Just Dance

Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. I've been very pleased to see more of a response for a modern story, than I would have expected. I hope you all enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 11 REVISED: You may wish to go back and reread chapter 11. I revised and towards the end made a key change. Thought here are slight to moderate tweaks throughout the rest of the chapter.

Chapter 12

"Naruto, you don't have to go in person. You can telephone in or be on camera here, while you watch it real time. You are still recovering!" Suki protests a couple weeks later, on the day of Orochimaru's trial.

"I'm not leaving you in the same room alone with him. There's no way in Hell that is EVER going to happen." Naruto puts his foot down.

Suki looks at Jirayia desperately. The man was Naruto's Godfather. Maybe he could talk some sense into him. Her lovable idiot was still recovering from being shot. He could be safely moved to the courtroom in a wheelchair now. But still, she didn't want him to go.

It was bad enough that he had been shot. Did he really have to go through the media circus in person, while recovering? No. She didn't think that was necessary. The brunette hoped that Jirayia would see things from her perspective.

"Kid, she's right. You now it would be smarter just to use an Internet teleconference. But I think Suki and I both know you well enough to realize you aren't going to do that." He says with a chuckle.

"Damn right! I'm not leaving her alone with that creep. Besides, that bastard shot me. I want some payback!" The blue eyed musician protests.

Suki sighs. She caresses his cheek with the palm of her hand and captures his lips in a gentle kiss. In this instance, she wasn't completely above begging.

"Please?" The singer asks softly.

"Suki, I can't do it. I can't leave you alone to face all this. Orochimaru, the press, your family, and everyone. I want to be there for you. Besides, I am the one that got shot. I think I have a right to be there. Nothing's gonna happen. Orochimaru is sick, but he's not stupid enough to attack anyone in a courtroom." Her lover tries to reassure her.

"He shot you at the Awards Show when there were tens of thousands of people watching. I think he's capable of anything." She counters.

"Yeah but he was able to hide in the crowd. The freak can't do that in a court room. You're worried over nothing." The blonde replies.

"You aren't going to change your mind about this, are you?" The Uchiha asks with a heavy sigh and Naruto shakes his head energetically.

She shakes her head. Someday he'd listen to reason. But that day wasn't today, it seemed. The brunette gets out his wheelchair and helps him into it.

Naruto smiles at her. He didn't want Suki to worry. But there was no way he wasn't going to be there to support her. It didn't matter what happened. He knew at the very least the press would be all over her. She had suffered enough. He'd not so politely tell them to go fuck themselves, if they harassed her.

"Guess we better get going. Everyone else is going to meet us there." She says as she wheels him to the car.

"You know wheelchair sex could be fun." Naruto offers.

"No. Your injuries might reopen." She says firmly.

"Well maybe a little later on. You know after I get better." The blonde says, hopefully.

Jirayia chuckles. He had to admire the kid's persistence. Of course if he was Naruto's age and had a lover who looked like that, he'd probably be doing the same thing.

He gets into the driver's seat. Naruto and Suki sat in the back. As he glanced backwards, he saw Naruto hold Suki's hand and whisper something to her. The Sannin smiles, they were so cute together.

"It's not a long drive. We'll be there soon." He informs them.

"Good." Suki says and holds Naruto's hand tightly.

His hand was so much larger than her own. Naruto was always so warm. There was something very comforting about the mere touch of his hand. It soothed her frazzled nerves somewhat.

They pull up to the courthouse. There was already a frenzy of people outside. Dozens of news crews and reporters alone. But the Uchiha woman noted that there were hundreds of fans as well.

"Wow. Some people actually brought signs and banners. Is that even legal?" Naruto muses out loud.

"Don't know if it is or not. Remember kid, there are two trials going on today. The legal one and the trial in the court of public opinion. Let's try not to lose either of them." Jirayia says with a wink as parks the car and they get out.

"GET WELL SOON, NARUTO!" The blonde read on a few banners as Suki begins to start pushing him.

"NARUTO AND SUKI FOREVER!" Suki read on another in amusement.

Of course not all banners were on their side. Orochimaru was a legend in the music industry. He had been around for decades and launched many careers.

"FREE OROCHIMARU!" Could be seen written on a few banners.

Those were just some of the more tasteful ones. Suki wouldn't even go into the less tasteful ones. Some were definitely not suitable to be seen around small children. A few were…unnerving. There were some truly sick people out there.

"Suki, Naruto! May we have an interview?!" A reporter asks.

"Sorry, we have to get inside. We don't want to be late to the trial." Suki says and wheels Naruto inside quickly, leaving Jirayia in the dust.

Jirayia was more than happy to have the attention. That reporter was pretty cute, after all! There was no reason why he couldn't have a little fun.

"There you are." Itachi says and hugs Suki tightly.

"Itachi. I'm so glad you are here." His sister replies and returns the hug fiercely.

"Father and mother are also here. They are in the audience." He tells her softly and she nods.

"Hey, Itachi! Nice to see you again." Naruto says.

"You as well. How are you feeling?" The elder Uchiha sibling inquires.

"Well…better than expected I guess. I'm ready to nail this bastard. I just wish I was healing a little bit faster. Suki is a little wary of reopening my injuries…" He trails off.

Suki feels her face heat up in embarrassment. She couldn't believe Naruto had told Itachi that! Alright, alright! So they hadn't been intimate for a few weeks. That was only because he was still recovering from his injuries. She wanted to, she just didn't want to risk sending him to the hospital.

"How are you holding up?" Gaara asks Suki gently.

"I've been better to be honest. I'm just glad the trial is finally here. We can end this." The brunette admits.

"Naruto! It's so good to see you!" Sakura and Hinata say as they rush over to their band mate.

Suki fought back her jealous impulse. They were just worried about their friend. That was all. It was only natural. There was no reason to be jealous. Naruto had been trying to seduce her into wheelchair sex not that long ago. He was a faithful blonde.

"It's good to see you are still kicking." Suigetsu offers.

"Thanks. Good to see you are to. What would we all do without our favorite pain in the ass?" The blue eyed musician asks cheekily.

"Looks like the judge is coming out." Jugo and Kakashi muse, as Jirayia sneaks in.

"Naruto Uzumaki and Suki Uchiha vs. Orochimaru will now begin. The accused is being charged with attempted murder and stalking. Let us begin with the prosecution." The judge states.

Suki and Naruto's lawyer was Hinata's cousin Neji. He was one of the top lawyers in the country. Hinata's family came from very old money. It had shocked when Hinata had decided to join a band. But she was still close to her cousin, so he agreed to take the case.

"Your honor. I would like to start with the stalking charge. My client received this letter and these photos, which she believes came from Orochimaru. Due to the…personal natures of the photos, she has requested they not be shown to the jury. They are images of her in the shower." He says and hands them to the judge.

The judge looks at the photos. His eyes widen. These were clearly taken without her knowledge. She wasn't even looking at the direction of the camera.

"Your request is granted. I will attest that the images show what you say they do. But that does not prove they are from Orochimaru." He states.

"Your honor, a man was standing outside the home of Itachi Uchiha. Suki was staying with her brother for a few days. His tie was dropped. We have run a test and the DNA matches that of Orochimaru." One of the forensic specialists says.

The judge nods. He frowns. That one was a little harder to dismiss. But still it was circumstantial.

"That does not prove he was stalking her. Only that he was by the house." He argues.

"Suki, would you like to speak?" Neji asks.

"I would." She says and takes the stand, swearing to tell the truth.

"Suki, how long have you known Orochimaru?" The Hyuga man begins to question her.

"Since I was thirteen." Suki answers.

She mentally kicks herself. How had she ever been that naïve? As if a famous musician would ever approach a teenager and expect nothing in return. Apparently, her instincts hadn't been honed yet. Her instincts should have screamed, danger. But they hadn't.

"And how did you meet? What would you say your relationship with him was like until you claim he began stalking you?" The lavender eyed man pressed on gently.

"It was after I won a talent show. He was in the audience. He offered me a slot at his music camp. Our relationship used to be good. He was a mentor to me. When I came of age though, it changed. He…behaved inappropriately towards me. It's why I left Serpent's Teeth. I didn't want to make a fuss in the press, so I just let it go. I figured if I left, he'd leave me alone." She admits.

"And what was Serpent's Teeth?" He inquires.

"It's the name of Orochimaru's band. I was a singer in it for a few years before it became too awkward to continue doing so." She answers

The judge appears to be listening intently. He gestures for her to continue. He was well aware that this decision would be plastered all over the tabloids and wanted to make the right one.

"And tell us more about the alleged stalking?" Neji asks.

"He'd send me notes. Orochimaru would threaten anyone that I was seeing. The pictures. He cornered me in an ally. Orochimaru kissed me, I bit his tongue. He didn't stop. I was lucky Gaara showed up and scared him away. Then at the Charity Concert he tricked me into performing with him. I didn't have a choice. He drug me back stag. Naruto was there. If he hadn't been…" She trails off.

Neji nods sympathetically. The lawyer pauses for a moment for dramatic effect. He had to really make a grand show of this, if he was going to get the jury on their side. Orochimaru was a rather beloved figure to many. It wouldn't be easy to get a conviction.

"So you would say that you felt your physical safety was in danger?" He continues.

"Yes. He shot Naruto at the Awards Show. Kabuto called me and warned me about him." Suki replies.

"I have no further questions. I would like to speak with Naruto though." Neji requests and the judge nods, granting him permission.

Naruto wheels his way behind the podium. He gives Suki a quick kiss before sitting behind it. The judge shakes his head at this and Suki returns to stand next to her parents, watching him nervously.

"Tell me Naruto, what is your relationship like with Suki and Orochimaru. How long have you know them?" Neji questions.

"I'm dating Suki. It'd be perfect if that stalker didn't shoot me and scare the fuck out of Suki. He's insane. A few months." The blonde replies.

"And did Suki tell you about Orochimaru? Did she tell you that she believes he was stalking her?" Hinata's cousin inquires gently.

Naruto nods. He hated that son of a bitch. He wished he could have shot Orochimaru. The bastard was going to rot in prison, if he had anything to say about it.

"We stayed together at a hotel. He found Itachi's place. I didn't really want to leave her alone with a nutcase following her around." The blonde replies.

"And you believe he's the one that shot you?" Neji questions him.

"I don't believe so. I know so." Naruto growls.

"I believe another person was mentioned. A "Gaara" who scared allegedly scared Orochimaru off when he cornered Suki in an ally. Is this Gaara here and would he be willing to testify?" The judge asks.

The red head nods. He makes his way to the stand. The musician informs him that he was Gaara and swears to tell the truth.

"Tell us what happened that day in the ally." Neji inquires.

"I was driving by. I saw Orochimaru had her pinned against the wall. He was kissing her. Clearly it wasn't consensual. I saw her bite his tongue and him grunt in pain. But he didn't stop anyway. So I figured off a warning shot. He took off. I think he probably would have forced himself on her, if I didn't show up when I did." Gaara explains.

"And what would you say your relationship with Orochimaru and Suki is like? And your relationship with Naruto?" The lawyer questions him.

"With Suki it's professional. I don't know Orochimaru, except by reputation. Naruto is one of my band mates and we have been best friends since we were children in middle school." The red head explains.

"I see. Your honor, I would like to question the defendant." Neji says and Orochimaru soon takes Gaara's place.

"Do you admit to stalking Suki and shooting Naruto?" Neji asks.

"I wasn't stalking her. I was protecting her. The same goes for shooting that idiot. He is only going to destroy her. He's nothing but a pop singer. Suki is a musical genius. She shouldn't be commercialized because some bubbly blonde wants to play house." He mutters.

"My client is pleading insanity." Orochimaru's lawyer argues.

Orochimaru twitches. He had no desire to plead insanity. He wouldn't get it. He'd been in the public eye too long. No one would believe he was insane. He was too highly functioning.

"And does your client agree with that?" The judge inquires.

"Your Honor, he's insane. He's not in his right mind. My client is elderly. What is the use of putting an elderly man behind bars, who is not in control of himself?" The lawyer asks.

"I see." The judge says.

"Well the Jury may now go and deliberate." He says and the jury heads off.

"Do you think we won?" Naruto asks once he wheels himself to the group.

"Orochimaru didn't do himself any favors. He should have gone with the insanity plea. I think we have a good shot." Jirayia whispers back.

A few hours later, the Jury comes back. One of the jurors walks up to the judge, to give their decision. The judge listens and nods.

"Very well. The court finds Orochimaru guilty of attempted murder and stalking. He is sentenced to twenty years, without the possibility of parole. Given the clients advanced age, this is likely a life sentence." The judge states.

A police officer walks over to Orochimaru and cuffs him. The Sannin tries to resist arrest. But the officer calls for more assistance. It took five grown men to hold the elderly man down and cuff him. Eventually, he's dragged out to the police car.

Suki would never forget the image of Orochimaru desperately trying to escape. He looked more like a wild animal, than a man at that moment. She couldn't suppress a shiver as she watched him get escorted out.

"It's over!" Naruto cries out joyfully.

"Suki, why didn't you tell us what was going on?" Mikoto and Fugaku ask, sounding hurt.

Suki sighs sadly. She didn't want her parents to worry. She had hoped the sicko would lose interest eventually. But that hadn't been the case.

"I didn't want you to worry. I'm so sorry." She whispers and returns the tight hugs of her parents.

"Next time there is a madman stalking you, I want to hear about it. I don't care how old you are, I will spank you!" Fugaku warns.

"Hey! That's kinda my job now!" Naruto chimes in cheerfully.

"…" Fugaku is speechless and Mikoto giggles, kissing her husband's cheek.

"She is in good hands my love. Besides, there is nothing wrong with a little variety in the bedroom." She says.

Fugaku shakes his head. Honestly, his wife was one of a kind. Only she could hear a statement like that and react with amusement.

"It had BETTER be consensual!" Fugaku growls.

"Father, I love him. He wouldn't do anything that I didn't like." Suki reassures him.

"Good! I swear if he upsets you in any way, being in a wheelchair will be the least of his worries!" Her father says.

Suki nods. At the moment, she knew it was best to humor him. If her father wanted to be overprotective, let him. The brunette did feel bad about not telling her parents. But she just didn't know how to.

She had been worried about worrying them and getting them involved with a potentially dangerous situation. And she had been right, Orochimaru had fucking shot Naruto. He might have attacked her parents, if they tried to tell him off.

"I'll vouch for him." Kakashi says with a smile.

"Alright. If he hurts her, not only will I break him, I'll break you as well." Fugaku says with a nod.

"See what I meant about her father?" Suigetsu asks and everyone nods, Fugaku could be very scary.

"I guess it's time to brave the press." Suki says and wheels Naruto out, making a mad dash for the car.

She must have said no comment a hundred, possibly two hundred times before she got there. Thankfully, Jirayia was pretty spry on his feet for a man his age. He soon joins them and takes them to Suki's home.

"Thanks for the ride." Suki says as she helps Naruto out of the car.

"Anytime. You two have fun. Now that you don't have the threat of a stalker and would be assassin hanging over your head, I imagine you want to spend some quality time together." He says with a wink and drives off before Suki could say anything.

"He really is such a pervert." She mutters and Naruto laughs.

He couldn't argue with that one. Some things would never change. Jirayia being a pervert was one of them. It was comforting in a weird way.

"So we can actually go to my place and your place now without worrying about being followed by anyone more dangerous than the press." She says with smile.

"Yeah! This is going to be great!" Naruto beams and Suki nods, taking him inside.

They spent the night together. Suki helped him get into the bed and they slept in each other's arms. Both happy that they knew the life of their most precious person was no longer in danger.

When Suki woke in the morning, she frowns. Naruto wasn't with her! Immediately she panicked, until she saw a note.

Hey, Suki

I went out for drinks with Gaara to celebrate us winning the trial. You were still asleep and I didn't want to wake you. God knows you deserve some sleep after everything. Don't worry. I'll be back later.

Love, Naruto.

She sighs in relief. He had just gone out for drinks. There was nothing to worry about. Thank God.

Meanwhile Naruto heads off with Gaara to a very fancy jewelry store. It was the kind of place that sold jewelry that generally cost more than most people's cars. Therefore, it was perfect.

"Don't you think you should wait to propose to her until after you are out of your wheelchair?" Gaara asks dryly.

"Nah! She can't say no to a guy in a wheelchair! It's too mean." Naruto says happily.

Gaara shakes his head at his friend's antics. He was happy for Naruto. Really, he was. Most people couldn't marry someone they hadn't known for a year. But Naruto was Naruto. Once he made a friend (or apparently lover) it was for life. Loyalty was his strong suit.

"Do you even know anything about engagement rings?" He asks.

"No! That's why I asked you to come with me! I want something extra special." He says nodding his head.

"Alright. Well let's see what they have. Thankfully, you have more money than common sense." The red head says with a chuckle and ignores the pout that the blonde shot him.

They had inside. Gaara had to admit the place was rather elegant. He could see why this had become one of the premiere locations for celebrities to buy engagement rings.

The store had everything. Emeralds, sapphires, rubies, diamonds, and dozens of other stones that he couldn't identify. Every cut of stone was available. Silver, gold, platinum, and other materials for the bands themselves.

"Suki is the type of person that would probably find gold to showy. I'd stick with silver. Maybe a ruby would be best. It would match her eyes, at least some of the time." Gaara offers, after they had been searching for a few hours.

Naruto was extremely picky. He apparently didn't know what he was looking for but would know it when he saw it.

"Yeah! That's a good point." Naruto says as he picks up a silver band that had a large ruby cut into a perfect rectangle in the center, that was framed by tiny diamonds.

Gaara looks at it approvingly. The blonde smiles. Yep, this was the one. Suki was going to love it!

"So how are you going to propose to her?" The red head asks.

"Ah…I hadn't really thought that far ahead yet." The blonde admits.

"You my friend are the type of person who learned to run before they could crawl." The other musician says with a chuckle.

"Yeah! I guess so. But it doesn't really matter. I got the girl anyway. I'll come up with something super cool!" The blue eyed man says.

"Uh huh. Well good luck. The Uchiha is a pretty feisty woman. I'm not entirely sure you can handle her." His friend teases him.

"Oh trust me, I handle her VERY well. She's never had ANY complaints when it comes to THAT!" Naruto says with a big grin.

"You pervert. I meant in general. Jirayia and Kakashi must be rubbing off on you." He mutters.

"Yeah. Maybe a little." Naruto agrees with a chuckle.

Jirayia and Kakashi were definitely the two biggest perverts he knew. But Jirayia was the best Godfather anyone could ask for. Kakashi was pretty cool to. He had to be, otherwise Suki would have fired his ass faster than you could blink.

"I am going to be the best man, right?" Gaara asks.

"Yeah! You are totally the best man. You're like ramen! I can always depend on you." The other man exclaims.

Gaara shakes his head In amusement. Only Naruto would compare a person to ramen. His best friend could be strange sometimes, but he couldn't ask for a better friend than the blonde. He just hoped they managed to have their wedding without it getting crashed.

"How are you going to keep the media from crashing your wedding?" He asks.

"No idea. But like I said, we'll think of something. Suki is really smart and sneaky. She'll know what to do." He says cheerfully.

Gaara chuckles. He could only imagine what the two of them would come up with. He knew one thing though. This was going to be one Hell of a wedding.