had taken to interrogating him here after the chair incident. He called it, "privilege loss." Sasuke could see why; any change of scenery was appreciated. Shifting his gaze back to Ibiki he answered simply, "Yes."
"Come on Uchiha, don't make me draw it out from you."
"As if you could."
Ibiki didn't like his answer one bit, "don't act so tough bastard. I've seen grown men--strong men--cry like children. You don't know what that is and you best hope you don't find out."
His gaze fell on the scars that ran across Ibiki's face like the lines of a map. "I left Konoha to avenge my family. I went to Orochimaru because I needed power to avenge them."
Ibiki interrupted him, a hard look in his eyes, "couldn't you have found that power here?"
"Not quickly enough."
The interrogator shook his head. "Your friends found that power here."
"No they didn't. None of them could face me and walk away. Naruto's the only one who could give me a challenge, but he left Konoha to train with the toad sannin, which only proves my point." Sasuke finished calmly, as if he'd given thought to the matter before.
"Naruto found power without corrupting his values or betraying his home. You could have done the same."
Sasuke quelled the urge to snarl, "Nobody inside this village could have taught me what Orochimaru did. And who else existed outside of it? Don't say Jiraiya."
The man outside the cell knew he was hitting a sore spot. Perhaps Uchiha had already realized his horizons might have been wider than he'd first thought. With a swipe of his hand, Ibiki let the subject drop. "What's done is done. Back to the real topic. You're only interest in leaving was your brother?"
"Itachi's death was my only objective. With him six feet under, I had no reason to stay away from Konoha. My intentions are honest."
"You still haven't answered my question. Do I need to bring in the truth serum, again?"
This time he really did snarl.
Ibiki didn't seem affected by it. His hand grazed across the black stubble on his chin, "you still sore about that, eh? Well, it was fun to see the mighty Uchiha Sasuke sputtering like a tipsy idiot. Now, again, why'd you come back."
Sasuke was ten seconds away from pulling out his hair and using it to strangle the other man.
"Come on, Uchiha, give me a reason to believe you." Ibiki prodded.
Finally, after deciding that it might get him to go away, Sasuke conceded. "This was my home."
"What?"
"This was my home." he said again, clearer, but still quiet.
"What?"
He received a glare for his baiting.
"You know damn well what I said." The upturned corners of Ibiki's mouth told him he'd heard well enough.
"Would you betray Konoha again?"
"Not without reason." Ibiki thought that was a less than satisfactory answer. "And what exactly constitutes a reason to you Uchiha?"
"Nothing short of murder."
"You can't go on a killing spree every time someone hurts you."
Sasuke's face shifted towards the sealing jutsu on the floor, the symbols written in blood red. It brought unwelcome memories of stained floors and splattered walls. "Its not every day a man slaughters your family. I'm sure you can understand why it would make you irrational."
"And what about the promise of power? Immeasurable power?"
His eyes shifted back to Ibiki, and they were clear when he answered, "Itachi killed my family for power, to test his capacities. I've had enough of power to last ten lifetimes. I don't need or want any more."
Ibiki stared at him for an uncomfortable period of time, gauging, accessing. When he spoke, his tone had lost most of its hostility, though none of its gruffness. "You know what, I might just be stupid enough to believe you."
The council was eerily quiet. It had been a long time since any Uchiha had last been seen by the elders of Konoha, longer still since they'd set foot within the councilroom.
Tsunade watched as Sasuke was brought forward by two ANBU guards, hands shackled, chakra sealed, legs retrained at the ankle, and still looking like a king despite it all. One day that pride's going to bite him in the ass.
"The council has arrived at a decision," she announced.
His smirk told her he was about to say something stupid.
She was right. "It only took you two months." he said in that soft I-could-care-less voice.
"You'd do well to hold your tongue, you little prick," she all but growled at him. "Now, do you want to hear what the hell's going to happen to your proud ass or should I send you back to your cell?"
His silence told her to go on. "Congratulations. You've escaped execution,"
"That was never a real threat," he drawled out.
Her sharp stare cut him off, "And, thanks to that half-assed cooperation of yours, prison, for the time being at least. You're on probation, two years. No missions, no leaving the village, and no going anywhere without two ANBU babysitters. You'll continue your sessions with Dr. Yoshida until he says otherwise. You're chakra will remain sealed for a year, after which a third of it will be released. At the end of your sentence the seal will be completely removed. Furthermore, you'll live with you're babysitters for the first half of your probation. After that you'll have guards posted outside as opposed to inside. You'll spend your time doing community service and training for the chuunin and jounin exams. According to Konoha's records you're still a genin." She couldn't smother the smugness in her voice and it tainted the air with triumph. She expected some retribution but he stayed silent, only the tightness in his jaw telling her he was pissed.
"On you way out, Shizune will hand you the documents with all the terms and conditions of your pardon, as well as the sum of your fine."
"Is that all?" he muttered.
Tsunade leafed through the papers in front of her. "That's the gist of it. Changes may be made should your behavior merit them. A word of warning Uchiha." The gold in her eyes flashed when she raised them to his, "Violate this pardon, do anything against Konoha, its shinobi, allies, citizens, or guests, and I promise you you'll find yourself in the deepest, darkest cell we have waiting on your execution. We're known as being softhearted for our second chances, but there's never been a time we've given a third. Don't test my generosity."
His answer came from over his shoulder as ANBU escorted him through the double doors, "I wouldn't dream of it."