The cold stone walls seemed to press in on themselves in the dim room. Sasuke released his tight grip on the enemy-nin's neck, and the man slid to the floor in a crumpled heap.

He didn't move from the doorway. Upon entering, his eyes quickly made a sweep of the room before landing on her. She was naked, but it wasn't her nakedness that kept his gaze. It was her profound brokenness. Her eye was swollen shut and part of her ear missing, and the telltale signs that promised broken bones were visible everywhere.

She was hanging limply, her hands bound together and her body held up by chains that were wrapped around her fragile arms. The restraints cut into her wrists and her fingers had turned purple from the lack of circulation.

Blackening bruises marred her porcelain flesh, and blood wept freely from her many angry lacerations. It dripped from her mouth, her nose, and the delicate flesh that covered her chest, stomach, and thighs. Fingernails were gone, replaced with bloody pits, and the sick bastards hadn't stopped there. There were angry burns on her flesh. Brands.

He choked back a wave of panic induced nausea. He knew the smell of torture. The sick stench of rancid flesh. Sharp copper twinges and stomach acid. He had seen worse than this. He had done worse than this, but never to someone like her.

She was so innocent. So sweet and pure. So incredibly beautiful and inspiring and strong. And look at her now, strung up and bare, like an animal for slaughter.

Still Sasuke stared in disbelief, in denial. His dark eyes roamed over the woman's body in dumbfounded silence, hovering over every last mark on her figure. Staggering forward with dread as he neared the broken woman. Sasuke's breath caught in his throat.

Why is she here..?

The confusion that was undeniably reflected in his onyx orbs soaked up her face. It was so wrong. Bones were broken, that much was obvious. The swelling assuring him of that.

He felt numb. Dazed. Disbelief. He felt the same horror and confusion that he felt the day of his clan's massacre attempt to swallow him.

Sasuke felt like a forcefield was keeping him from advancing further, but he knew there was no such thing. It was his mind. A step closer would confirm his fears. A step closer and this was all real. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Sasuke registered Kakashi's voice through his headset. He could hear sharp concern when there was no reply, and he ripped his radio out of his ears to quiet the worried yammering.

No. No. No. You aren't supposed to be here..!

The Uchiha finally regained himself, cracking out of the shocked stone he had become, and rushed towards the mutilated woman.

One of his hands fluttered an inch from her face, apprehension stalling him for a split second before he closed the distance, and the other circled around her waist in an attempt to alleviate the weight on her wrists. He didn't care that he was getting blood all over himself. He pulled her face towards him frantically to inspect the damage up close, and her head lolled back.

Sasuke's unsteady fingers were slick with her blood as he searched for a pulse. After a few more moments of contained panic, a weak pulse began to resonate with him. His knees almost buckled as the relief flooded him. She was alive; Face still warm, and her breathing was faint but enduring.

He pressed his forehead into the crevice of her neck as he let out a shaky breath, and relinquished his hold on her face to reach back and unsheathe his katana. Doing his best to keep her in his grasp, he angled the tip of his blade to pierce the chain. She dropped into his arms and her head rolled back heavily. He sunk down to his knees and set his katana aside, holding the woman as gingerly as he could.

The rest of his team was sweeping the remainder of the complex, and Sasuke knew they would be done anytime. The few guards they had run into thus far had been no problem. Sasuke had finished them without a single drop of blood tainting him.

Sasuke glanced down and registered that she was still completely bare. He angled her to his chest as he struggled to unclasp his cloak. Her breathing was starting to pick up, haggard. Sasuke finally managed to shrug his cloak off and wrap it around her damaged body. To conceal her nakedness. To protect her vulnerabilities from any more cruelty.

He could sense that her consciousness was rising to the surface. Her shoulders were beginning to shake and he could see tremors travel down her raw limbs. Soft whimpers of pain escaped her lips as more bloody saliva trailed down her chin. He couldn't suppress the shaking in his hands as he brushed bloody hair out of her face.

"Hinata. Shushhh, you are going to be okay now. It's over. It's all over now," he murmured soothingly as he brought his hand up again to brush across her cheek and down her jaw bone.

He could hear the echoes of footsteps getting closer through the moans and ragged dragging breaths. He could feel as her body racked with sobs and he struggled to fight back his own.

"Sa- su..ke..?" She bit her lip through the sob. Her eyes too swollen to utilize. Her hand twitching at her side.

Agony.

That's what all this was.

Sasuke made a point of readjusting her more securely in his arms, and flinched as more pain crossed her features, "That's right, I'm right here. Right here." His lips ghosted over her cheeks, her nose, eyes, lips, trying to be as gentle as he could. The whirlwind of emotions was suffocating. He bit back all of his questions; All of the anger that had been shoved to the side, all of the panic. She needed reassurance right now, Not a hot mess.

"Thank god." She choked out before her body went limp again.

"Shit," Sasuke cursed.

"Sasuke?" Kakashi's eye trailed past the Uchiha's back, noticing the swirls of black hair and the bare, bloody, beaten skin of a woman's leg. Then it wandered down to the cloak that covered her body, with concern, and then to Sasuke's other hand that had a forcibly gentle grip on hers. "Is she alive?"

"I need the medic here now, Kakashi," Sasuke demanded before he glanced over his shoulder at the older jounin who remained lingering in the doorway. His eyes swirled crimson as anger began to eat through his restraint.

"Understood." Kakashi said as he turned to his shoulder and spoke into his earpiece urgently before returning his attention to the man crouched on the floor.

"She shouldn't be here." The Uchiha ground out through clenched teeth.

Kakashi could feel his stomach sink in dread. "Sasuke-" he took a few steps closer, hesitant to word his suspicions. "Is that...?"

Pain clenched all through the Uchiha's torso. "It's my wife."

Kakashi stepped into eyesight of Hinata's face and had to fight the urge to turn away from the disfigured woman that was normally so beautiful.

Sasuke's expression hardened as Kakashi's hand reached to check for a pulse, and his hand flashed out to grab the copy-nin's wrist. "Please, don't." Kakashi nodded in understanding and Sasuke released the death grip on his wrist.

The copy-nin was about to say something but was cut off when Sakura reached the room, breathless.

She sucked in a horrified gasp. "Oh, my god." Her hands clenched over her face for a split second as she processed what she was witnessing.

Kakashi took the moment to move back towards the door as Sakura rushed to Hinata's side, immediately setting to work. Her hands glowed green as she pooled chakra to them.

"Lay her down, Sasuke. As straight as you can- good! But keep her head elevated." She barked out swift orders. She began to open the cloak and sucked in another horrified gasp as her eyes soaked up every grotesque detail. Kakashi averted his face from the doorway. He hadn't expected her to be completely naked. Nor had he anticipated the severity of her mutilations. His face scrunched up in a combination of sadness, anger, and nausea. His jaw set rigidly, and all he could think was that she was the last person to ever deserve something so horrid.

Sasuke was barely containing all of the emotions that were flooding his senses. Hatred, rage, heartbreak, agony, mourning, denial, disgust.

He was able to hold on to his grasp of sanity, only by watching her face. He didn't allow his eyes to trail down and watch Sakura perform emergency medical procedures to his beautiful, broken wife's body. His eyes were intent on looking for any signs of discomfort on Hinata's unconscious face.

Sakura pulled out some water and a cloth and handed them to Sasuke.

"Wipe some of the blood off of her face, i need to see her coloration better." She said gently, her eyes flicking up to his expression for a split second before returning to her work.

Sasuke nodded and dampened the cloth, bringing it to Hinata's face. He wiped methodically, slow and gentle, trying to calm his growing inferno of emotions.

Naruto was the last to arrive on the scene, his expression dark. "What's happening?" He inquired as he made to step into the room. Kakashi stepped forward and put a hand on his shoulder, shaking his head. "Sensei..? What's going on?"

Kakashi's pained expression brought dread. Naruto's pitch dropped, "What's happened?"

Kakashi looked away and his eye squeezed shut. "Don't go in yet. She deserves some privacy. Sakura's tending to her."

Naruto squinted into the dim room. She..? His eyes adjusted to see his two teammates hunched over someone. Sasuke...?

Sasuke kept wiping her face clean, watching aptly for any expression change as Sakura's hands expertly maneuvered his wife's torso. Hinata's eyebrows knit together in pain and her eyes opened a sliver to focus on his face.

Sasuke's eyes softened when they met, and he murmured out a soft, "it's okay now, Hinata," before hers closed again.

Sakura concentrated, sweat beginning to bead on her forehead. She worked to mend every crack, break, and tear she could find. Stopping any blood flow was key at this point. Any more and the woman could suffer permanent damage. Once satisfied with the quick mends, she glanced up to Hinata's face, and Sasuke's intent gaze. He was struggling to keep himself composed.

"I need to check her head." Sakura spoke softly, eyeing the Uchiha worriedly.

Sasuke gave a small nod without letting his hard eyes leave the broken face they were glued to. Sakura glanced back at Hinata's bare body and pulled the cloak back to cover her. Then she scooted herself closer to her head.

Channelling chakra back to her fingertips, Sakura tenderly began to evaluate the extent of damage. She struggled to keep her expression from getting too morbid, though Sasuke wouldn't have noticed anyways.

Hinata's brain was swollen. But not dangerously so, Yet. She urged the chakra to soothe the delicate organ, then moved to examine the skull. Fractures were clustered by Hinata's right eye, webbing up into her forehead and down her cheekbone.

Her nose was broken as well, and Sakura wasted no time setting it and healing it. Then she focussed back on the fractures. Her eyes were miraculously undamaged, but nothing was certain yet.

Sasuke looked down at the woman, that was supposed to be at home, and felt so guilty. He looked down at his woman that he was unable to protect, even though he was supposed to be better than everyone else. He looked down at his wife, who had been tortured and mutilated, and he felt so powerless.

"She didn't lose any teeth." Sakura murmured, trying to be reassuring. "She's out of any immediate danger and is almost ready to be moved."

Sasuke let out a shaky breath that Sakura hadn't realized he had been holding, his dark bangs obscuring his face from her view.

"I have a teleportation scroll, I'm going to go update Kakashi and then we will go." She stood up shakily and made her way towards her old sensei and Naruto.

"Kakashi, I have her stable for now, but she needs immediate care. I'm going to teleport us back. You and Naruto should be fine on the return trip without me."

Kakashi and her met eyes for a moment, before he nodded. "Good. That's good. Naruto and I will finish up here and follow. Go now."

Sakura nodded, and Naruto watched the exchange silently, still confused about what exactly was happening.

Sasuke allowed some of his immediate anger to recede as he dropped his face to brush against Hinata's.

Sakura was back next to them the next moment, pulling out a scroll, the next second they were in the emergency bay of Konoha's hospital.

Two nurses ran to receive them, eyeing the Uchiha wearily.

"I need an operating room prepped. Notify Tsunade that I have Hinata in critical. And find me three more nurses. We operate ASAP." She turned to Sasuke before continuing, "Sasuke, I'm sorry, but you need to wait out here." Her eyes pleaded with him as she waited for him to relinquish the firm grasp he had on his wife.

Rage flashed through his crimson eyes for a split second, but he glanced at Hinata and the anger ebbed away. He took a deep breath and passed her over. "Take care of her," he spoke firmly, his hand dropping to brush hair from her eyes before he turned around and walked out of the hospital.

His first stop was the hokage tower. He needed answers. He jumped swiftly from rooftop to rooftop. Ignoring the chill in the air that bit into his bare arms. He made it to his destination in no time at all, and didn't bother to walk in the door, instead opting to use the window that Kakashi always entered through.

"Sasuke. I was just notified of your arrival, and the news," the Hokage spat. Her face sharp with anger. Anger that very much mirrored his own.

"Why the hell was she there, Tsunade? She's off of active duty while I'm away," he managed to grind out, his anger flowing out in waves. "Why was she in the field, and why the hell didn't you notify me?"

Tsunade turned her hard expression away from him and rummaged angrily for a bottle of sake. "It was an emergency. She was the best sensory ninja I had in the village, and duty called. I don't suppose you found the rest of her team? It was hastily set up, so unfortunately they weren't anywhere near her normal team's standards. They went dark the day before yesterday."

Sasuke was barely managing to hold onto any self restraint. "How the fuck could you not tell me."

"I needed you to remain focussed. You know that."

"She's my wife!!" Sasuke roared. "Fuck."

Tsunade's hand ran through her hair, "You think I don't know?? I adore that girl."

She eyed the Uchiha as he paced the room. Her eyes lingering on the blood that was smeared all over him.

"I will make sure she has the best care possible. She will recover from this. I swear it."

Sasuke shot a unconcealed glare at her full force. "You better be right. I will never forgive you otherwise. Even considering it makes me sick... Fuck, I need to go home."

"Change first. You're covered in blood. Take one of the shirts downstairs."

Sasuke scoffed but walked out of the room anyways.

Tsunade chucked her bottle of sake against the wall after the door swung shut."Shit!" Glass shards bounced back at her, but she ignored them. "Shit. Goddamnit. Fuck!" She cursed before sinking back into her chair.

She was fucked. There was no time to regret what had happened, she needed to amend as much as she could. She pulled on her doctor's coat and yelled at Shizune that she was going out.

Sasuke jumped over the rooftops again, sporting a fresh shirt. His feelings swirling unsettled all around him. He tried to focus on shelving them away inside as he neared his home. He landed right outside and took a deep breath before pushing the door open.

"Hinata?" A voice called from the other room. An annoying voice. Ino.

Sasuke didn't grace her with an answer and instead walked straight past the room she was in.

"Oh! Sasuke. Iroha is asleep in his room. I wasn't expecting you to show up..." Her voice trailed off as she took notice of the dried blood still on his arms and pants. "Oh my god. Is someone hurt? Are you hurt??"

"You should go home, Ino. Naruto will be back in the next day or so..." His eyebrows drew closer together in a grimace. "Hinata is in the hospital"

All the color left her face, "Oh god. Is it serious? Oh god, it is." Ino stood up suddenly and started for the door. "I'm going in. I wanna see if I can help, I'll see you there."

The door closed and Sasuke felt his legs threaten to fail him. He shook his head. Flashes of Hinata's wounds still alive and vivid under His eyelids. Not yet.

Sasuke pushed through his bedroom door and went directly to the shower. Ripping off all of his clothes as quickly as possible. He scrubbed like his life depended on it and forced himself to keep moving. Dry hair. Get dressed. Simple things turned agonizing.

Double checking to Make sure he got all of his wife's blood off of him, he focused on his next destination.

Quietly making his way into the room, he took his time to observe every detail on his sleeping son's face.

He was beautiful. The pale skin in contrast with the black of his hair. Iroha. He had thick black eyelashes and a relaxed set to his face. A small white scar on his cheek was the only thing that looked out of place. He looked just like her. Everyone else always commented on how much he looked like Sasuke, but he disagreed. Iroha had a softness to him that screamed Hinata, this was something he was grateful for.

His hand reached out to brush some strands of hair out of his son's face. When Iroha didn't stir, he leaned down and scooped him up. Sasuke stood there for a few minutes, embracing his sleeping son. Calming himself and setting his resolve.

He stood there for a while, realizing he didn't want to put Iroha down anytime soon. It had been two weeks since he was able to hold him and sasuke could feel every change that had taken place during his absence.

"Mmmh." Iroha began to stir in his arms, causing sasuke's grip to tighten. "...tou-san?" Came a small, sweet, sleep-filled voice.

"Iro.." Sasuke began, not knowing what to say.

Iroha sat up and brought his dark eyes to meet his father's,"Tou-san, you look sad."

Forever inquisitive. The child could always see through him. "Okaa-san is in the hospital for a while. Rest. We are going to have a long night."

Waiting was the hardest part. The apprehension that kept bringing forth every possible scenario of what could go wrong, was plaguing him. It had been five hours. Five. No one had come out of the operating room, instead, two other doctors had gone in.

Sasuke had been pacing ever since he returned to the hospital. He was too restless to sit down even though he was bordering on exhaustion from his mission.

He was thankful his son wasn't there to see him so discomposed. He couldn't bring himself to drag the boy along to wait in torturous uncertainty for god knows how long. Instead he had conjured up a kage bunshin to get Kiba.

Iroha loved his uncle, and he was always spoiling the boy. Kiba arrived in record timing looking quite alarmed, but after the situation was explained he all but shoved Sasuke out the door.

And here he was, still anxiously waiting to hear how his wife was faring. The door opened, snapping Sasuke out of his thoughts, and an exhausted Tsunade stood there, motioning for him to follow her.

So he did.

Tsunade walked into an empty room, and he followed, sliding the door shut behind them. She didn't turn to face him at first, instead focussing on the first light of the sunrise.

"She's going to be okay, Sasuke. We will have a full report in a few hours that I suggest you take a look at. And I also have a few treatment plans we can look at after she wakes up."

Sasuke breathed out a sigh of relief, but also found his anger rising again. "I would like to see her."

Tsunade turned and looked him dead in the eye. He could see all of the emotions that he was experiencing reflected there. Exhaustion, anger, guilt, profound sadness, pain. "I will allow that immediately. Sakura and the nurses are moving her to a room, and I will not sugarcoat reality when I say that she may look better on the outside, but the horrors of what she experienced will never leave her. Sasuke, now more than ever, she will need your patience and support.

"I've done nothing but support her." Sasuke snapped, "that sure as hell won't change now. And I am expecting your full cooperation as well, Tsunade. This is on you."

Tsunade nodded solemnly, "I will do everything in my power to get her the best care. You have my word."

Sasuke let out a little 'che' and turned towards the door, "I'm going to go see my wife."

Tsunade sighed and nodded, "Oh, and Sasuke, don't bring Iroha to see her until after she gets her mental evaluation. Actually, give it a few days before you bring him in. He doesn't need to see her in that state."

Sasuke shot her an icy glare, "I will take that into consideration. Notify me as soon as your report is available." With that, Sasuke left the room and headed towards his wife's faint chakra signature, apprehensive again at what he would find.

Author note:

Hey! Mumu again. chapter one is done! This story was born from a great desire to read something like it. I know it's a bit of a downer, but I like to torture the characters I write ;_; normally only in the emotional sense, but in this it became quite literal. Sasuke is hard to write, having to keep in mind that he is older and a father now, and wants to be better for his family, while still being full of angst and anger, has been difficult. In the actual universe he tried to atone for his wrongdoings by traveling, but that is a shit father and husband thing to do, and I think I've always been a bit bitter about that. So, instead I tried to put him in the role of actually being a caring father and husband, and working to atone for his wrongdoings by holding himself to a higher standard. The balance for his character will be tricky, but we shall see how it develops.

On a side note, I have never been a Sakura x Sasuke fan, so maybe that is another reason why that relationship bothered me. It lacked a certain spark between the characters. There was never any growth in the relationship. The series began with Sasuke ignoring Sakura for years, and ended the same way. I have always found that Sasuke and Hinata compliment each other beautifully. The contrasting of their characters makes a much more enjoyable couple to develop. Anyways, rant over.

My apologies for the possible strange formatting as well, trying to post on the app. I'm not exaggerating when I say that I have no idea what I'm doing. xD

Feel free to leave a review~