This is a re-write of the original Those Accused that I author. I decided that if I start back at the beginning and polish some points in the story, it will make the writing process for eventual chapters much, much more painless. For those who previously read Those Accused, the differences will probably become apparent fairly soon. I hope.

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"I'm holding on so tightly now

My insides scream so loud

They keep watching, watching me drown.

How did it come to this?"

~"Sell Your Soul" by Hollywood Undead~

PROLOGUE

Miserable obsidian eyes stared at the gray wall across from her. She could hear the beautiful sound of the rain outside her secluded cell, and she hopelessly wished that – for just one second – she could feel the mystically crafted drops showering her skin. With a resigned sigh she slowly shut her eyes- shut her eyes, and prayed that someday she would be free of her concrete hell.

Five years ago…

"Setunai, Shiori," the Sandaime Hokage stared at the black document clutched in his wrinkled grasp, barely managing to conceal the sorrow and doubt flickering within his eyes, "you are hereby sentenced to life in the Konohagakure Maximum Security Prison."

"No!" she screamed. "You- You can't do this! I didn't know this would happen!"

"I'm so sorry, Shiori," Sarutobi whispered. He nodded to the two Anbu who stood by the door, and as they advanced toward her they could see her eyes grow wide with terror; she began to slowly retreat backward. Her eyes flickered to the shinobi wearing the bird mask, but then her gaze averted to his partner who wore a cat façade.

"Kakashi," she whimpered, causing the feline-masked Anbu to freeze. "Kakashi-sensei, you know I would never do anything to betray Konoha. Please. I'm innocent. You can't just-"

She was silenced when the harsh bite of steel met her throat, gently caressing her jugular. Shiori began to tremble as hushed tears flowed across her cheeks.

"If you cooperate," growled the Anbu with the avian mask, "you may reach the facility with your life."

Shiori felt the blood freeze within her veins, and both Kakashi and the Third Hokage witnessed the sporadic transformation of the kunoichi's eyes from a beautiful cerulean blue to an enraged red. She lashed out at the Anbu, and the sound of his body slamming into the wall reverberated throughout the office.

Shiori's hands wrapped around his neck, lifting him from the floor and forcing him against the wall once more. "Never," she growled, "threaten me!" She released him, and as he crumpled onto the floor she turned to glare at the Sandaime; Kakashi stood between her and the Hokage.

"So you're attacking you fellow comrades now, also?" he asked.

"I didn't withhold information concerning the Uchiha massacre!" she yelled at him as her blood began to boil, "I didn't kill anyone! Why can't you believe me?"

"That was our first mistake: We believed you when you said Itachi Uchiha was loyal to Konoha."

Her fist suddenly flew toward the CopyNin's face, but he grabbed her wrist and shoved it aside at the last moment to deflect the chakra-infused blow. Kakashi launched a kick toward her mid-section, but she dodged the attack and ducked low to the floor, sweeping her leg underneath him. He back-flipped to avoid the maneuver, and she charged toward him only to have both her arms ruthlessly pulled behind her back and her legs kicked out from underneath her. She fell onto her knees with a thud.

"Gomen, Shiori-chan." The Sandaime kept his firm hold on her wrists, but the child no longer struggled. Her head was bowed to the floor, her dark brown hair hiding her face from their view while her body trembled.

"Why would I help him," she whispered in agony, "after he murdered Shisui?"

Dark stains began to appear on the floor where her tears were falling. She continued to shake as her body was seized by soundless sobs, and Kakashi looked away while the feline mask hid the dark remorse on his face.

"They're all gone," she mournfully spoke to herself. "They're really gone."

"There's nothing we can do, Shiori," the Sandaime ignored her plight. "The council had proposed immediate execution in the beginning. You're lucky I could pull some strings in order to give you the life sentence."

She finally raised her watery gaze from the floor in order to glare at him, "So you're just going to lock me up like some filthy dog until I eventually wither away, huh?"

"You ungrateful brat!" Kakashi seethed, appalled by her insolence. "Lord Hokage spared your life-"

"What right do I have to live if I can't even protect those I love?" Shiori's bitter outburst silenced him.

The other Anbu had finally risen to his feet, "You should hold your tongue when speaking to an Anbu squad leader!"

"SILENCE!" the Sandaime bellowed.

As commanded, everything in the room grew still. Shiori's murderous red glare was unleashed upon both Anbu Black Ops members; so powerful was her hate that it scorched Kakashi like dancing flames. Sarutobi's gaze flickered from one shinobi to the next until he bestowed his full attention upon the pre-teen. While she knelt on the floor, her face was vacant of the tears she had shed earlier. He could sense the fear, confusion, and rage that she tried to staunch within her being. More powerful than any of those emotions was the betrayal that she painfully endured.

She was being falsely accused, something Sarutobi knew all too well.

"You will be placed under twenty-four hour surveillance and suicide watch," he informed. She grew tense and he increased the pressure of his hold on her wrists, "Any violation of the rights, which Kakashi will soon read to you, will result in an immediate public execution without the possibility of trial. Do you have any questions before you are escorted to prison?"

"…Do you think you'll get away with this?"

Current day.

Her frigid fingertips brushed against her concrete enclosure like a feather. Slowly her palms rose to press flat against the damp wall; she leaned forward and rested her forehead against it. For five miserable long years she had been imprisoned in this, this hell.

There was a water leak somewhere along the corridor, and she could feel how the moisture heavily settled upon the air. The dripping echoed off the walls in a continuous rhythm, and the stench of stagnant water was harsh in her nostrils, accompanied by the ever-present smell of human waste and decay. When Shiori had first arrived the foul fragrance had made her vomit; now it was merely a bitter scent.

There were others imprisoned in the cells along the corridor. A melodious voice at the end of the chamber sung mournful war ballads, and the shinobi in the cell beside her – the latest to be imprisoned – sought conversation with those who wanted the solitude of another's voice. He had attempted to make Shiori talk several times before, but after three months he had finally given up when all that answered was silence.

Shiori pushed away from the wall, and the iron shackles bound to her ankles rattled against the concrete floor. The iron was infused with an ore that sealed every ounce of chakra seeping throughout her body, and she unconsciously rubbed at the metal cuffs that encircled her wrists, also.

"Is there anything new going on out there, Fukitsuki?" the talkative inmate beside her inquired.

There was a simultaneous rustling throughout the cells, and even Shiori turned to face the direction in which the addressed man dwelled. Fukitsuki had a unique ability which allowed him to stretch his consciousness and enter another living form such as humans, animals, and even plants. The talent was odd since it did not require the use of chakra, and the only weakness of the trait was that he could only switch from his body to another for a few hours, and he could not possess an organism and force it to perform his will.

"It seems as though," Fukitsuki's tenor voice rung throughout the cells, "without a Hokage overseeing Konoha, the village's greatest enemies have decided to strike." Murmurs hastily spread throughout the corridor. As far as everyone knew, the only enemy Konoha had to fear was Orochimaru; however, after the Konoha invasion a few months ago the snake Sannin had returned to his hideout to lick his wounds.

"And who are these new enemies?" Shiori asked, and everyone was silent as they awaited news of who was attempting to destroy Konohagakure. There was more scraping against the concrete floor as a shinobi walked forward to grasp the steel bars which separated him and all the others from freedom.

"There is a terrible organization," Fukitsuki spoke, "that has been lurking in the shadows for several years now. It is composed entirely of S-class rogue-nin, and their goal is to create a new world by capturing and harnessing the power of the bijuu."

"But how would that affect Konoha?" someone asked.

"You idiot," Shiori snapped, "The Kyuubi no Youko lives here in Konohagakure. It only makes sense that they would attack when Konoha is at its weakest."

"You are correct," Fukitsuki acknowledged. "However, the team which was sent to capture the Kyuubi does not need a handicap to conquer Konoha." Several gasps could be heard, and even Shiori's eyes narrowed in disbelief. Exactly who had that much power?

"The team that was recently sent to capture Uzumaki, Naruto consisted of Hoshigaki, Kisame and Uchiha, Itachi."

An outbreak of surprised shouting and colorful cursing followed Fukitsuki's revelation, yet Shiori's hands fell to her sides, limp. Sparks erupted within her dark eyes before igniting, growing in strength until her irises were such a violent red that they glowed in the darkness of the corridor.

"Uchiha…" The named was whispered with so much malicious hatred that it was as tangible as poison. She shuddered as the rage she had endured for five horrific years bubbled to the surface, and she released an infuriated scream as she slammed her fist into the concrete wall. Even without her chakra fueling the blow, the entire corridor trembled until tiny cracks began to appear in the wall, spreading further and growing in length until it resembled a giant spider's web.

Something metallic clattered onto the concrete floor, and Shiori's fist was still embedded within the wall as she glanced down to investigate the source of the sound. There, glinting amongst the tiny rocks that had scattered throughout her grimy, disgusting cell, laid the mangled remains of the chakra cuff that had adorned her right hand. Her eyes grew wide in surprise; however, gradually she realized that one of her arms had been freed from its chakra restraint.

Her body began to quiver once more as she fought the emotions that rampaged throughout her body, but she suddenly began to laugh- a frenzied, maniacal laugh that rose high above the prisoner's outbursts.

Both reviews and criticism are appreciated!