All right, here's the next chapter! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Chapter 2

He was thinking about her again.

Sakura, with her back towards him and her arms spread wide. Sakura, with resolve in her voice and fire in her eyes. It was the last image he had of her, the last memory of Konoha before he was forced to leave. But he didn't want to leave; he wanted to stay; he wanted to fight. But her eyes said no. Her eyes said, Trust me. Everything is going to be okay. And he did trust her, more than she ever knew. So he listened to her. He listened to her and ran far away, never looking back no matter how much he wanted to. And so far, Sakura was right; everything was okay. However, things were different now. Sasuke had no purpose, no goal, no person to kill. And while his days may have been peaceful, more peaceful than he ever imagined, his journey was aimless.

He looked up, hearing the storm before it actually came, wondering what she was up to now, wondering if her mind strayed as often as his did. He sighed. He didn't even thank her. There was no time. It was either he left then or not at all. Sakura knew it. He knew it. It wasn't like the first time he left the village. There were no tears, no desperate expressions of love—none of the raw emotion he felt just before he whispered his words of thanks. Instead of minutes, they were only permitted seconds, permitted a sense of urgency as Sakura offered him the only word she could give.

Run.

It started to rain. They were never quite good at goodbyes, were they? Never able to get it right. But goodbyes were so final, forcing an ending to something that wasn't finished. And Sasuke wasn't finished, not yet. He was indebted to Sakura, in more ways than one. Although he wasn't sure if it would be for good, he knew one day he would return to Konoha, and he would thank her, properly this time. He closed his eyes. And while that day wasn't today, it left room for a someday.

Pulling his hood over his head, Sasuke walked out of the forest, in need of proper shelter for the night. He reached the gates of the nearest village and read the sign before entering—Iwagakure. The rain was coming down harder now, forcing Sasuke to find the nearest place that was open, which happened to be a small restaurant. Luckily for him, it was rather empty, not counting two Iwa-nin sitting at the counter just a few tables away from where the waitress placed him.

He was just going to have tea, Sasuke told her quietly as he looked out the window. She seemed wary but nevertheless gave him his order. He took a sip, allowing the heat of his tea to warm his hands. It wasn't an inn, but it would do for the moment. The wind was howling now, the sky covered by a mass of dark, pouring clouds. He wondered how the weather was in Konoha—sunny, he hoped.

"Did you hear? Konoha has finally come to a decision."

Sasuke paused, the rim of his cup to his lips, and glanced to his right as he heard the name of the village. They must have been talking about who was going to be named Hokage after Tsunade stepped down. Sasuke raised his brow; it still seemed too premature for Konoha to be thinking of such things. But he was interested now, and shifting in his sea, Sasuke angled himself slightly towards the two shinobi, watching them through the corners of his eyes.

"Yeah, I just heard about it this morning," the other man said to his companion, nodding solemnly, "Everyone's talking about it." He took a sip of his drink. "But it's still hearsay. We won't really know until the paper comes out tomorrow. But what do you think? Do you think it's true?"

"Of course it's true! Why wouldn't it be?"

"But her?"

"And why not?"

"Well, because I know her."

The first man laughed, almost choking on his food in the process. "You?" he said incredulously, laughing again, "You know Sakura Haruno?" Sasuke's eyes widened, almost choking on his tea, this time turning his head so he could see the two shinobi. "The famed disciple of the Fifth Hokage? You're kidding."

"I'm being serious, Jiro! I do know her!" the second man said defensively. But Jiro merely crossed his arms, still unconvinced, causing his friend to sigh. "Okay fine, so I don't know her that well, but I've met her. And that's a lot more than you can say. Anyway, she healed me once, during the war. And Sakura-san," he said, sighing as he propped his elbow on the counter and rest his head on his fist, "she's amazing, you know. Absolutely incredible. If you met her you'd think the same thing. She's—"

"Wait," Jiro said, interrupting him and placing a hand on his shoulder, "please don't tell me she's the one you gave that love letter to." Sasuke twitched, his grip threatening to break the cup in his hand. But the man didn't answer, averting his gaze and stuffing his mouth with whatever food was on his plate. Jiro's eyes widened and said under his breath, "Kami, she was." He shook his head and laughed. "Sakura Haruno was the the girl you couldn't get over, the one who told you she was in love with someone else?"

Sasuke smirked, relaxing.

The man lifted his gaze from his plate and punched Jiro. "Shut up," he said, swallowing his food, "that's besides the point. All I'm saying is that Sakura-san doesn't seem like the type of person. I can't accept it."

Sasuke pursed his lips. Though, he had to admit he thought Naruto was sure to be named the next Hokage, he didn't think Sakura was incapable. In fact, she was definitely more intelligent than the dobe could ever hope to be. And now that he thought about it, Sakura was probably the better choice; all that responsibility placed on the dobe's shoulders? Sasuke almost shuddered at the thought. Whoever this Iwa nin was, he didn't like him. He scowled.

Jiro shook his head and took a swig of his drink. "But from you've just told me, then it has to be true."

"How?"

"Well," he said, drink in hand, leaning back into his chair and fixating on a spot on the wall in front of them, "you said she told you that she was in love with someone else, right?" His companion nodded. "Well, come on. I'm sure you can put two and two together. Ther person she's in love with, it obviously has to be, well, you know." Jiro rubbed his chin with his hand. "And considering what we know, that had to be the reason why she was willing to commit such a crime, even if it was, as you seem to believe, out of her character."

Crime?

"What are you two talking about?"

The two Iwa-nin jumped, pausing in their conversation, and turned their heads to face Sasuke, surprised to discover that they weren't the only patrons in the restaurant. Jiro raised his brow and glanced at his companion before looking back at Sasuke. "You mean you haven't heard?"

Sasuke stood up, leaving his things at his table, and took a seat at the counter. He shrugged. "I've been travelling."

The nameless Iwa-nin nodded his head. "Well," he said, slightly uncomfortable from the look Sasuke was giving him, "word just got in about Sakura Haruno and her trial."

"Trial?"

Jiro smacked his forehead. "Seriously, do you live under a rock?"

"Excuse my friend," the nameless nin said, noticing Sasuke's jaw clench, "He's an idiot." However, Sasuke remained expressionless as Iwa nin forced himself to continue as if he didn't notice, afraid of a confrontation. "Well, you must be aware the Fourth Shinobi War ended about six months ago, correct?" Silence. He swallowed. "Anyway, about a month after the Alliance defeated Madara and Obito, it was said that the last survivor the Uchiha clan, who was supposed to go through his own trial after he'd recovered in the hospital, attempted to escape Konoha before it could happen. The only reason we know this is because the two village elders went to the hospital to check up on him—you know, to see how he was doing, so they could possibly set up a date for his hearing—but when they entered the room they caught the Uchiha right in the act."

Sasuke glowered, his fury growing with every added detail of the story. He looked down at his lap, taking in a few deep breaths. He didn't have to guess twice who came up with this story. "Really."

"Yeah, I know," the Iwa nin said, misunderstanding Sasuke's reaction, "You have every right to feel angry. But imagine how the elders must have felt at such a sight. Here, you have the last surviving Uchiha, the one that had left Konoha years before and then appeared at the battlefield to fight with the Alliance, suddenly changing his mind to go off and to do who knows what? They must have been furious. But of course, they tried to reason with him, telling him he wasn't in his right mind, still in shock from the fact that he just killed his last two family members." He shook his head. "But he wouldn't have it.

"And even though the elders are, well, old, they were quite the ninja in their day, and seeing the Uchiha wasn't listening, they resorted to using force." He paused. "And now this is the part of the story that I can't believe." Nameless-nin paused and looked at his friend, but Jiro merely raised his hands, refusing to continue for him. He rolled his eyes. "Ugh. Fine. Anyway, before the elders could do anything, Sakura Haruno appeared in the room. Why was she there, you may ask? Well, Sakura-san is renowned medical ninja, a disciple of the Fifth Hokage herself in case you haven't heard, and she does rounds in the hospital every now and then.

"Well apparently, she had been listening in on the conversation the whole time and jumped between the elders and the Uchiha, threatening to hurt the elders herself if they tried to harm him. The elders thought she was bluffing, but when one of them made a move, Sakura attacked, creating a diversion so the Uchiha could escape." He sighed, shaking his head and taking a drink. "But like I said before, I don't believe it."

Jiro scoffed. "Oh please, that's just your infatuation talking," he said, pushing his friend away so he could talk directly to Sasuke. "Just listen to the evidence everyone's provided us, and you decide for yourself. So my friend over here doesn't want to believe Sakura-san attacked the elders, but that doesn't hide the fact that other patients, people who had no idea what was going on, heard the crash. There are about five of them that could vouch for that fact." Jiro turned back to his friend. "And how about that other nurse? When she rushed into the room after hearing the noise, the room was an absolute mess. Broken glass, food splattered on the floor, the IV knocked over, everything of the like."

"So?"

Jiro rolled his eyes. "You just want this guy to see things your way. And that's not fair. You're purposely leaving out a very—important detail of the story," Jiro said, wagging his eyebrow at Sasuke, as if he gained pleasure from proving his friend wrong, "and that's what this nurse heard Sakura say herself before she left the hospital."

Sasuke glanced at the nameless nin, but he bowed his head, unable to deny it, defeated. He looked at Jiro again, but his amused expression didn't lift the sinking feeling in the depth of Sasuke's stomach. In fact, it only made it worse. "What did she say?" he asked quietly.

"Now this is where the story gets real interesting," he said in delight, clearing his throat. "So Sakura-san, the elders, and now this nurse, who's quite the nervous wreck at this point, are in the hospital room. According to said nurse, Sakura-san held no expression, her eyes the coldest she'd ever seen. And just before she stepped over the mess that she created, Sakura-san looked directly into the elders' eyes and said, 'Do whatever you want with me. I don't care. I'm not going to apologize. I was not going to let you harm Sasuke-kun.'—Sasuke-kun! Can you believe it?—'Now I'm going home, but neither of you have to worry. I'm not leaving the village, so if you need me, you know where to find me.' And just like that, the elders let her pass, too shocked for words." He laughed. "I can just imagine the looks on the elders' faces once she said that. Looks like the girl knew what she was doing, if you ask me."

Jiro lifted his cup to his lips, but noticing that it was empty, called the waitress to order another round. He turned to Sasuke, offering him a drink, his treat, he said. However, Sasuke shook his head, too invested in Sakura's trial to care about anything else. "So what happened next?"

"Well," Jiro said as the waitress handed him his order, "just like Sakura-san promised to the elders, she never left the village, which was pretty foolish if you ask me. But my opinion doesn't matter now, does it? So later that day, a team of ANBU came knocking on Sakura-san's door to arrest her. Her parents were shocked, I'm sure. But story goes that Sakura-san stepped outside before her parents could ask what the charges were. She didn't even put up a fight, but she refused to put on the handcuffs, instead choosing to escort herself to the prison, head held high as if she did nothing wrong, as if she was proud." He shook his head and laughed. "Traitor or not, that girl has got some serious—"

"Okay, Jiro, that's enough," nameless nin said, finally lifting his head and looked at Sasuke, smiling sadly. Sasuke swallowed, so maybe he didn't hate the guy. "Since you probably don't know this, Sakura-san has been detained in prison for the past five months, her trial one of the longest in history. But can you blame Konoha for taking so long? No one wants to believe that the Fifth Hokage's disciple could commit such treason, and right after a war, too. But evidence keeps piling up against her, and its her word against the elders'."

He sighed. "And as if that's not enough, everyone's been fighting over whether or not Sakura-san should receive full punishment if found guilty. On one hand, she's the greatest kunoichi in all of Konoha, her medical skills surpassing even her mentor. But on the other hand, treason is a capital offense, and people are saying she shouldn't be treated any different than any other—" he paused, almost unable to say the word, "criminal." He bit his lip. "And even you must know the punishment for such a crime."

Sasuke felt his heart clench. He nodded. "Death."

"Precisely. Every major nation has been keeping tabs on the Sakura Haruno trial, some angered, some sympathetic. But in the end, everyone knows the decision can only be made by Konoha alone, regardless of how any outside party feels. And the wait was terrible. Five months, and there was still no word of any progress. We were all starting to doubt if it would ever come into a conclusion. At least, that was the case," he said softly, "until recently."

Quiet.

"So what was the verdict?" Sasuke asked slowly, knowing what he was going to say and yet, trying to cling onto the hope that he was terribly mistaken. Because her eyes told him, Everything is going to be okay, and he believed her. Because he had no reason to doubt her. Because with Sakura, things were going to be okay, they were always supposed to be okay. Because she was Sakura, and things like this only happened to those who deserved it, to those who've lived in darkness, to those like him.

But it was Jiro who looked up, and it was Jiro who answered him, his expression saying I thought you'd never ask.

"Guilty."

And so the plot thickens. Lots of talking, but I liked this chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it as well. Next update will be out soon!

And as always, read and review!

GhostofYou