Yosh! Everyone seemed to want a new chapter so badly I hurried myself to do this… and thanks a million for all the reviews!

And yes, it's a good thing that Hina-chan stood up for herself and what she believed in – that part was really enjoyable to write, especially the line of "What is the use of having the Byakugan, if we see everything but the truth?" it was a random thought, actually!

So. Now we go on to the Uchiha, what will his trial bring???

Read on, and enjoy!

N

Chapter 28 – The Uchiha's Trial

二十八 - うちはの审判

Haku looked troubled and fearful as he watched Tsunade and Sakura walk in. He struggled against the straps that bound him to the hospital bed, and when Sakura caught his expression, she felt overwhelming pity for him.

He looked so lost, so lonely. As if he had not know, or had contact with humans for a long time.

'Zabuza was probably the only 'family' he ever knew…' a sad thought crossed the cherry blossom's mind.

"Who are you? Where am I?" Haku demanded, glaring up at Tsunade as the Godaime neared him, her expression flat. She would have to carefully judge his current abilities and character first, before making any assumptions.

"Who I am isn't important," Tsunade spoke smoothly. "And you are in Konoha's hospital,"

"Konoha…?" he looked confused. "But my home… is in the Mist village…"

Tsunade and Sakura glanced at each other.

"Tell me," the Hokage asked suddenly. "What's your name?"

"Haku."

He said it without hesitation, implicating that he knew that for a fact. 'At least he remembers that,' Tsunade thought rather grimly.

"Anything else you remember?" she queried again.

Haku looked like he was about to answer, before he thought the better of it and started struggling against his bonds again. "Why are you asking me these questions? You can't – let me go!" his voice rose to a yell as he struggled even more frantically, bewildered.

"We're trying to help you," Sakura told him, firmly and clearly while holding his thrashing arms down to prevent him from hurting himself. "Tsunade-sama… maybe we could release his bonds, to calm him down?" she requested. "We're treating him like a prisoner…"

"No," the Godaime was adamant. "We don't know how violent he may get and I'm not taking any chances here. Haku, please just answer my question,"

N

It was a tedious process, trying to extract information from the stubborn shinobi, and in the end, Haku fell asleep, tired from struggling, while Tsunade and Sakura sat up late, discussing the matter and the steps best taken.

"Shizune!" Tsunade called for her assistant. The raven-haired woman hurried in. "Summon Jiraiya, Kakashi, Anko, Neji, Shikamaru and Naruto now. Take this pass and get the Uchiha here as well,"

"At twelve a.m., Hokage-sama?" Shizune asked with a raised eyebrow. "Shikamaru isn't going to be happy…"

"Ask him if he's keen on feeling my fist tomorrow," Tsunade replied curtly. Shizune laughed and exited.

"So… we're going to keep him as a Konoha shinobi?" Sakura asked, uncertainly. "Won't the Mist village authorities protest?"

"Technically, he's classified as a missing nin due to his alliance with Zabuza – listed as a wanted shinobi across all five countries. But now that they think he's dead, he's off the list – I'd rather not pull up such a huge issue for nothing, the fuss would do Konoha no good, and besides, they'll probably come up with some crackpot theory about Zabuza having done the same thing and start hunting him again," the Godaime explained, quietly. "Seeing Haku's condition… I don't think he deserves any of that,"

Silence, for a moment. Then Tsunade continued.

"Right now, he's considered to be trespassing into Konoha because we know that he has no authorization pass to enter – he could be charged and punished for that offense. So… since he was 'taken in by an elderly couple' and can't remember anything from before that'… it's just much easier for all of us, if we request that he change his allegiance to Konoha instead. Besides, with everything we're going through, he's an asset to us, you know that."

"But still… making him switch loyalties from Mist to Leaf just seems wrong…" Sakura said skeptically. Always having been one who prided herself on loyalty towards her village and comrades, she remained uncertain about this decision – asking someone to switch loyalties?

"Missing nins have no allegiance, remember?" Tsunade reminded her, sighing. Just as Sakura was about to say something, a knock sounded, and the door opened.

A rather grumpy Jiraiya strode in, followed by Kakashi, who was, for some reason, grinning. Naruto was dragging his feet, looking like he hadn't slept in a week. Anko followed, and last came Sasuke, escorted by Neji and Shikamaru. True to their rank, both Jounins looked serious and alert.

"What's wrong with you, old hag, you just interrupted my drink," Jiraiya muttered under his breath, not daring to speak any louder for fear of Tsunade's fist.

"Did I interrupt your drink or your time with girls?" Tsunade cocked her head to one side, raising an eyebrow.

The Toad Sannin had no reply.

"It's twelve-thirty in the freakin' morning, baa-chan…" Naruto yawned loudly, hunched over. Sakura could've sworn he was drunk or something, if Naruto actually drank. Kakashi pinched the boy, hard – resulting in a loud yelp and a glare.

Tsunade waited for things to calm down, before speaking straight to the point, "All of you probably have gotten wind of Haku, former Mist missing nin, having been found in the Uchiha cemetery with utterly no memory of his past,"

Naruto was wide awake now, shocked. If Neji and Shikamaru were surprised, they did well to hide it.

"Wh- what?" the jinchuuriki said disbelievingly.

"Haku? As in the companion of Momochi Zabuza?" Shikamaru frowned. "I thought he was – "

"Dead?" Sakura finished his sentence for him, almost feeling sick of the question. "Well, apparently not. At least, he was very much alive when he attacked me in the Uchiha cemetery," she quipped. Sasuke caught her eye and smirked. Tsunade continued her statement.

"If you're done gaping, I just wanted to say that we will be accepting Haku as a Konoha shinobi," the Godaime closed her eyes, crossing her arms. "He doesn't remember anything from before he was supposed to have 'died' from Kakashi's Chidori, so I think that it will be a lot easier if I simply build a new identity for him, based on whatever information I have managed to glean from him,"

"You're forgetting the elders, Tsunade-hime…" Jiraiya frowned, making eye contact with his childhood teammate.

The Fifth waved a hand dismissively. "What they don't know won't hurt them, they already have the Uchiha's case to deal with,"

"So… why are we here?" Neji questioned quietly.

"Good question," Tsunade turned to him. "You, Shikamaru and the rest of Team 7 will keep an eye on him. Make sure people don't get too suspicious, one of you should be with him at all times to make sure he does things right and doesn't offend anyone here. I'll slip a file on him into our archives and create a slightly different identity for him, in case anyone checks. Also, make sure he doesn't use that signature of his – the Ice Mirror Jutsu – too freely, it'll draw a lot of attention," she instructed. "Meanwhile, Anko… how are the preparations for the Jounin Exams?"

"Near completed, everything has been set up and is running smoothly. We will be receiving registrations starting next week. Also, as you ordered, foreign shinobis will not be allowed to enter Konoha until two days before the exam. And Tsunade-sama – I would like to ask you to reconsider your decision of letting shinobis from Suna enter early, because there will be chances of others impersonating them, and since we don't know their shinobis as well as we do our own, we should make the rule apply to them, too – I think Sunagakure will understand," Anko spoke.

Tsunade nodded. "Good point. Get a carrier bird to inform the Kazekage of the changes after this,"

The Jounin nodded.

"About that rule… aren't the other villages complaining? Those taking the exam usually want extra time to scout around the area," Jiraiya asked gruffly.

"It's precisely because of that situation that I can't allow them in earlier – two days should be enough for basic scouting. They'll be able to gather a lot of information on our security measures if we let them in earlier," Tsunade explained.

"And Anko – about our shortage of Chunnins taking the exam – I'm putting Haku in, too, so just see to how we can fix up the four-man teams,"

"Roger," Anko acknowledged.

"Alright, Team 7 stay, the rest are dismissed,"

After everyone else had left, Tsunade studied the team standing before her, comparing their faces to those that she remembered from five years ago. How much they had all grown…

"Sasuke, your last hearing is tomorrow – don't disappoint your team," the Fifth Hokage spoke quietly. "I'm not supposed to tell you this, but you have a good chance of entering the Jounin exam, most of our existing shinobis agree to allowing you exemption from the Chunin level – if you pass a series of tests next week – and that is also only if you are cleared of all charges at your hearing tomorrow,"

Naruto was grinning, all trace of sleepiness gone as he thumped Sasuke hard o his back and received a death glare in return.

"Sometimes, dobe, I think you have a death wish," Sasuke deadpanned, trying not to wince.

"Don't you glare at me, teme, you're the one in trouble now," the blonde loudmouth grinned cheekily.

Sakura laughed. "Aah, Sasuke will be fine… won't you?" she teased.

"Stop fussing over me," Sasuke muttered at his teammates.

"Like that's ever gonna happen, teme, you need a babysitter so badly…" Naruto playfully cuffed his teammate and ruffled his chicken-ass hair, while the Uchiha retaliated and Sakura, still laughing, tried to break them up.

Tsunade surveyed the scene with a barely visible smile. Team 7, to her, was the team that stood out most. So different, and at the same time, so close. Even if they'd been apart for five years.

"You're a lucky man, Hatake Kakashi,"

The silver-haired Jounin grinned beneath his mask, his orange book held limply by his side. He watched his team with a certain pride, like a father watching his kids grow up.

"I know,"

N

She had nearly forgotten how beautiful the dawn could be. Sitting on a fallen log in the old training grounds her team used to train at, Sakura watched the vibrant hues of sunlight rising from the east, caught up in her own dreamland. Everything felt so fresh, so new in the morning. If Shikamaru liked watching clouds, Sakura loved watching the sunrise.

A new day, new hopes, new dreams. A new beginning. The sunrise was never the same, each day.

"I swear, you'll find yourself in a hell lot of trouble if you let yourself off-guard like that… I've called you twice already!"

Sakura whirled around, startled, only to find a brown-haired kunoichi smiling at her. Contrary to her usual buns, Tenten had her hair plaited into a messy, single long plait that hung down her back. Sakura figured that she hadn't bothered to tie up her hair today, as Tenten usually slept with her hair braided that way. Still, the kunoichi looked perfectly ready for combat, as always.

"Well, at least if I die now, I'll die happy," Sakura retorted, going back to watching the sunrise.

"What?" Tenten mocked surprise, sitting down beside her friend. "Without marrying the Uchiha and having kids?"

"You talk a lot," Sakura complained with a half smile. "Aren't you supposed to having your sparring session with Neji?"

"I'll let him sleep in today, he's been busy with some Hyuuga clan matters – and frankly, I'd rather not get involved at this time," Tenten cast her a sidelong glance.

"Oh, c'mon – you know Neji's like a clockwork, he wakes up at dawn no matter what – fat chance of letting him 'sleep in'," Sakura rolled her eyes. "So Hinata told them already?"

"Yeah, last night – at her coming of age ceremony. Caused quite a ruckus, apparently,"

Sakura laughed. "Well, it's time someone knocked sense into those stoic Hyuugas about their twisted hierarchy,"

"You know…" Tenten trailed off, changing the topic while staring at the rising sun. "It's weird, really… to think of how much we've all changed,"

"Ino hasn't changed all that much," Sakura said innocently. "No one screams louder than her if we dare wake her up at this 'ungodly' hour – which is why she has never experienced a sunrise before. I'm surprised that she has the patience to go cloud-watching with Shikamaru, actually,"

Tenten chortled.

Both girls sat in comfortable silence until the sun rose considerably, then Tenten sprang up energetically and suggested that they spar.

"Tsunade-sama hinted that I might be put with your team for the Jounin Exams," she added slyly as Sakura stood.

"That's great!" Sakura cheered, high-fiving the weapons mistress.

"So? Shall we work on some techniques?" Tenten grinned. "We could use some collaboration on actual training,"

"You said it," Sakura replied, daring across the training ground. "Spar first!"

She leapt aside nimbly as a kunai flew at her, landing in a tiger crouch, smirking.

"I'm not gonna go easy on you, Tenten!"

"Look who's talking!" came the incredulous, confident reply as a barrage of weapons flew.

N

"HIYAH!" Sakura's fist smashed into the ground as Tenten disappeared. Seconds later, an array of weapons came flying out of the jagged crevices of earth and rock as Tenten rose out of the ground, and another storm of shurikens spun wildly towards their imaginary target simultaneously, accompanied by two Fuuma Shurikens that traveled in a wide, cutting arc.

Sakura caught them as they spun back, panting heavily. Tenten climbed up to where Sakura was standing, plopping down next to her, exhausted.

"Sakura, your punch was too strong, you'll sink your opponents before any weapons can do much damage," a cool, collected voice sounded from somewhere to their left. "Tenten, practice widening and narrowing your weapons range to accommodate the spread of your targets,"

"Kakashi-sensei…?" Sakura addressed the silver-haired Jounin leaning casually on a nearby tree in surprise. She caught his hand moving towards his weapon pouch and stiffened, but a kunai suddenly whizzed past her at lightning speed and struck Kakashi squarely in the chest – and he disappeared.

"Bunshins," Tenten sighed, leaping to her feet. "Brace yourself; Kakashi's not going to give us any breaks,"

"Be alert, Sakura!" a deep voice warned, ringing through the clearing surrounded by trees. Both kunoichis spun in different directions as numerous Kage Bunshin materialized right in the middle of the training ground and began to charge at them, weapons aloft. Tenten sent out a barrage of weapons, dispelling about half of them.

"Tenten! Futago Ryuu no Kaiten!" (1) Sakura hollered, yanking what looked like a long, thin piece of fabric out of her pouch. Both kunoichis sprinted towards opposing trees, gaining speed as they mounted the tree trunks, running up by controlling the chakra flow to their feet.

Once they had reached a certain height, Sakura and Tenten arched their figures backwards, propelling themselves off the trees while somersaulting past each other through the air. Tenten deftly caught the other end of the trailing 'fabric' in mid air. As their feet touched the opposite trees, both twisted around and leapt down, stretching out the fine net that Sakura had been holding, and clamped the net down firmly on the ground while landing, trapping Kakashi's bunshins.

All that happened so fast Kakashi had let himself be caught off guard. Now, Sakura sent a shockwave of chakra through the net, dispelling all the other bunshins – leaving Kakashi crouched rather sheepishly in the middle.

"You lost, Kaka-sensei," Sakura grinned.

"Ah well… it was two on one…" the Jounin stuck up for himself, protesting. Everyone knew that he had purposely let himself be caught up in the attack just to experience the effects, but hey, a little teasing didn't hurt.

"Sour grapes much?" Tenten snorted. Kakashi laughed.

Sakura retrieved the net and stowed it back into her pouch. "How long have you been watching?" she asked, even though she knew. She'd sensed him awhile ago.

"Dunno. 'Bout half an hour?" Kakashi shrugged. "This second technique you two used is more unique, especially the net thing…"

"We figured the chakra shockwave would work better for Sasuke or Naruto, since their Wind and Lightning element chakra can either hurt or render the enemy unconscious," Tenten reasoned. "And even though technically, it can be done by two, a four man team would be more effective for this because while two are holding the net, the other two can prevent the targets from escaping,"

Kakashi nodded. "Both of you have perfect teamwork, as I expected. For the other technique that I saw earlier – remember my pointers. When Sasuke and Naruto train with both of you, incorporate their hit-smash technique into the part after Tenten throws her weapons – that should deal with opponents who have managed to jump up to avoid the attack," he instructed.

Sakura nodded, the flopped down, spread-eagled on the ground. "That's it, I'm exhausted…"

Tenten poked her playfully, laughing.

"Good job, both of you," Kakashi commented, hands in his pockets. "Tenten, you'll be training with us from next week – don't forget, okay?"

"As long as you don't turn up late, as you're notoriously famous for," Tenten retorted, not missing a beat.

Kakashi smiled easily. "Well, gotta go… Sakura, don't forget – Sasuke's hearing is at two, if you want to attend. You better have some lunch and take a bath,"

"Yes, dad," Sakura rolled her eyes as her sensei disappeared with a grin and a farewell wave.

"He treats me like I'm five," the cherry blossom grumbled, sitting up.

"Well, don't complain," Tenten smirked. "You're not the one getting a two-hour lecture on 'youth' every time you meet your sensei and his favourite student,"

N

Sakura took a deep breath, standing before the doors of the courtroom with Naruto beside her. Seriously, the elders were making a big fuss – using one of the main courtrooms for a hearing, not even a court case.

"Naruto – I don't think – I can go in…" she suddenly said in a strained whisper.

"Why not?" the jinchuuriki frowned, clueless.

"I'm nervous, dammit! I can't stand waiting for the elders to decide on Sasuke's case!" Sakura burst out desperately, suddenly feeling emotional. People were beginning to stare. "I'm just – scared that they'll – give him some horrible punishment – or – " Sakura continued in a lower voice.

"Sakura-chan…" Naruto sighed. "You heard Tsunade baa-chan, the teme's got a ood chance of getting off, and so far, so good – why are you getting worked up now?"

"I'm just worried…"

"Don't, then," Naruto said firmly, dragging her in. "Look at that teme, he's supposed to be the one panicking, not you,"

Sasuke looked impeccably calm as he stood at the doorway at the far end of the courtroom, waiting to be given the signal to enter. Despite the mounting nervousness in her, Sakura kept a straight face and forced herself to calm down.

Everyone rose as the panel of jury walked in, then sat, waiting for the judge.

Naruto squeezed the pink-haired kunoichi's arm and grinned reassuringly at her.

"Trust Sasuke, he'll be fine,"

N

The atmosphere was somewhat tense as the judge, an elderly man of around eighty strode in serenely, followed by Sasuke, who had, apparently, refused to be 'escorted' by the guards, and walked slowly behind.

His face was stoically blank, as always, but when he caught Sakura's worried expression, his eyes softened a fraction – as if reassuring her that everything would be okay.

The cherry blossom studied the jury carefully. Most of them were the village elders, but Sakura was relieved to see Asuma, Genma and Kurenai amongst them. They would support Sasuke.

The judge sat, his snow-white hair and beard impeccably neat. There was a ripple of murmurs as people shuffled back on their seats on the benches. The courtroom was full, almost half of Konoha's population had turned up – all eager to know the Uchiha's fate.

"Final hearing of Uchiha Sasuke, aged seventeen. The charge: for leaving Konoha to join missing nin Orochimaru in Otogakure. He claims to have never killed any of Konoha's shinobis nor betrayed any of our defense and internal information to the enemy," the judge read, adjusting his glasses.

Sakura's hands were clasped tightly in her lap. Sai, sitting next to her rather nonchalantly, touched her arm and whispered. "Stop worrying, you old hag, you're getting more wrinkles by the second,

The smile he received for that jab was rather grim.

Sai's gesture had not escaped Sasuke's attention, and he spent the next few moments glaring in that general direction, completely missing the first question.

His cross-examiner coughed. "Uchiha,"

Sasuke forced himself to pay attention to his questioner.

"What will you do if you are released?" the pudgy, balding man repeated the question.

Sasuke shrugged lightly. "Take part in the Jounin exams with my teammates,"

"If I am not mistaken, you are still at Genin level…?"

"Would you rather we take this outside and I prove to you if my skills are still 'Genin level'?" Sasuke shot back with a thinly veiled threat.

"I am not a shinobi, Uchiha," the man replied calmly. Sakura had to give him credit, most people cowered at the mere sight of Sasuke. "But back to you. Perhaps we shall skip the Jounin Exams matter – now, why did you return?"

"My friends managed to persuade me," came the simple reply.

"But if you acknowledge that they – " the man gestured to Team 7 "- are your friends, why did you leave in the first place?"

"Perhaps I made a mistake," Sasuke spoke quietly. This was something new to him, admitting a mistake. He usually didn't make any. "But did you ever have a goal to achieve, a goal that required more than what was available at the current time and place…?"

"By that 'goal' I assume that you mean revenging the Uchiha clan?" the examiner said bluntly.

Sasuke nodded curtly.

"So that was your only reason for joining Orochimaru?"

"Yes,"

"But what about the fact that he intended to take over your body once you were done?"

"I had no intention of letting him do so,"

"You are confident that you would have been able to stop him?"

"I stopped him once. Metempsychosis has to be done every three years, it's been five years now. One more year before he tries again,"

Sakura shuddered. He said it so matter-of-factly, as if it didn't matter to him whether or not Orochimaru inhibited his body. The examiner moved on to another topic, probably uncomfortable with this one.

"Did it ever strike you that your actions were purely selfish, abandoning people who cared for you on a mission to kill?"

"You don't understand," Sasuke's voice was low, after a moment of silence. "You've never experienced losing everything in just one day, never expecting it, never seeing it coming. You don't know how it feels, no matter how many people you've heard from, no matter how many people you've 'counselled'. So stop trying to act like you know how it feels, stop telling me how I should have 'considered' my options five years ago instead of running off – because you'll only know how I felt when they're gone, everyone who matters. When you'll do anything to get them back,"

The courtroom was silent. It was the first time Uchiha Sasuke had said anything more than a sentence.

'I understand…' the whispered thought floated in Sakura's mind as her emerald eyes locked with his onyx ones.

"Killing Itachi is something I will not give up on, because it's important to me – whether or not it's good or bad in our opinion," the Uchiha finished quietly, indirectly speaking to Sakura.

His examiner stared at him for a few moments, before turning to the judge. "No more questions, Your Honour,"

The second questioner stood. Sasuke closed his eyes for a moment, sighing.

Somehow, this hearing was making him reflect on his decisions a little too much.

N

"The jury, please step into the room behind, court is dismissed until the jury has reached its verdict," the judge hammered his gavel, and people began shuffling out, murmuring and talking.

They were not allowed to speak to Sasuke yet, but as they passed him, Sakura gave him a small smile, trying to reassure him – when, in reality, she was the one who needed reassurance.

Once outside, Sakura leaned heavily against the wall, sighing.

"So, what did you think?" Kakashi asked casually, flipping through his book.

"I don't want to think," Sakura groaned.

"The teme did fine, I loved his answers," Naruto grinned. "The examiners' faces were priceless,"

"It's not funny, Naruto!" Sakura said exasperatedly, "They can very well decide to kill him instead of releasing him!"

"I'd like to see them try," Naruto snorted. "Kill Uchiha Sasuke? Forget Akatsuki and war, they'll have a mob of murderous fangirls after them next,"

Sakura had to laugh.

"Just look at the whole thing from a logical point of view," Sai spoke boredly, standing next to Kakashi. "Konoha faces the threat of war and the Uchiha is an asset to our manpower, no matter what he has done. Our elders may be utter idiots, but they're not as stupid as that,"

"That's true," Kakashi agreed, his nose still buried in his book.

"Well, you're not helping, you're student's being charged in court and you're still reading that stupid book," Sakura muttered.

Kakashi reached out a gloved hand and ruffled her pink hair, never taking his eyes off his book. By now, murderous vibes were coming off Sakura. She hated having her hair ruffled and her sensei knew it.

"it's my de-stress method, Saku-chan…"he said innocently, hardly noticing her death glare.

The kunoichi gave up and slumped to the ground in a sitting position.

"he won't let you down, you know," Sai said suddenly, staring at the courtroom door. It was almost time to re-enter the place.

"Huh?" Sakura looked at him, confused. Sai grinned.

"Didn't you happen to see the way he glared at me when I spoke to you?"

N

Pein stood, staring blankly at the falling rain, his face and piercing eyes carefully masked as not to show any trace of emotion.

Konan, his female partner, stood silently next to him, watching the retreating figures of Seijin and Deidara growing fainter through the rain, in the distance.

They were accustomed to this. Silence. A mutual understanding existed between them ever since they could remember.

"So we make our move soon?" Konan questioned flatly, softly.

"They are the last two. Tobi-sama insists, you heard him," Pein glanced over at her emotionlessly.

"Konoha is preparing for the Jounin exams, ne?"

"Judging by the stricter enforcement of security, they are prepared for war, as well," Pein continued staring at the rain.

Silence.

"Are you worried? The Uchiha boy… plus the nine-tails and the Nanabi?" Konan took a step closer. There was hardly any distance between them now, yet she seemed to be hardly touching her partner. "They hurt four of the Akatsuki, too, they must be quite something…"

"They find strength in numbers. Itachi can take care of his brother. My clones will take care of the rest," came the quiet reply. Pein turned to walk back in, sweeping past Konan with a glance.

"They're nothing we can't handle,"

N

"Freak, what happened to both of you?" Seijin asked incredulously as the pair of them – Deidara and himself – met Itachi and Kisame in the Akatsuki base, both whom were still recuperating from their previous encounter with the Konoha shinobis. That defeat had been a sore hit for both of them, many of their fellow Akatsuki had been rather surprised when the two men returned, bloodied, but they knew better than to comment.

Seijin, however, had no restrictions on that part. The word 'discretion' never existed in his vocabulary, and paired with his arrogance, he irritated everyone he met.

"Finally met your match, Itachi-san?" Deidara couldn't help smirking, feeling a wave of satisfaction as he saw the Uchiha twitch. He eyed the chest bindings Itachi had on under his cloak, visible through the open front. 'Those brats are really something… made me lose an arm, and hurt the Uchiha like that…' Deidara thought rather wistfully. Both Kisame and Itachi still bore marks of that particular fight, numerous gashes tainting their torso.

"Watch your mouth, Deidara," Itachi retaliated smoothly, his blank stare icier than any glare. The explosives master narrowed his eyes and returned the favour, not about to be outdone.

Both were locked in a stare-down for several moments, Deidara's angry orbs clashing with Itachi's stubbornly blank, blood-red ones.

"Not worth your time," Kisame's hand grasped Itachi's shoulder firmly. No one without a death wish would do that, but the shark-faced man sensed that Itachi's intent to kill was skyrocketing and it wouldn't do for Akatsuki to be bickering amongst themselves now.

Itachi seemed to start forward a fraction, but paused as Kisame's grip on his shoulder tightened. Casting another cold, blank stare at the duo, Itachi turned and continued down the dimly torch-lit passageway, Kisame behind him, without another word.

N

Kakashi, Naruto, Sakura and Sai settled back into their seats in the courtroom, in tense silence. Naruto gave Sasuke a thumbs up, but Sakura, somehow, daren't look in that general direction.

Behind them, two women sat, gossiping rather too loudly to Sakura's distaste. They were talking about sensitive issues, in the cherry blossom's opinion, and her fists clenched tighter with every word she heard.

"The Uchiha will be getting off scot-free, I suppose…"

"Isn't that what always happens? You know he's the only Uchiha descendent left with a claim to his family's fortune… he probably bought his way out,"

"Come to think of it, the Godaime seems to favour him, doesn't she? Maybe he bribed her,"

"Or maybe it's because of her apprentice, that pink-haired Haruno girl… she had a major crush on him when she was young, didn't she? Maybe it didn't wear off… after all, I heard from Ami that she's nothing but a boy-chaser, typical girl…"

Naruto felt the dangerous aura radiating off Sakura, while the two women behind them remained blissfully unaware of their impending death sentences. Heck, he doubted that they had even noticed Sakura sitting right in front of them. Which would make them pretty blind, considering her mop of conspicuous pink hair.

"… that woman never acts respectably, I mean, she's probably twice as old as me and she still pretends that she's twenty, walking around showing off that ridiculous cleavage of hers,"

That was it. Sakura's patience snapped, and Naruto immediately braced himself to stop her from doing anything particularly destructive. But before she could stand up and give them a piece of her mind with her fists, Sai was already standing, facing them.

"Excuse me," he enquired politely, yet his tensed jaw was unmistakable. The looked up in surprise, then giggled rather childishly. Sai wasn't bad-looking at all.

His next sentence, however, brought them sharply back to earth. "If it wasn't for that 'old woman with a ridiculous cleavage', Konoha would be in shambles by now," Sai dropped all pretense of being polite and spoke through clenched teeth. "Show some damned respect for your Hokage or get out of here, because even the Uchiha has more honour than to bribe people for freedom. He's standing trial, isn't he? And I suppose you haven't noticed that the particular girl you're talking about is sitting right in front of you?"

At this, the two women glanced at Sakura's snarling face, horrified.

"Well, she's – " one of the women started, trying to defend herself.

"She what? Likes the Uchiha? Is that a crime?" Sai asked coldly. "We are shinobi, we have our own code of honour – if the Uchiha is cleared, it'll be because he's not in the wrong, and not because of anything else. So the two of you better watch what you say, because in my book, gossiping old hags like you are the lowest of the low,"

"Excuse me?!" one of the women took the term 'gossiping old hag' as an offense, shrieking indignantly while standing up. By now, people were starting to watch the scene, curious. The woman was ridiculously short, Sai towered over her. But still. She pointed an accusing finger at him. "Watch your mouth, you little – "

"You shut your mouth, lady," Sakura whirled around, fury dancing in her eyes. Naruto's cerulean glare accompanied hers.

"If you ladies have nothing better to do than to criticize things you don't understand and gossip, get out," Kakashi suddenly spoke, not turning back. His arms were crossed – and for once, since they had met him, Sakura and Naruto saw their sensei angry. His voice was icy, in a way they had never imagined it could be.

Looking offended and terrified at the same time, both women hurriedly left, muttering angrily.

"Thanks, Sai, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura said quietly once they had settled back into their seats.

"Wouldn't want you to demolish the courtroom," the black-haired boy half-smiled back, while Kakashi merely nodded, grinning slightly. Naruto clapped her on the back, smiling.

Sakura caught Tsunade's eye from across the room. Her mentor was smiling, mouthing something.

"I heard every word,"

The cherry blossom relaxed for a moment, then tensed again as the jury filled up their places quietly, the judge resuming his seat. He hammered once for silence.

"Results of the jury's discussion,"

Sakura gripped the edge of her seat so tightly her knuckles were white. Naruto placed a hand on her shoulder almost protectively, glancing across at Sasuke. Their gazes held.

"Those in favour of conviction?" the judge asked calmly. Sakura was almost afraid to look up. Praying hard, she forced her eyes to glance upwards, at the jury box.

One… two… three votes. But – that would mean –

She felt the wooden bench crack under her fist. Several people whom were sitting on the same bench jolted as they felt their seats sinking slightly under them.

"Those in favour of release?" the result was obvious, but the judge asked anyway, just to enjoy the effect. Who said that judging was a boring job?

Three-quarters of the jury raised their hands, Asuma's grinning face amongst them. Then, much to Team 7's amazement, most of the people in the courtroom slowly raised their hands as well. Their vote didn't exactly count, but the look on Sasuke's face was priceless – he had his mouth open. Sakura and Naruto glanced at each other with grins, freezing that particular picture into their minds forever. Sasuke was never going to live this down.

"Very well," the judge was smiling. "Uchiha Sasuke is now reinstated as a shinobi of Konoha and you will be eligible to enter the Jounin exams if you pass several tests next week presided over by the Hokage. You are suspended from B-rank missions and above for two years, but you are permitted to rejoin Team 7. Cleared of all charges, court dismissed," the gavel hammered once.

Sakura suddenly felt like hugging the judge.

There was a momentary, stunned silence, before a great cheer rose in the room, with the more energetic members of the Rookie Nine and Team Gai being the loudest contributors of all.

Across the room, Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke glanced at each other. A wave of mutual understanding and relief washed over all three teammates, it showed in their eyes.

Sasuke leapt out of his confining box easily, smirking, while Naruto and Sakura sprinted over, crashing into the Uchiha with a three-way hug, the former grinning like a mad cat, the latter torn between laughing and crying from emotional overload.

"All of them have grown, eh?" Asuma chewed on his cigarette, his hands in his pockets while speaking to Kakashi. Kurenai and Gai joined them, four senseis watching their students congratulating Sasuke – and suddenly feeling very old.

Kakashi gave him a satisfied nod, smirking slightly before turning to leave. "Let's get out of here before Naruto renders me broke once again with another of his brilliant 'ramen party' suggestions… I seriously have no idea where Iruka gets enough money to feed that boy, even occasionally,"

"It's a little too late to run, don't you think, Kakashi?" Kurenai laughed as Naruto's loud voice boomed over the din to them.

"Oh no," the silver-haired Jounin groaned, attempting to dive out of the room.

"OI! Don't run away, Kaka-sensei, you're treating us to ramen!"

N

Poor Kakashi, eh? that was a long chapter to write…

So, anyway:

(1)Futago Ryuu no Kaiten: Twin Dragon Spin.

I hope you guys liked it! By the way, there won't be an update until December because I'm off to my holiday in New Zealand !(don't worry, it's only two weeks.) So I won't be able to reply to reviews for awhile, too, hope you guys won't mind – I really love reading your reviews!

And as a personal thought, I think that this story has been improving rapidly as each chapter goes by, my first chapter wasn't that good at all… hehe…

Okay. I have to go now. Hope everyone who has read this chapter likes it – and I will miss you guys!

Ciao! And review!

-Rave-chan-