Illusions
August, 1963
Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki had been best friends (some said best enemies) as long as either could remember. They graduated the Police Academy together and had been partnered from pretty much their first day on the force. Sasuke had been an obvious standout as a cadet, known for his keen intelligence and skills of detection. Naruto was less academically inclined, but he was universally liked, and his seemingly endless stamina and his uncanny intuition that bordered on precognition were legendary.
The combination of their skillsets made them a formidable and effective team that their Captain had utilized to its fullest, despite his complaints that they always created more paperwork than anyone on the force.
In their years together, Kakashi had worked them into nearly every division; robbery, vice, homicide, gangs, harbor patrol, special investigations, and most recently narcotics. Their last two years of investigations revolved around unearthing and dismantling an international drug ring that had infiltrated Konoha. Everything led up to a final face off – a massive bust at the harbor that would decimate their base of operations, and drive home the final nail into the organization's coffin. It was Naruto who spotted the boss and his two bodyguards trying to make a get-away as the task force was wrapping up the arrests. With a punch to Sasuke's arm, he took off running, leaving his partner to radio the Captain that the were in pursuit, and once more with the location of the warehouse the target had entered. Both officers knew the boss would cave once the bodyguards were subdued - that he'd choose to rely on his network of underworld connections and an expensive lawyer to get him out of trouble, rather than physically fight them - but that also meant the bodyguards would be waiting for them, and not going to go down without a fight.
It was exactly what the boss had been counting on. Cornered, he resorted to a last ditch effort to escape, and unloaded the payload from the crane onto the unsuspecting men below. Naruto had just knocked out his opponent, when Sasuke heard something above them. There was no time to warn his partner, so he lunged for him, just as his opponent reached for his left wrist. Sasuke barely managed to shove Naruto away before he was jerked backward. Time suspended as their eyes met, and while Naruto's grew wide in realization and horror, Sasuke's went from determination to relief to what might have been an apology. When the deafening clatter stilled, and the dust cleared, and both officers were on the ground, panting and barely conscious. Sasuke's opponent was under the shipping container, along with most of Sasuke's left arm. They barely registered Kakashi and the others, swarming to take away the boss and the remaining body guard and coming to secure them.
"Don't die, Bastard," Naruto managed to wheeze.
"Hn," was Sasuke's only response, but Naruto took it as a promise.
Sasuke was whisked off to the hospital, and tended to by Dr. Senju herself - but even she could not prevent the amputation of his mangled arm.
For his part, Naruto stayed with Sasuke - or as near as the hospital staff would let him be – until the operation was complete, and he was assured his friend would live to be pissed off another day.
After that, Sasuke was placed on medical leave, and Naruto reassigned to petty crimes with a rookie partner – one he'd help mentor. Naruto still visited Sasuke if not every day, then every other day. If anyone noticed his more subdued manner, they didn't ask, and he didn't talk about his nightmares or his growing fondness for gin.
August was as mercilessly hot as July, but it wasn't responsible for the strange electricity sparking in the air on August 19th – the day of the trial.
All of Konoha watched from home or listened on the radio as the press gathered around the courthouse, snapping photographs as Naruto and Sasuke arrived in uniform and via police escort. No press was admitted to the trial, but they flooded whatever spaces they could, desperate for a glimpse of the accusers and the accused. The solid doors of the courtroom closed behind them, Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha stood in uniform as the man responsible for nearly taking Naruto's life, and definitely taking Sasuke's arm was given multiple consecutive life sentences, assured that he would never again see a sunrise outside of prison walls.
Sakura stood nearby – silent support for them both. It was Naruto who motioned her forward once the sentence was read, to stand between them, her arm carefully wrapped around Sasuke's upper arm and temporary prosthetic while Naruto's arm spanned across her shoulders to Sasuke's. They stood in support of one another as they had throughout their many years as friends.
It was that image, as depicted by the visiting court artist, (an unusually pale, superbly talented man, rumored to have been brought on specifically for the occasion) that dominated the newspapers and captured the imaginations of Konoha that summer; the sense of triumph of order and good over evil in a tumultuous worldwide political climate marked by struggles of justice.
Not pictured in the formally released drawings was one Ino Yamanaka, but she was there, with her famously brilliant smile tempered into something humble and supportive of her best friends, her intelligent eyes seeing so much more than the cameras or the press could begin to suspect. She deftly arranged the three of them on the Courthouse steps, angling them just so before the DA came to give the formal press announcement about the trial. She occasionally murmured quiet instructions to the few photographers with a clear view, who complied, knowing they had only been granted as much at her behest.
The resulting pictures made their way into every newspaper in the Land of Fire, and snagged the collective imagination; soon front-page commendations for the officer's bravery segued into gushing articles in the socialite section re: the rumored nuptials of the stoic-Second-Uchiha-son to the girl-next-door-turned-trailblazing-surgeon. The world clamored for details about their wedding, and many a column went to print, speculating about where they would wed, and what the bride would wear.
Ino, having grown into a sensational beauty, was often mentioned in the society papers. Her influence in social circles was subtle and powerful, and she used this to bend the news about her friend's wedding. When speculations would arise, very careful rumors were planted to throw the press off the trail.
When reporters grew overzealous, their final stumbling block was formidable, and came in the form of one Dr. Tsunade Senju – the heiress and representative for what passed in aristocracy in Konoha – and had to content themselves with whatever information they were granted. Reporters attempting to delve into the Uchiha family, or Sakura's friends, quickly found themselves reporting on cat shows, grain prices and knitting news.
Sakura and Sasuke's wedding was to be a quiet affair in an undisclosed location (sometime and somewhere the heat would soon give way to the richness of Autumn, draping the hillsides in brilliant reds and oranges) that the reporters, and most of the world, would give their eye-teeth to attend.
Even the alleged Hyūga heiress expressed an interest in attending, should an invitation come her way. Despite not being included on the guest list, she managed to get a very expensive gift to Sakura – an unexpected gesture with a surprisingly thoughtful note.
"Please enjoy this in good health. Paparazzi thinks that you are leaving on the 28th to honeymoon in St. Barts at this address. You're welcome."
Sakura had been confused by that statement, until she began to hear the rumors of her own honeymoon destination. Wisely, she did not correct anyone's suspicions, and when she caught sight of the tabloids with Hanabi's picture splashed on the cover while vacationing St. Bart's, she chuckled to herself, adjusted the large, floppy designer hat and sunglasses, and bought a copy to bring back to her hotel (somewhere decidedly less tropical), to share with Sasuke.
Naruto weathered the dregs of summer as best he could, missing his friends, but glad that they'd had the sense to travel to largely cooler, quiet destinations, away from the melee of life in Konoha.
He measured time by tacking Sakura's postcards to the wall in his apartment, and how many empty bottles walked down to the trash.
After the media attention that followed the trial, there would be no more undercover work for Naruto Uzumaki. His current workload consisted largely of paperwork and mind-numbing assignments that he did his best to give his full attention - but Naruto didn't have it in him to quit.
Occasionally there was pain from wounds no doctor could treat, and furtive whispers from the darker corners of his mind, but Naruto numbed them with bourbon and silence. His cheerful disposition had dulled, and the lines around his eyes, formerly crinkled with laughter, shallowed as the small lines at the corners of his mouth deepened. There were those that noticed, even if they never said so. Teuchi and Ayami never failed to check in or have his favorite meal ready; Ino met him for lunch a few times as old friends; Captain Kakashi kept a watchful eye, and Konohamaru genuinely worked at being a better cop.
One day he came home to find a letter, and almost smiled when he recognized the handwriting, even if it slanted differently than before.
Heard you look like hell. It's too late to retract my request to be partnered with you for any investigations assigned to my upcoming desk job, and I'm not hauling your weight with only one good arm. Won't be back in Konoha before the middle of October because we have to go see some people about the prosthetic. You have until then to get your shit together. Don't think I won't kick your ass on sight if you don't.
Sasuke
"Bastard," Naruto chuckled, turning over the paper, where he saw a hastily scribbled note from Sakura.
"That goes for me, too. You are too important to us both. Love you – Sakura."
Naruto made the drink in his hand the last of the evening, and taped the note to his bathroom mirror.
"Love you guys, too," he murmured, before switching off the light and getting ready for bed.