The Blessed Realm

Chapter
Seventy-Nine: The Abyss

Sasuke
was waiting at the head of the police's table, getting more and more
nervous while the policeman, instead of interrogating him, tidied his
desk, read and signed some papers that were lying there, and then
called his assistant to tell her that she should send a message to
his wife that in the afternoon he would pick up their grand-children
from kindergarten so that she could stay at work as long as she had
to.

Sasuke
watched him doing all these things, trying to keep down the panic
that rose within him. He had been able to restrain his grip on
himself while he had told the officer about the magazine, but now as
he was waiting for Killerbee to arrive and give his version of events
he could not stop the fantasies about what would happen to him. It
was quite predictable, actually. Killerbee would tell that he and his
team had attacked him out of the blue with the intention of
delivering him to Akatsuki, and then he'd get executed or expelled
from town or sent to Kumogakure, or whatever people in Music Town
thought appropriate for someone who had tried to abduct a person and
deliver him to a criminal organization.

The
abyss opened again. He had been able to avoid it for a long time now,
even at moments when he talked about his family. Talking about his
family to friends, or sitting in front of the one remaining photo and
leaning against Naruto had taught him to remain in the present even
while he thought about the past, and to embrace present and future
while remaining rooted in the tradition of his family. As he had told
Naruto: In Music Town life was possible for him. Now however the life
he had found for himself was crumbling and breaking down, the earth
opened again, threatening to devour him, and he could not even blame
anyone else: He himself had committed a horrible crime, he had tried
not to think about it (which had not been difficult at all), but now
it was catching up with him.

He
could still escape: Blow up the building, leave the town and be a
fugitive again. Then he might do what he had intended all the time:
Destroy Konoha. He did not do it, however, but remained where he was,
waiting for Killerbee to arrive and give testimony on his and his
team's attack, his heart aching physically as he realized that no
matter what he did everything he had gained in Music Town had
vanished like a soap bubble.

Finally
the head of the police had finished discussing his grand-children's
newest achievements (tying shoe-laces) with his assistant and
returned to his office.

“You
look horrible”, he said. “You want a glass of water?”

Sasuke
nodded.

The
head of the policed filled him a glass at the tap and placed it on
the table. Taking a sip Sasuke managed to calm down. That's people
here, he thought, friendly and considerate even when they accuse you
of attempted murder, and still it would be a mistake to think they'd
forget about the accusation.

His
heart hurt again from the thought that his stay in this town had come
to an end. Again it took him some seconds to get a grip on himself so
that he could talk again.

“What
are you going to do to me?” he asked.

The
head of the police shrugged. “It depends on what you did to the
brother of the Raikage.”

He
should not have asked, Sasuke realized.

“I
can comfort you in one point, however: You won't get executed. We
don't kill minors here. And neither do we torture anyone.”

He
was still underage in this place, Sasuke thought, still protected by
the law even though he was accused of attempted murder. He thought of
Itachi, who had been only thirteen when he had murdered the clan. He
would have been protected by the law here, too. Sasuke wondered
whether as a child he would have been able to accept this –
when he had been seven Itachi had seemed quite grown-up to him, but
now at the age of seventeen he understood that Itachi had still been
a child, manipulated to kill his own family, and that he had not
deserved to die.

“Will
you then turn me out?” he asked.

“Out
of what?”

“Out
of town.”

“This
will definitely not happen”, the man answered. “You will
probably have to stay in town for a couple of years.”

Sasuke
wondered.

“The
most likely punishment will be a few years in prison. Quite a few
years, if you attempted to kill the Raikage's brother, which is what
the case looks to me at the moment.”

“I
did not attempt to kill him.”

“Then
at least you fought him and carried him away when he was unconscious.
This is considered a crime here, too.”

“It
was not what it looked like”, Sasuke replied. “I did not
carry away his true self.”

It
was clear that the man did not believe him.

“Now,
before we continue this I want to give you a piece of advice”,
he said. “You can cooperate and tell me the truth, or you can
make up stuff and tell me weird stories. It's your choice. But not
only I myself but also the judge who will finally decide how many
years you will have to spend in prison will look at you more mildly
if you don't make us figure out everything by ourselves.”

“But
it's true”, Sasuke said. “It's a ninja trick. He made
some item look as if it were him while he gave himself the appearance
of that item. It's quite common, actually, and young ninja learn to
expect it and take counter measures or to see through the trick.”

He
did not have to tell the man that the item had actually been a tail
of the Hachibi, Sasuke thought.

The
head of the police sighed. “Ninja tricks. They always
complicate things. The world would be a better place without them.
Well, in the end you will have to persuade your judge, not me. So the
Raikage's brother used that trick against you during your fight, and
you saw through the trick so that now you are able to explain it to
me. Why did you not take countermeasures?”

“It
came convenient to me”, Sasuke answered. “I did not want
to abduct him, but I had to find a solution to the problem of how to
deceive Akatsuki.”

“Akatsuki?
What's Akatsuki got to do with it?”

“I
had a deal with them.”

“So
it was for them that you attacked Killerbee and carried him away: You
delivered him to Akatsuki.”

“Not
him. The thing that had taken his form.”

“But
you had an agreement with Akatsuki?”

“Yes.”

The
head of the police took a deep breath.

“You
are aware that currently Akatsuki is considered one of the most
dangerious terrorist organizations of the ninja world?”

“Yes.”

The
man hesitated for a few seconds before he continued the
interrogation. Sasuke also considered his own strategy. He was not
good at that kind of thing at all.

“So
what exactly is the nature of your connection with Akatsuki that you
agreed to fight and abduct the Raikage's brother for them?”

“It
was a loose alliance between them and my team and myself. We had a
deal: I'd capture the Raikage's brother, who's the Eight-Tails'
jinchuuriki, and they'd give me the bijuu.”

The
head of the police took a long time to think before he answered.

“That's
a weird deal. What was in it for Akatsuki?”

Sasuke
had never considered it. He got a cramp in his stomach as he
understood that they must have had something in mind they had not
talked about.

“I
did not think about it when we bade the deal”, he said. “I
only asked what would be in it for myself. I guessed they planned for
a long-term alliance, but this has never been my intention. I only
thought about my side of the deal: delivering the Hachibi's
jinchuuriki and obtaining the bijuu.”

“What
did you need the bijuu for?”

“To
destroy Konoha.”

It
was obvious that the man did not approve of this idea, but otherwise
Sasuke was not able to read his expression. He considered activating
his Sharingan but he had already learnt that it was not very
efficient for reading emotions.

“My
whole family was murdered by Konoha”, he explained. “I
came home in the evening and everyone I cared about was dead. I had
been part of a large clan where everyone cared for everyone else and
each person, even a small child as myself, had his place with his
duties and the care and respect that suited his position. And then
suddenly everyone was dead, and I was all on my own, having to look
after myself, with no one who loved me and cared for me, and with no
one whom I loved and had obligations to. The only obligation that was
left to me was to avenge my clan, and then the abstract claim of
Konoha that I should become a ninja of the Leaf and fight for them.
They did not tell me of course that Konoha itself had been
responsible for my family's murder, but even in spite of my ignorance
I felt less and less able to acknowledge their claim on me as they
had never done anything for my family or myself. So I ran away.”

“When
did you learn that Danzou was behind the massacre?”

“Only
after I had been away from Konoha for a few years. This was when I
decided to destroy the village.”

Sasuke
held his breath while he waited for the man's judgement. At least he
did not condemn him immediately.

“I
understand your pain and your anger”, the man said. “But
there's other ways to deal with it than to destroy the whole village
of Konoha.”

“Which
ones? Don't forget that Danzou is still Hokage.”

“He
won't be Hokage forever.”

“No.
Only until he dies from some natural cause as a very old man, while
the life of my family was cut off, whether they were seventy or forty
or only two years old.”

“Some
things can't be changed”, the head of the police said. “You
don't want to be responsible for the death of some two-year-old
children yourself, do you?”

“No
one cared about the two-year-olds of my clan.”

This
time the silence lasted for a few minutes.

“Do
you still intend to destroy Konoha?” the head of the police
finally broke it.

“No.
I can't if I want to keep Naruto as my lover.”

“I'm
glad to hear that he disapproves of that plan. It's impossible to
undo a wrong by another wrong.”

“It's
impossible to undo the murder of my family at all. They won't come
back to life.”

“That's
true.”

There
was the abyss, Sasuke thought, gasping between himself and the head
of the police. Neither of them was falling into it, but the head of
the police was staring into it too, not knowing what to do about it.

“It's
not about undoing my family's murder”, Sasuke continued. “It's
about setting a sign. You cannot murder the Uchiha and live happily
ever after.”

Again
the head of the police took some time to come up with a reply: “Now
you will have to find a different way of setting a sign.”

“Yes.
Naruto promised me that we will find a way to take Danzou out of
power. Then he will have to pay.”

“I
forgot: you already told me about that.”

He
takes this plan less seriously than my intention to destroy Konoha,
Sasuke thought. It made sense: Destroying Konoha as a whole was
easier than only taking Danzou out of power.

“Well,
it's not my job to judge you on a crime you never committed and no
longer intend to commit. My job is to deal with your fight against
Killerbee and his intended abduction and delivery to Akatsuki”,
the head of the police then concluded.

A/N:
Thanks again for your
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