Let It Burn: Death [Sasuke Uchiha]

Chapter 68

Naruto stood in front of the mirror with a vacant look in his eyes. He was dressed in uniform, one that was not stained or sewn back together from a previous mission. There was movement in the corner of the glass, causing him to blink and glance over. Hinata stared back at him from the doorway.

"Are you ready?" she whispered.

Her eyes were still red. When the two of them thought they couldn't cry anymore, somehow, they managed to.

"Honestly no," he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose and closing his eyes.

"I know... but are any of us?"

Today was the day they would see Sasuke for the first time since escorting him back to Konoha. Slowly, the Village was becoming more involved outside the walls again, but none ventured far. They weren't close to healing from this.

Ibiki and his team had been cross-examining the criminal in court behind closed doors with the Council for weeks. They were trying to piece everything together. Trying to make sense of the events, and today they were ready for an audience. Only a limited number of individuals were allowed inside to hear the sentencing. Some were to come forward if asked for testimonies. None of this was going to be easy.

Each day was a struggle to get by because even when the Be Fong wasn't present, they knew she was somewhere or watching over them. Now there was only a vacant void. Naruto realized he never once thanked her for her unselfish actions. She had saved him on more than one occasion, even nearly losing her arm at one point. A part of him couldn't live with the fact he could never express how grateful he was for everything.

"When I became Hokage she was supposed to be by my side," Naruto whispered hoarsely. "It was a promise we made when trying to stop the Raikage from killing Sasuke. Before Obito showed up... I said I would do it all with her by my side as my top guard because I wouldn't trust anyone else to do the job."

Hinata came up behind him and hugged the ninja tightly. "We will get through this together," her voice shuddered. "One day at a time. And when that time comes... you will figure it out, no matter how hard it is. Because you are strong, Naruto."

They walked hand-in-hand to the courthouse, finding seats beside Sai and Team 10. Shino and Kiba arrived minutes later sitting on the other side of the Hyuuga. "You okay?" the Aburame questioned his teammate lowly.

"No," she answered truthfully.

Kakashi was one of the last to arrive. His eye scanned the room. There were quite a few ninjas wearing ANBU masks lining the back. Their body language was tense, unwelcoming. The Jounin hoped they didn't attack the Uchiha when he entered. He even swore he saw Belva lurking somewhere in the last few rows.

Tsunade and the Council were the first to enter, the woman taking the center seat on the dais as the low murmur in the room hushed. Then the right door opened. Ibiki entered with Kotetsu and Izumo. Between them stood the criminal. He looked terrible, Naruto noted, but there was no sympathy in the thought. Sasuke's hair had begun to grow out during his time in prison and dark circles had formed under the eyes. He was no longer in uniform, dressed in black pants and a long sleeve shirt. His eyes were vacant, didn't even look at the crowd before being forcefully sat in a chair in front of the Village leaders. His back was to the courtroom, but Naruto didn't want to see his face anyway. His body language said enough. The Uchiha was suffering. Good.

"Let us begin," Tsunade spoke up.

The Hokage started with the mission details presented the Be Fong all those months ago. That No Face was the newest band of rogues to end up on their radar. They had done nothing to warrant a full-on investigation. So the Hokage sent her into the field to infiltrate them under a false identity. Mai had altered the Chakra Strings to take on another Kekkei-Genkai. After a period of time and proving herself, she was accepted into the group.