Chapter 18: Trial
(Alternatively, The End of An Era)
Author's Notes: My laptop screen is definitely dead and I'll either wind up replacing the screen or the whole laptop all together. So I'm now typing this on my new tablet while on Google Docs with a Bluetooth keyboard. It isn't the best solution but it's the only one I have right now since my Internet is out as well. And it's better than having to do it on my tiny phone screen
As for the Internet being down, well, my sister(the one with all the kids who like to sap my creativity with their bad behavior) accidentally placed our router near a bag of magnets when we were moving things around. So yeah, all the fun. She is very sorry it happened and she hates that she did it, but I guess if it had to happen she couldn't of picked a better time to do it. My mom just ordered a new router a few of days ago.
(Shikamaru's POV)
The trial goes exactly as Shikamaru had thought it would go for the most part. The trial, itself, takes a full week so that all the charges may be read out and be carefully deliberated by the not-so-impartial jury. There are a few surprises that crop up, however. Like the fact that Danzo had a rather large private army composed of children that he had snatched and brainwashed. Shikamaru almost snaps when he hears those charges being read off of a rather long list. There are multiple counts of kidnappings and abuse. He isn't surprised when treason is read off if the list of charges.
The other charge that comes out is an even bigger surprise than the one involving the child army. Danzo is accused of one of the worst forms of Bloodline Theft on multiple counts. The charges being leveled against Danzo are because the man stole multiple Sharingan eyes from the deceased Uchiha Clan members. Shikamaru has to hold Sasuke back from attacking the man then and there(he doesn't blame the boy for being as pissed as he is). As it is, there are many Clan Heads who have been thoroughly insulted by the the man's warmonggering ways.
Shikamaru knows, that with all charges leveled against Danzo, that it doesn't look good and he doesn't think Danzo is going to get out of this alive.
(Shikaku's POV)
When he had been told that both his sons and the boy he thought of as a nephew would be called on as witnesses, Shikaku nearly blew a fuse. After everything that had happened he didn't and still doesn't want any his boys near that old war hawk. He knows, even as he watches them sit through the trial while trying not to react to the charges against Danzo, that there isn't much of a choice as to whether or not they'd be allowed to sit out the trial. Especially when it becomes apparent that Danzo had desecrated the deceased Uchiha Clan.
No one is happy when that little bit of information comes out. If he has desecrated the Uchiha then what other Clans may he have done the same to? And then it comes out. Danzo has also desecrated their Shodaime Hokage's grave in order to have those Sharingan eyes implanted. The room explodes with furious yelling and Sakki is thick in the room.
Shikaku immediately looks to his boys and focuses on them. To his surprise, Shikamaru's Sakki is also in the air. Only Shikamaru's is swirling protectively over the three of them and being projected outwards so that the Sakki of the adults doesn't touch the. Shikaku sees movement from the corner of his eye and he leans back a little to see Hiashi watching his son with mild curiosity on his face. Shikaku flares his own Sakki in a warning. He won't tolerate anyone trying anything with his kids.
(Hiashi's POV)
Hiashi has never had a very good opinion of Nara Shikaku(or any Nara, to be honest). He's never known any Nara to be very motivated and it had seemed as if the son would follow in the father's footsteps. However, it appears that the Nara heir is very different to what he had assumed he would be like. The way the Nara boy is projecting his Sakki tells Hiashi that the child must be a prodigy much like Neji. Though he is most likely more of a cerebral genius rather than a physical genius like Neji is(not that his nephew is a slouch when it comes to intelligence).
He's heard good things about the boy before, but he has always subscribed to the 'believe it when seen' philosophy. He's somewhat glad to see that the boy is living up to his reputation. Another part of him of him wonders just how much he is living up to his potential. A stronger flare of Sakki from Shikaku makes him look at the Nara Clan Head. The man's eyes are narrowed on him and it doesn't take long for him to realize that Nara Shikaku is warning him away from his boy. He looks away before the Nara can feel threatened. There is nothing more frightening then an angry and motivated Nara and he does not want that kind of focus on him. Especially not when the Nara is at the height of his protectiveness due to Danzo's actions towards the Nara's children and the Uchiha boy.
(Hiruzen's POV)
When the verdict comes back from the jury as finding Danzo guilty on all counts, Hiruzen is not surprised. Danzo had made few friends with his overly militant stance. There are not many people who actually want to go back to war in the village. Especially since things have been fairly peaceful. Danzo would have all of Konohagakure no Sato believing that they would be at war the very next day. Hiruzen will be one of the few people who will miss the man(or rather, the man he use to be). On the other hand, however, he will not miss the man's scheming and his inability to listen to reason.
As he sentences the man to death, Hiruzen allows only a moment of grief to pass over him like a cloud's shadow over the ground.
(Shikamaru's POV)
When his dad tells them that Danzo's sentence is beheading by an ANBU operative, Shikamaru narrow's his eyes. Shikamaru knows that his dad knows what he is trying to convey the moment their eyes meet. The older Nara laughs and quietly tells him that Danzo's private child army has already been apprehended and their chakra sealed away. They won't be able to escape and free Danzo. Nor will they be able to overpower their jailers with their chakra sealed. In fact, some of the youngest children had willingly turned themselves over to the forces that are loyal to the Hokage. Shikamaru can't help but be relieved by that information.
(Children have always been a soft spot for him. The kind of soft spot that will make him happily commit cold-blooded murder in the name of a wronged child(Shikamaru knows that this is a dark thought, but he has never thought of himself nor claimed to be pure. Not as he is now and certainly never during his life as Hyo.)
His dad is as good at reading him as Zack, Cloud, and Vincent were(Tifa had been fairly good at reading him but not as good as those three), Shikamaru thinks. Though, that doesn't mean that the older male can always read him(just like his other family members couldn't always read him). His dad complains rather loudly and often that he is such a troublesome boy to get a bead on to his friends and teammates. They laugh at him each and every time. His mother just rolls her eyes at her husband whenever he starts to complain to her.
As it is, Shikamaru is relieved that it will all be over soon. Sasuke has been inconsolable ever since they found out about the implanted Sharingan eyes in Danzo's arm. Naruto has been acting out because of Sasuke's irritable mood swings. Shikamaru just wants his brothers to be happy again and for things to go back to normal. That won't happen until Danzo is dead and and six feet under.
(Shikaku's POV)
The execution takes place in front of the Hokage's Tower. All Shinobi and Kunoichi, even retired ninja, are there, regardless of rank or age. Shikaku knows that the Hokage is making a statement by calling back as many of Konoha's forces as safely possible. The statement is this - Treason and traitors will not be tolerated. Even someone as venerable as Shimura Danzo can and will be held accountable for such crimes.
When the chakra enhanced blade falls, Shikaku doesn't look away. He doesn't look away even as the Genin - those who haven't been blooded yet, at least - flinch or vomit at the sudden and harsh reminder of the reality of their careers. The Chūnin - even the new Chūnin - and the Jōnin all watch on stoically. They are thoroughly aware of the price of treason. He glances to his right and sees one of the Academy teachers looking on with a hard face.
Shikaku immediately remembers him to be Umino Iruka, a young but loyal Chūnin with a bright future in education if he keeps going the way he is now. Umino Iruka had been one of the first instructors on the scene(even if he hadn't been faster than the Hokage). The young man had not even so much as looked at Naruto with judgemental eyes(according to the blond). Iruka had, in fact, told Naruto and Sasuke to go to safety with their group of friends until he came to get them. He had even led Shikamaru back in side after the boy's altercation with the old war hawk.
Shikaku wonders if he should talk to the Hokage about getting the young man a raise.
(Shikamaru's POV)
It's only been three days since the verdict has been handed down, but Shikamaru swears that these three days have passed by at the most excruciatingly slow crawl. However, today is finally the day of the execution. Shikamaru is pacing his bedroom floor as he waits for his dad come home and call him and his brothers down. Being as young as they are, they are not allowed to attend the execution. One can imagine just how displeased Sasuke still is about that little tidbit.
Shikamaru, himself, isn't very happy either. Then again, it's not like everyone knows that he is mentally an adult in a child's body. It would have looked decidedly odd to others if his dad had let him go with him to the execution. Still, Shikamaru wishes that he could confirm the bastard's death with his own two eyes(he hopes the monster will stay dead. He has had too many experiences with the dead not staying dead to ever believe that someone like Danzo didn't have contingency plans). He thinks Naruto and Sasuke would be less stressed if he had been able to do so.
But he can't, so he paces over the floorboards and hopes that his dad will come home soon and end this seemingly infinite waiting game.
(Shikaku's POV)
When he gets home the house is quiet. It's as if the whole structure had a giant privacy seal placed upon it. It's a bit odd, Shikaku thinks, to come home to such silence. Especially when there are two competitive boys who like a wrestle and fight living here. No matter how much he complains, home will never be the same without Naruto and Sasuke around.
But while their silence is odd, it is Shikamaru's silence that worries him. His silence is an eerie kind of quiet. It's the kind of silence that makes you tiptoe out of fear of waking some lurking creature. The kind that heralds a kind of desolation behind it. He's seen the temper his son has and perhaps the comparison isn't too far off(maybe it is the gleam in his boy's eyes when his temper sparks, but Shikaku knows, all too well, the look of a man bent on the destruction of his enemies). As he calls all the boys down, he wonders what his son's silence means this time.
It turns out that he shouldn't have been so worried about Shikamaru. It's Sasuke that he needs to worry about right now. The boy is as unbalanced as he will ever get at this point in his like and it is all Danzo's fault. Even in death, the man's crimes will insure his notoriety here in Konoha for many years to come. Shikaku shakes his head and sighs. He completely understands where his son is coming from when he says he just wants life to go back to some semblance on normality.
Author's Notes #2: Blah, working on a processor that doesn't have all the things I want on it is a pain in the ass. Having no proper internet connection sucks.
Anyway, here's the next chapter. If you see any typos or something that could use a change, let me know. Also, let me know what you think about this chapter.