Haruhi staggered along, one of the agents gripping her by the arm. She was surprised to find that their hold wasn't bruising like before.
Her neck stiffened when she heard the sounds of the other cells screeching open, and bit her lip as the girls growled at the agents. Haruhi's pulse flickered in panic, and her carefully measured breaths started to come out in short bursts of anxiety. She felt like she was trying to climb Mount Everest while breathing through a straw.
She was seconds away from a full blown panic attack when the agent whispered in her ear.
"Everything is going to be okay. He's working right now for all of your safeties."
Haruhi could tell it was a man just from the tone and deepness of the voice. It was soothing and comforting, and she found herself believing him even with the mask he was wearing.
They marched on, Haruhi's eyes taking in the halls and paths of the inside of the Hokage tower. She sees the place they usually go to accept missions and notices Sakura shudder out of the corner of her eye as one male chunin gives her a particularly long sneer.
Haruhi shifts, catching the chunins attention so he isn't looking at Sakura, and gives him a particularly crude shinobi gesture taught to her by Kakashi. She felt the other agents eyes dig into her back, but it was worth it to see the chunins expression curl like he bit into a lemon.
The high from that is quick to evaporate as they come across a set of double doors.
They creak open.
Haruhi wonders why they are so loud before she realizes it's probably to set whoever is coming in on edge.
Her teeth chatter as she steps in the cold room, still wearing the thin and ratty prison clothes from Orochimaru. Her bare feet are cold against the floor. The room's temperature is at least ten degrees lower, tailored to set the persons on trial on edge, so they shiver and cower before the judges.
Haruhi snorts.
Judges.
That implies that this is a fair trial.
Even without Danzo and his cronies at the helm, this would still be all a farce. A military dictatorship would never have a fair trial for someone. Even regular democracies with trial by peers had unfair trials, with a jury of white men deciding what was best for women and black people like her.
The derision and superiority oozing from the council of elders was not unfamiliar to her.
But Haruhi was born and raised by a mother tough as nails, and a father who taught her to love herself before his passing. She was born in a world that hated her because of her skin, her gender, and her sexuality. These shriveled up fascist raisins amounted to little more than dog shit in the face of that.
Haruhi squared her shoulders and looked Danzo dead in the eye.
She would not cower.
There was a flickering as someone adjusted a mic stand that looked like it was from the 1960's, and then Danzo spoke.
"Sakura Haruno, Karin Uzumaki, Tenten, and...Haruhi." The weird infliction of her name had every single one of her alarm bells ringing.
"You are all here on charges of treason, punishable by death, and are to be sentenced after a brief hearing."
The room became a few degrees colder. Karin whimpered, and Tenten pulled them closer to herself. Haruhi clenched her jaw.
Danzo opened his trap again only for the door they came through to be slammed open. Anko, being escorted by two root agents, walked in, clearly under threat. Her wounds were fresh, and she was still wearing the same clothes from the hideout.
"Ah, Anko. So glad you could join us." Said another elder dryly. Her faint purple hair was pulled back by chopsticks.
Anko snarled.
"So Anko, do you have anything to say for yourself? Running off with the genin to Orochimaru's hideout without informing the council?"
The elders words were barbed, thick with a barely hidden meaning. Haruhi knew they were accusing her of cuddling up to Orochimaru.
"It's not like I had much time. I needed to get to them immediately."
"Couldn't you have sent a summon with a message?"
"Again, I didn't have time or chakra to waste, and a snake summon wouldn't have been very well received, given the fact snake summons wrecked much of the village and the walls." The elder fell silent, Anko's words boxing her into a corner.
"That still does not change the fact you pursued the genin who went against village orders and their missions. We will be calling a witness up to the stand."
And Lo, the asshat Haruhi had insulted in the hallway entered the room, coming to a halt in front of a podium.
He cleared his throat in a motion that made Haruhi want to nut shot him.
"Firstly I would like to, ah, thank the esteemed Village elders for having me." He sniveled in an oily voice.
Haruhi saw Anko bare her teeth.
"As for what I witnessed, it was yesterday at the mission desk. I was handing out specific missions to the genin most compatible with them. Due to the financial situation, I had to assign a...special mission to Sakura."
Haruhi didn't like the sound of that.
"To my suprise, or maybe not, given her background, Sakura met it with resistance. I informed her of the repercussions if she declined. Then Anko stepped in. She proceeded to threaten me, a treasonous in and of itself on top of defending Sakura's own treasonous actions, and her connections to Orochimaru. I had no choice but to drop it."
His words echoed pointedly in the cavernous room. Haruhi noticed how the judges chairs were towering above them, and how the room was designed in every way to make you feel small, ceiling arching dozens of feet over them.
If Konoha made half the effort they put into making this room intimidating into caring for one another they would have no fucking need for child soldiers.
Anko exploded.
"I just fucking love how you pointedly ignore the fact that you assigned Sakura a sex work mission!"
Haruhi froze.
What.
She saw Sakura cower in the corner of her eyes and Karin move to cover some of the bite marks on her, looking at the Konoha emblem on the wall like she had seen a ghost.
"What the hell are we, Kiri!? We dropped those missions years ago, and even when we had them we never sent children! You piece of shit-"
"-Sakura is not a child. She is a shinobi-"
Haruhi snapped.
"-That is such bullshit."
"..."
Haruhi's blood pounded in her ears and it took a minute for her to realize everyone was now staring at her. The agent-Yamato she guessed-behind her squeezed her arm, not as a threat but telling her to calm down.
Well, maybe Haruhi didn't feel like calming down.
"Twelve. She is a twelve year old. I don't give a fuck that she graduated at the top of the class, o-or that she's considered a legal adult."
".."
Haruhi licked her lips.
"And as such, these two noble clans have come together as one, unified under the banner of Konohagakure, and the goal that no children will ever again have to live and die in peril, suffering and torment. Konoha wil instead be a safe haven, a place of peace sheltered by the trees for all those who wish to seek happiness, comfort, and shelter."
Anko stared at her like she had never quite seen her before.
"...What the fuck happened to that?" Haruhi's voice cracked, despair and pain evident.
"That was a direct quote from the treaty signed by the Uchiha and Senju when founding this village. You would know that though, as The first hokage was your teacher. It's sad to see that you have forgotten his teachings."
She continued.
"People moved to Konoha, loved Konoha, and Konoha grew strong all because it nourished and cared for its children. Children like Hashirama-sama's younger brother, who unfortunately died at the age of twelve before the village was founded. The same age as the genin here."
She drew in a deep, shuddering breath.
"What the fuck has happened to Konoha? The economy is in shambles. Shinobi and civilians, adults and children, live in fear. They are hungry. The third war, the refugees, The Hyuga affair, the massacre, the crime rates, and now this. Now more than ever Konoha needs its youth to survive, and now you have them on trial!?"
Her voice echoes, her incredulity obvious.
"What have they ever done wrong, except try to live and abide by that treaty signed long ago, the treaty which Konoha planted its roots in to grow? Nothing. Is it so wrong of them to try and rescue their friends? And a civilian who can't fight back?"
Haruhi's eyes hardened.
"No. No its not. Konoha was founded on cooperation, and the idea that no one should be left behind."
Her final words resound through the room, the chamber ricocheting them like bullets.
The third elder cleared his throat.
"...be that as it may, this insubordination has made Konoha appear weak-"
The other elders uncaring words enraged her.
"Appear weak!? Did you listen to a word I've said!? Konoha gained its strength from its care! Konoha wasn't founded by the clans slapping the shit out of each other, but them working together! Do you really think executing three genin, one the best weapons mistress in generations, the other the top of her class and a upcoming star in the medical field, and the third a girl with direct blood ties to the senju will make you appear strong!?"
The sheer disbelief radiated off of her piercing words.
"God, It's like punching yourselves in the face! Executing these girls and going against Konoha's founding ideals will do nothing but prove how weak, traitorous, shriveled, and pathetic you three and the rest of Konoha have become!" Haruhi screamed.
"..."
Yamato was trying to calm her down, hand rubbing small circles into her back but Haruhi was so not here for it.
Danzo seemed to loom over her.
"Excuse me." He said softly.
Haruhi snorts through her heavy breathing.
"You're not excused." She snarls.
The room, if possible, becomes even colder. Haruhi realizes it's killing intent.
"Be quiet, Girl, or you will be held in contempt of this court." Koharu says icily.
Haruhi snorts, and spits on the ground in front of them.
"I have nothing but contempt for this court."
Danzo loomed.
"The girls will be sent to do missions. Anything that chunin-san over here feels is necessary." Danzo growls. "Executing these three would be a waste."
The two other elders lean back.
"But Danzo-sama-"
"-Are you sure we should allow them to live?"
He slammed his cane, and that was that.
"However…"
He stared her down, but Haruhi didn't blink.
"You are a different matter entirely."
Haruhi raised an eyebrow. Now that the girls were out of the woods Haruhi didn't give a fuck.
"You are charged with treason-"
"-Yeaahhhh, I'm gonna have to stop you there. The definition of treason is going against one's country, and while I am under the protection of one of Konoha's strongest and most well known ninja, I'm not a citizen. Making it impossible to charge me with treason."
Danzo's face was stone, but she saw that son of a bitch chunin blink in shock.
"Nice try though!" She said patronizingly.
His killing intent was suffocating.
"Take her to the execution block. She will be executed publicly as an enemy of the state."
Haruhi's smug smirk froze on her face.
The second agent inclined their head towards the other girls and Anko.
"They can go. For now."
The agent rudely shoved Yamato aside and grabbed her arm in a bruising grip.
"Wait-"
"-Haruhi-sensei-"
"-No, stop!-"
"-You can't do this-"
The girls were dragged from the room.
Haruhi stood frozen, heart somehow scared still and pounding at the same time.
"Your words and opinions will not be tolerated here." Danzo snarled. Haruhi's eyes found his wrapped arm and covered eye.
Her feet gave way under her, but the root agent didn't let her go, and dragged her over the wooden floor, scraping the skin off her legs. She began to writhe and kick, whimpering.
"STOP!"
The doors slammed back open and Haruhi stilled. She knew that voice.
Chest filled to bursting with hope, She looked up to see Kakashi.
His chest heaved with his gasps for air, having obviously run here at full speed. His hair was disheveled, and clothes wrinkly. His grey eye caught hers and she saw many emotions play out. At first shock, then guilt, and finally, aching relief and fondness that had her heart skip in her chest.
"By order of the third Hokage, you must stop!"
This seemed to shake Danzo, who stood up abruptly.
"The third Hokage is in critical condition, he is not conscious-"
"-And he is right here."
Lord third strode in, still in hospital garments, but clearly speaking and conscious. Haruhi hated him for allowing Danzo to get away with so much, but in that very moment she could have hugged him.
"That is all for now Danzo. You are dismissed."
Danzo floundered for words, before gritting his teeth and striding out of the room, covered by four root agents, one of which had let go of her arm. The other two elders left.
Numbly, she felt Kakashi gather her in his arms. He held her delicately, like she was still five inches tall. She felt the pad of his drift tenderly across her face and realized he was smoothing away her tears.
The Third turned to look at her, and undecipherable expression on his face.
"Kakashi?"
"Yes?"
"Get her out of here."
Her lifted her slowly, bridal style, and cradled her to his chest. His familiar gait and smell comforted her in a way that was indescribable and she buried her face into his neck, wrapping her arms around his shoulders in a hug. She wondered what he thought of her now.
"Wait." She croaked.
The third looked at her.
"Where's Sasuke?"
His gaze softened.
"Sasuke is currently resting in the ICU, sharing a room with one Ino Yamakan."
Haruhi sagged in relief, the feeling soothing her aches and pains as much as Kakashi's steady heartbeat as he carried her out of the room and into the hallway.
She inhaled shakily.
"I'm scared."
He held her a little tighter.
"I'm sorry it took so long." He whispered into her hair hoarsely. She felt his lips moving.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sakura's parents clutching their daughter close to them. As she continued to watch, Kizashi stood up and pulled Anko into a hug. Naruto held Karin and sobbed. Team Gai smothered Tenten with affection.
A scene that would have otherwise touched her, but now she was too numb.
"Kakashi, I want to go home." Haruhi hated how childish she sounded, but Kakashi didn't seem to notice.
"I know, Haruhi."
They disappeared in a flurry of leaves to arrive inside the small house she had been living in for the past few months.
As Kakashi helped her change, bandaged her scraped knees and other wounds, and tucked her into his bed, arms wrapped protectively around her, Haruhi closed her eyes.
This wasn't home. But it was the closest thing she had to it.
Haruhi went OOOOFFFFFFFFFFFF.
Wow. Just so many things happened, and were said in this chapters. So many themes and double meanings. I'm interested so see what you guys think about all it.
And Someone left a review last chapter that I felt was extremely pertinent to wha Iu am trying to get at about Konoha. So I'll just leave that here...
"emma chapter 44 . Oct 13
I'm not surprised. But I think its important to remember that Danzo Isn't acting alone, and that many people agree with his actions. If it wasn't danzo doing this, it would have been someone else. It's wrong to blame everything wrong with Konoha on Danzo because he himself is a product of Konohas flawed mindset and system. This is so much bigger than Danzo, and pinning it all on him is a dangerous mistake because it ignores the actual source of the problem, meaning more violence it guaranteed..."
I normally don't do that, but emma really hit the nail on the head on what I am trying to get at.
Question of the chapter: What do think about what just happened? What does this mean for Haruhi?