The Jashinist's Son (Naruto Fanfic)

Chapter 11: I've got You

He could see a small group of civilians had been gathered in the centre of the village, all unaware they were going to witness an execution. An ANBU mentioned that most shinobi were in the desert where Gaara's body had been brought. His chest ached, wanting to be out in the desert to say goodbye to his fallen friend. But right now, he didn't have time to grieve. He could grieve when he was dead and not before.

Takeo pressed his lips together to try make his expression as blank as possible, as the council members came into view. Too much was going on and it didn't help that some were clearly eager to see him die, given the pleased expressions on their faces, while others looked on in disgust. There hadn't been a straight forward, public execution in years.

The chatter amongst the group only increased when he came into view. He met the gaze of a few acquaintances, street vendors he spoke to daily during his morning walks, dipping his head as horror dawned on their faces. Then they rioted. Pushing and shoving against the ANBU stationed to keep the crowd at bay, but it didn't do them any good.

Takeo was dragged up the stairs to a raised platform and was forced to kneel before the crowd, who became silent when an advisory council member raised his hand. It was Jōseki who stepped forward, a smug look of satisfaction on his withered face as he looked from Takeo, then to the crowd. "As spokesman for Suna's Advisory Council and in light of the accused being found guilty of assisting members of the Akatsuki in infiltrating the Village, abducting the Kazekage and now First Degree murder, I hereby sentence Takeo to death for his crimes against Sunagakure."

Deep breaths did little to stem Takeo's erratic nerves as he eyed the blade drawn by a nearby masked ANBU. The masked man walked around behind him, placing one hand on Takeo's shoulder and placing the blade against his neck. "You deserved better than this, Takeo. I'm sorry we couldn't delay this until Temari and Kankuro returned. They could've stopped this."

"They had a more important person to save," Takeo responded. He didn't miss the pity of those watching the spectacle take place. All of the children had been ushered away, leaving behind adults and teenagers who were apprehensive, yet finding themselves unable to look away. It was easy to see they were anxious as to what Temari and Kankuro's reaction will be when they come home only to find their close friend dead after already losing their baby brother.

Takeo closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as he heard Councilman Jōseki snap at the ANBU, telling him to get on with it. The ANBU's grip on his shoulder increased and he felt a sharp pain in his neck as the blade slowly begun to slice through skin, feeling blood trickle down his throat. Immediately he felt his back begin to burn, eager to heal the wounds being inflicted but due to not having access to chakra, it was unable to.

He prayed to the gods, Kami and Jashin to watch over his friends and for them to mourn for him and then be able to move on. He hoped that they wouldn't blame themselves for his death. It was inevitable, he'd argue.

Though there wasn't much time to argue when the earth shook violently, causing the ANBU to release his grip on the knife and steady Takeo as sand exploded around them. The onlookers had rushed to take cover by the buildings that didn't seem affected by the phenomenon, and the councillors were escorted off of the platform.

Takeo coughed violently as Takashi appeared at his side, hands wrapping around his neck to stem the bleeding as the raging sands shook the land. The man's mouth was moving, no doubt trying to reassure him. But Takeo couldn't concentrate or even hear his voice, too focused on how his eyes watered, leaving sand to uncomfortably stick to the liquid staining his cheeks. Through the blinding and uncharacteristic sand storm, he could've sworn he saw scarlet hair belonging to the dead Kazekage.