Prison

Sasuke POV

The cold stone bench was an unwelcome change from the hospital, as was the straight jacket, but Sasuke figured it could be worse. They could have simply judged him immediately upon his return. They could have fully taken his eyes instead of sealing them.

Sasuke had spent two days at the prison so far, and while his living conditions had declined, at least no one bothered him too much. Every so often, he would hear whispered grumblings from guards and inmates alike, and those were sometimes difficult to hear. He didn't care if people said things about him, but when they started to pull Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi into things, his hackles rose swiftly. They were actively helping him, at the cost of their own reputations. Ibiki was quick to shut down any gossip that made its way to him, but the guards were also good at knowing when to say what. The worst was the night guard named Kei. Most other guards grew bored of hissing snide comments at Sasuke, but he only held back when Ibiki was close by.

During the long walk from the hospital to the prison, Sasuke had heard most everyone's thoughts on him and his former teammates. It was not a pleasant experience, to say the least, but Kakashi had stood tall beside him the whole way, even subtly catching him if he stumbled in his blindness. He tried to tune as much as he could out, and it was partially successful. Instead, he tried to guess where they were at any given time based on the twists and turns they made throughout the village streets.

No one had been to visit Sasuke, and he assumed no one would be allowed to for some time. That meant the worst part was that he couldn't find relief for his phantom pains when they surfaced. It had only happened once since being there, but as he was bound in a straight jacket, all he could do was press his aching arm into the cold wall and wait. Sasuke rested his head back on the wall and wondered how long he would be kept here. Sighing, he made himself as comfortable as possible and tried to get at least some sleep in without the nightmares starting.

Sakura POV

She was frustrated, extremely so. Even Kakashi wouldn't budge on letting her go see Sasuke. She didn't know how he was being treated or if the conditions were acceptable. What if his arm needed more healing? She was sure it did since he'd been in prison for ten days now. If only she could've found a way to keep in him the hospital longer.

The hearing was set to start in ten minutes, and she could hardly contain her anxiety. Unable to sit still for too long, Sakura threw herself into her work, specifically her work with the children's mental health hospital she created. It was hard to see all these little kids with so many traumas already. She'd do everything she could to make sure no one else was left alone like Sasuke or Naruto.

Sakura was not invited to the hearing. Apparently, only the Kage, Naruto, and a few key village elders from each village were allowed to attend. Kakashi and Naruto would give strong cases on Sasuke's behalf, what about the other Kage? Sasuke had tried to kill them all not too long along ago…

All this thinking wasn't helping her to calm down, so she picked up her stack of paperwork and started in on it. The work was tedious, and she really didn't enjoy doing it, but she did have to focus on what she was writing and on the notes for each patient. She couldn't afford to slip up and misdiagnose someone. Sakura was determined to get through this pile before she allowed herself to think about the trial again.

After about three hours passed, Sakura started when she heard a noise outside on the street. Such chatter could only mean one thing today. She jumped up, opened the window, and practically flew to the courthouse. She couldn't go inside, so she paced outside the doors while fidgeting with her fingers. She wasn't the only person to have come to the courthouse, expecting a verdict. Villagers crowded around the doors also, but they backed up a bit when Sakura landed at the very front of the group and started pacing. She refused to look at any of them out of fear they may have heard something she didn't want to hear.

Suddenly, the doors creaked open, and Sakura looked up expectantly into her Sensei's face. The older man's eyes crinkled slightly, telling her he was grinning beneath the mask. Sakura screamed and jumped to give Kakashi a hug. He returned it easily while saying, "Sasuke is being released, Sakura."

Naruto came bursting out and ran straight to the pair. "Sakura! We did it! He's free! Come on, quick! We need a medic to take off whatever you did to his eyes! Hurry!" He grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the courthouse entrance as Kakashi watched and laughed lightly.

Sasuke POV

He could barely discern what was going on around him. The trial had gone better than he could have hoped. Sasuke knew Kakashi and Naruto would be on his side, but he was surprised when Gaara and his siblings also urged for him to be allowed to atone for everything outside of prison.

Once Kakashi had made the final statement and declared him free to go, Naruto had all but tackled him from his chair. He quickly helped him up and ushered him from the room, down a hallway, and into another room. It seemed the blonde was processing things more quickly than the Uchiha.

"This is great! We did it! Ok, now how do you take off this jacket thing? Oh, wait we need a medic for the sealing on your eyes, right? Wait right here! I'm sure Sakura isn't far off, so I'll go get her!" The exuberant ninja bounded from the room, leaving Sasuke in much welcomed silence.

He started to think about what would come next. He'd need to find a place to live, but sleeping outside didn't bother him until then. Could he still work as a ninja for the Leaf? They hadn't gone over that. He had to report to Kakashi every week and tell him anything of importance that was happening starting tomorrow. For now, he just wanted to sleep.

The door banged open, and in hopped Naruto again. This time, another person followed, and Sasuke could recognize her chakra. He sat up straight in the chair and looked at approximately where they should be.

"Sasuke! I found Sakura! Told you she wouldn't be far. She can undo the sealing on your eyes… um, can't you, Sakura?"

"Yes, I had Tsunade show me how it works, so if it's ok with you Sasuke, I can do that now. Unless you'd rather I get Lady Tsunade to come?" It was clear Sakura didn't want to overwhelm Sasuke after what was a long, trying day.

"No. I want you to do it." Sasuke answered and sat waiting for her to release it. The girl moved in front of him and carefully untied the cloth that still hung over his eyes.

"I'm going to start with your right eye. Let me know if it's unpleasant." She placed her hand over his right eye, and he could feel the chakra networks relinking together. It felt like a weight had been cast over his eye until now, and he had gotten so used to it that he didn't realize it was still there until the healer removed it. As she removed her hand, Sasuke gingerly opened his right eye only to wince and close it straight away. The light flooding into the room was blinding.

"Ah! Sorry, Sasuke. Your eyes need to adjust to seeing again. I'll close this curtain, but you may want to keep your eyes closed until we can get you somewhere dark." Sakura sat down in front of him again and placed her hand over his left eye. The same relief flooded through it, but this time Sasuke did not try to open it. "Ok, that should do it. Do you feel alright?" Sakura questioned.

"Yes," was the only answer he gave. Sakura began undoing the straight jacket, and Sasuke sighed as his muscles were finally able to move around.

Sakura stood and placed very dark glasses over Sasuke's eyes. He had never worn glasses before, so it was quite foreign to him. Again, he very slowly opened his right eye. Things looked too bright, but he could tolerate having it open, and opened his left eye carefully also. Sakura and Naruto were standing before him with wide grins.

"Welcome back, Sasuke!"