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A quiet whimper could be heard from the cell of one Naruto Uzumaki.
He had been doing so since he arrived. That had been no longer than a few hours, yet even that short time alone filled him with dread, knowing that he had no idea how long he would be here.
Weeks.
Months.
Years.
Just the thought of spending a single day in this horrible place made him feel so helpless.
"Why... I didn't do anything." He pressed his forehead into his knees, his body shuddering in pain every time he breathed.
"Why am I here?"
He didn't know what hurt more, the seal wrapped around his body that kept him from using his chakra, or the fact that he was still healing from the fight with his best friend. The one who had tried to kill him.
Up until several days ago, Naruto had felt like he was finally succeeding in life. He had the acknowledgement of his friends and peers, a weird new sensei teaching him powerful new jutsu, and the respect of the new Hokage, Lady Tsunade. whom he had quickly grown attached to. He had even saved his best friend from turning to one of the Leaf Village's greatest enemies: Orochimaru. And most importantly, he had kept his promise to the girl he liked most... Sakura.
Things couldn't have been better for him. That was what he had thought, at least.
This blissful high had unravelled faster than he could blink.
His thoughts drifted back to the event that had sent his world spinning. He was still in his hospital bed when it happened, still recovering from his fight with Sasuke. Without so much as a warning, he was dragged in front of all the important people in Konoha. No words or reason given. The Anbu silently dragged him by his arms, and only after his struggling did they mutter that there was an important meeting he needed to attend.
He had recognized a few faces in the lineup. He was friends with some of their children, of whom he had just survived one of the most dangerous missions he had ever been on.
Naruto's body had still been in a lot of pain. His chest felt like it would tear apart without warning. He bore with it as the room held an almost unbearable tension, almost uncomfortably nostalgic for him. Glares bearing down on him more heavily than he had felt in years.
Never had he seen Granny Tsunade look so serious. Not even in her fight with Orochimaru. Her eyes lacked the usual passive concern he had slowly been becoming accustomed to.
Truthfully, everything quickly became a blur to him. His ears rang. Shock paralysed his body. Words pierced him like a knife to the heart.
"Citizen Naruto Uzumaki," a cold voice had intoned. "You have been formally charged by the Ministry of Justice, under the Fire Daimyo — Lord of the Land of Fire and ruler of this country — It has been decided that for the proceedings of these charges, you will be placed in confinement in Hozuki Castle. Also, due to these charges, your reliability and trustworthiness has been put into question. As such, you are stripped of your status as a shinobi of the Hidden Leaf."
The words rang through his head over and over. He almost didn't believe them, like he was hallucinating from the drugs fed to him in the hospital. It was the agony he felt that cast that denial away. The sight of his escort handing over the headband — the one Iruka-sensei gave him the night he finally graduated.
The promise he had made to become Hokage, taken away from him so easily. It made him feel so frustrated. So small.
It made his fists clench so tight they bled.
"Wait—" He had finally found his voice, biting out the word once he realized he wasn't trapped in some post-traumatic nightmare. "Don't I at least get to know what I'm being charged with? I swear I haven't done anything!"
The room had grown especially cold after that outburst. Tsunade's face became contorted into a bitter glare.
"Silence." Her voice was like ice. "You have no right to speak at this point in time. You will know the charges at your preliminary trial. Only then."
"When is my trial, then—"
A hand gripped his shoulder. Tightly. After his second outburst, Naruto collapsed to the floor gasping in pain as his unhealed injuries came back with a vengeance. Everything hurt. He could barely move, except to cough up a glob of blood onto the cold stone.
"Enough. Get him up."
He wasn't sure who had ordered the guard off him, but Naruto was sure it wasn't Tsunade. Like a sack of rice, he was hoisted onto his feet. He was so lightheaded he couldn't see straight, but he could hear every heart-wrenching word.
"Naruto Uzumaki, due to the circumstances of the investigation, the duration may take years to sort through given all the evidence that has been submitted. Should you be found guilty, the punishment will be execution. No question. Should you be cleared of any wrongdoing in this issue, you will be released back into village custody."
He remembered that brief moment of silence. His heart pounding against his chest. A glimmer of hope still held out, it was death if he was found guilty, but since he hadn't done anything, all he had to do was sit tight and wait for the truth to surface.
"However," the voice had continued, "even if you are found innocent, this council and the Lord of the Land of Fire fear that your behaviour and unpredictability as a shinobi puts yourself and others at risk. Especially concerning what you hold within you. As such, regardless of the outcome... You will be forever barred from being a Leaf shinobi."
He remembered his ears ringing. All sound seemed to cease. He couldn't remember what happened after that. Everything went dark.
Unaware of how long he'd been unconscious, the next thing he knew was being carted off in a cage across a wide stretch of water and hauled off to the scariest castle he had ever seen, something right out of a nightmare. Hozuki Castle.
The warden, Mui, a tall, gaunt-looking man, a real heartless bastard, had been even worse. Being called a threat was one thing, but being called worthless and no longer of value felt like a punch to the gut on top of everything else. He was told that the only two ways he was leaving was either being collected by his home village, or by dying.
He had shouted his innocence to everyone in the courtyard, hoping someone would at least hear him out. The end result was being blown back into the large gate behind him as his chakra was sealed away.
As they dragged him through the prison, he shuddered at the hooting and yelling coming from the dimly lit cages on both sides, arms stretching through the bars, seemingly to pull him into whatever hell awaited on the other side.
He didn't even want to think about what happened when they tried to search him. That was just a mere topping on this horrible nightmare.
Now, only a few hours later, he was curled up in the corner of his cell, only his tears and the memory of better times to help him drift off to sleep before the nightmare continued.
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[A/N]: Based of a deleted Naruto fanfic, I'm unsure why the author deleted it but we move on.
Do you guys like italics for speech or nah? I find it really helpful.