Can't Help Falling In Love With You

Chapter 12

Kizashi felt faint as he saw his daughter suddenly appear from within the crowd and throw herself in death's path. He realized the executioner would not be able to stop and urgently threw himself at him, redirecting the course of his swing.

Sakura closed her eyes. She felt air whoosh past her face as the large mallet pounded into the ground only inches away from her face. Itachi held his breath. He didn't move or speak, still too shocked at the sudden weight that had suddenly settled on top of him.

Seeing as the danger had passed, Kizashi saw red and looked at his daughter in seething rage. "You would go so far!" His voice boomed. The previously rowdy audience now stood in stunned silence. The Iwa looked on, astounded that a Konoha would ever help them.

Too curious to stay quiet, with widened eyes Sasuke looked up at his mother's equally shocked face, "Who is that girl?"

Unfortunately for Sasuke, his questions went unanswered. Mikoto was too busy gaping at the scene in front of her, and Fugaku had not even heard the question despite the empty silence.

"I'm sorry, but I can't let you do this!" Sakura shouted, bringing Sasuke's attention back to the raised stage.

"Sakura, remove yourself!" Kizashi stood threateningly over Itachi and Sakura, his teeth grit together and his fists clenched hard enough to make his knuckles white.

Ignoring his demand, Sakura continued "Killing more people isn't going to help anything! You'll only create more animosity between us! let's not settle this with more bloodshed!"

"You don't know what you're talking about!"

The crowd began to murmur amongst themselves. One of the people standing near the front, the elder's family, cried out, "But we want justice!"

"Please! Killing innocent people isn't going to bring you your justice!"

"You don't know if they're innocent!" The angry bellow came from Kizashi.

"But you don't know that they're guilty either!" The spectators once again stood silent. Even Kizashi seemed a bit taken aback by her words. It was true that they had no proof of these crimes other than having found the body in a lake near the Iwa village.

Even when intensely interrogated and mildly tortured, not one person had admitted to anything. Not a single moment had there been any other clue that the Iwa truly were guilty. There had already been some Konoha people that did not quite agree with what was going on, and like Sakura and Ino, didn't believe the Iwa should be so severely punished without any proof.

Sakura's argument gave these people incitement and shouts of encouragement for Sakura and for the Iwa men to be let go rang throughout the arena. Kizashi looked around, startled by the sudden commotion.

"Please...please.." His daughter's soft plea brought his gaze back to her face. She was looking up at him from the corner of her eye. He stared back as she stared at him with round, hopeful eyes. Just by looking at her face, he could suddenly hear her unspoken words, I love him.

Kizashi looked around the arena once more, taking in the clamor of the people telling him to let the Iwa go. Surprisingly, none of the shouts came from the Iwa themselves, they stood in silence, overwhelmed by the outpour.

With a sigh, Kizashi turned and began to slowly walk down the steps of the stage.

"Chief?" The executioner, still holding onto the large mallet, asked him questioningly.

Kizashi kept on walking, not even turning back "Untie them," he answered simply.

The executioner and the guards who had been watching over the rest of the tied-up Iwa men gaped at Kizashi, their eyes widening. None had truly believed he would really cave. Sakura lay unmoving on Itachi for a moment, her father's words still not seeming real.

She sat up and looked towards Kizashi, her heart feeling like it could soar. Itachi also sat up, still not quite believing that he was going to live after being so close to death.

Clambering to her feet, Sakura ran to Kizashi. She wound her arms around him in a tight embrace as she lay her head gently on his back.

"Thank you," She said softly, smiling wide. Kizashi made a small smile of his own.

Sakura excitedly ran back to Itachi, a bounce in her step. Deidara almost felt like crying as the guards cut his ropes. Shisui grimaced as he ran his hands over his wrists, but the elated look on his face still remained. Kisame and Hidan were also overjoyed, albeit extremely confused as they had no idea what was going on, but hey, they weren't about to complain.

Sakura fussed about Itachi as he too was untied, grinning so wide her cheeks would almost hurt. The crowd began to disperse and the Iwa rushed forward to greet the men in overwhelmed joy. The cheerful aura that had settled in the arena was a complete contrast to its earlier depressive mood. The sky seemed so much clearer and the day a lot brighter.

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This is the second to last chapter of this story.