Chapter 3
Illusions
Naruto sighed. It had been two weeks since his team-mates had left to go on "their" mission.
'with my luck the'll have 10 kids by now.' he thought cynically. 'they should be back by tommorow.'
Naruto stood up. He looked down at the familiar village from the top of his fathers head.
'I guess I'll turn in...' It was then he noticed a small explosion coming from Sakura's appartment complex. "shit."
He took off hopeing to find the cause of the destruction, unfourtanatley he was too late. Naruto kicked open the door to find the broken, battered, beaten, and dead bodies of the Harunos.
"God..." Naruto stared at the bodies of Sakura's parents. Struggleing to stay awake, the shock and guilt was pulsing through him. He felt the demon chakra burning his blood. He braced himself on a broken table, his eyes burning red with anger.
"What...the...fuck?!" Naruto wasnt doing this, an outside force was influencing the flow of his Chakra. "Dammit!"
Without warning a chain wrapped itself around Naruto's neck, before he blacked out from lack of air he noticed a dark figure walk towards him...
Naruto woke up, painfully and slowly. When he finally gained awareness of his surroundings he noticed that he was chained to a chair. Next to him stood an Anbu guard, holding the chord to a choker, which was tightly bound around Naruto's neck.
"Naruto Uzimaki, aka Naruto Namikaze. You have been charged with murder on two counts. How do you plead?"
Naruto recognized the voice instantly and raised his head.
"Eh...Ba-chan, what the hell is going on?"
Naruto felt the choker around his neck tighten. He turned to face the Anbu guard.
"Answer the Hokage-sama's question, 'how to you plead'!"
Naruto sat still, confused, for several minutes. He then spoke.
"But, I didnt kill anyone."
Yet again the choker tightened, it was getting harder for Naruto to breather.
"Innocent or Guilty?!"
Naruto choked on his words, the constraints of the choker making every breath hurt.
"In-no-c-ce...ent."
Their was a series of hushed whispers behind Naruto, he could not see but he knew that was where the jury stood.
A large man stood in front of Naruto, Naruto had not seen him enter, but his distinctive smell had filled the room since Naruto had woken.
"Do you expect me to believe that this man is innocent?" he rubbed his chin theatrically, "My anbu guards found this 'Naruto Namikaze' at the scene of the crime! With demon chakra coursing through his veins!"
Naruto stared at the man, too constricted too talk.
'Tsunade-sama we'll get me out of this.'
The man turned to face the Hokage.
"This one is a murderer, send him to rot in prison, or kill him now. Make your choice."
Tsunade stared grimly at Naruto, a look of devastation in her eye.
'I have to follow the plan' she turned toward the large man who nodded his head at her.
"I have decided. Naruto Namikaze, your are guilty of murdering a fellow ninja and a civilian...your punishment is life imprisonment. You will be transported to Konohah's Village prison," she swallowed back tears with her next statement. "where you will serve your life sentence with no chance of parole."
Naruto's drowsy eyes shot open in shock. 'life imprisonment!?'
He struggled against the choker to speak, but the gurgled schreech that came out sounded more threatening than pleadful. He was silence with a blow to the back of the head.
Naruto ripped open his eyes. He was in a prison cell, with seals on all the walls to keep him from escaping. He sat up on his hard cold prison bed. The cell bars in front of him slid open.
"Naruto Namikaze, you have a visitor to see you."
The guard led Naruto to a room with seals covering one side completley, on the other stood Sakura and Sasuke. Sasuke looked sad, Sakura had the scariest look of agression in her eyes. She wanted to kill Naruto. Their was a long and akward silence, Sasuke was the first to speak.
"dobe, how'd you get yourself thrown in here?"
Naruto looked up with hope in his eyes, atleast one of his friends didnt hate him.
"The usual, segregated against for being a demon container."
Naruto's smile was ended when he noticed a shuriken flying toward his face. The seals stopped it and it fell down in the middle of the room. Naruto looked at Sakura, her arm was still extended from the throw. She took one step before Sasuke had her pinned.
"Naruto, I swear to god...One day, I WILL KILL YOU!" Sakura screamed at her once friend with tears rushing down her face, Sasuke apologized to his best friend and the Anbu guard led Sakura out of the room. Naruto fell to his knees.
"easy" Sasuke said moving to help his friend. The seals kept him from crossing the line seperating the Shinobi.
"God dammit Sasuke! It's always me! I'm the scape goat of all the problems in this village. I've been blamed with everything since I was born."
Sasuke just stared at his friend. It would be best to let him finish.
"I was blamed for the death of my father. I was blamed for you going AWOL. Everything. Every damn problem with this village is my fault."
"Naruto, not everything is blamed on you." Sasuke said, attempting to comfort his comrade.
"No, no. Everything thing. You know a woman once accused me of causing her child's blindness?"
Sasuke laughed.
"I'm not kidding."
Sasuke cringed in his mind. 'God, what have these people done to him.'
Sasuke turned at the entrance of the Guard.
"Sorry sir your visit time is up."
Sasuke turned to wish Naruto farewell, only to see he had already been dragged back to his cell.
'Naruto, I know you didnt kill Sakura's parents, I swear...I swear on your nindo, never to break a promise. I promise I'll see to it you are avenged!'
Sakura dragged herself home. She had been sobbing since she left the prison. Ninjas were supposed to be strong, but nothing prepares you for the death of a loved one. She reached to open the door but fell against the hard wood instead. She cried, and cried, and cried...untill-
"Sakura, is that you?"
Sakura looked up in shock, 'Could it be?' She threw open the door, and ran into the living room. Empty.
"Sakura?"
She spun around, too quickly, nausea and exhaustion threatened to take over, but she would find the source of the voice. She sprinted into the kitchen to find...
"mom..."
Mrs. Haruno looked up at her child, depression easily visible in her eyes.
"Honey, we need to talk." a voice behind Sakura ordered. Sakura turned to find her father, as equally grim looking as her mother.
"Can I have some more please?"
A confused old man looked up at the inmate asking for food.
"You know how much I love your cooking."
Recognition flashed in the old man's eyes.
"Naruto?"
He simply smiled.
"Naruto. Naruto Namikaze. Well I'll be damned. I'd never excpected to run into you at a place like this."
Naruto spared bitterly at the Ramen chef, not knowing how to explain his now criminal life to him.
"Me neither, I wish I had known I'd get thrown in jail for not paying taxes."
Naruto grinned, the old man didnt buy it.
"Naruto, I know you, I know you're a good man, and I know you don't belong in some sweaty prison cafeteria!"
Naruto stared back at his old friend.
"Hey, kitsune?"
Naruto cringed at his prison nickname. He turned around to face a man with long white hair.
"You look familiar, do I know you from somewhere?"
The man leaned into Naruto's face.
"I had an uncle, named Mizuki."
Naruto turned toward the old man
"shit."
Okay guys more to come later, there will be a prison fight in next chapter if you guys are getting bored. And Sakura's parents are alive but i wont reveal too much yet. please review.
peace.