This one is going to hurt. I'm sorry, but also not sorry…. Dattebayo?

Trigger warnings: Severe violence, including abuse and geneocide. Graphic in nature, you have been warned!

THE AVENGER

"Is everything to your liking, Hokage-sama?"

He nodded, memorizing every detail in front of him. Scaffolds lined the village streets, bodies of the traitors dangling from ropes tied to the wooded structures. He turned, his white with red etched cloak flowing behind him as he made his way to his new office at the top of the new Hokage Tower. Paperwork awaited him.

"Hokage-sama!"

He turned, waiting for the young genin to catch his breath. The boy straightened, a smile bright on his cheeks. "The Warden wanted me to let you know that the prisoner is finally awake."

Sasuke Uchiha nodded once, patting the boy lightly on the head once. "Very well, lead me to her."

The boy was a bold contrast to the world around him as he nodded eagerly, skipping along the road that led to the local prison that Uzamaki Karin and Hozuki Suigetsu co-managed until the proper one could be built (and a proper Warden assigned).

Sasuke sighed deeply, evaluating how he would handle this particular prisoner- he had saved this person for last on purpose. Perhaps… no. It was wishful thinking. He did not take pride in killing his enemies but this one would be the most difficult one if things didn't go his way. He glanced around him, taking in the scaffolding again. An idea formed in his mind. Maybe he could turn the tides in his favor….

The moment he walked into her office, Karin's mood shifted from exhaustion to elation. "Sasuke-kun!" She jumped from her desk chair and bolted over to give him a hug. And it pissed him off.

"What did I tell you?" He growled, halting Karin in her tracks. She was instantly cowed, bowing her head and dropping her arms to her side.

"I'm sorry."

" 'I'm sorry' what?" He demanded, straightening his back to tower over her form.

"I'm sorry, Hokage-sama." She replied, wincing.

There was a period of a long silence as he towered over her, daring her to go against his command. When she did not, he finally spoke. "You will address me according to my rank, Uzamaki Karin. If you don't like it, get the hell out of my village." Of course, if she left she would be branded a traitor and be sentenced to death. But he did not need to tell her that.

"Hai, Hokage-sama." Instead of the scratchy and annoying tone, her voice was soft and quiet. A blessing in disguise to him.

"Good. Now, as for my prisoner…." He turned to walk out of her temporary office, she followed three steps behind. They navigated the stone halls he was quite familiar with in his past visits. Most of the cells were vacant now, it's holders hanging from the gallows. The few that remained were only here for petty theft and other minor criminal charges. But still, they traveled deeper into the lower levels. Only the most ruthless criminals were housed here. Criminals, that he knew if he did not cage, would be beyond his control.

This particular cage that he now stood in front of, housed his favorite prisoner. A reinforced steel door is what now seperated Sasuke from his prey. Several layers of stone and metals were specially created for this prison room and another layer of reinforced steel surrounded everything. This room specializes in chains and cuffs that drained even the most powerful chakra user. There were only a few select people authorized to come in this cell. Sasuke, of course, was at the very top of this list. And why might one such Hokage need such a powerful room?

Well, because it housed a particularly powerful ninja.

A kunoichi, at that.

Sasuke pressed his fingers against the scanner, allowing the machine to read his credentials and let him pass. A loud buzzing sound echoed through the stone corridor as the door slowly opened its own locks. Sasuke slowly counted each lock, a countdown to the final act he had left before his Revolution could truly be set in stone.

The heavy door creeped open with a whine. Inside, his prize dangled from her ceiling chains, body weak and bloody from the weeks of just… hanging there. She did look significantly thinner, her ANBU uniform hanging from her body like an oversized sweater. She didn't bother to raise her head, her once beautifully pink hair draped over her face. Sasuke's steps echoed softly against the stone floor as he moved to stand before her.

"Has she eaten yet?" He asks his companions, his eyes going straight to the other warden who guarded the room.

Suigetsu's chair creaked as he stood from his corner. "No, Hokage-Sama. She refuses even water."

Sasuke brushed a finger under her chin, tilting her head so he could look her in the eyes. "We can't have that, can we, Sa-ku-ra?" Her now dull green eyes met his own mismatched ones, her mouth moving in whispers that he couldn't hear. "What was that?" He leaned in closely, relishing in the closeness of her lips. Her next words, however, made his heart instantly cold with dread.

"Kill me. Please."

Within a second, he found his hands lifting her by her throat. "No!" He felt Karin shift uncomfortably and Suigetsu's chair creaked again as he sat back down. "You owe me your life. You promised you would stay with me forever. How dare you go against your— "

"Hokage-sama!" A hand rested against his shoulder blade. Vibrant and angry red eyes shifted to the red headed Warden. The bitch had the gull to meet his eyes evenly. "You're killing her." Karin said plainly.

Sasuke felt the color drain from his face, realizing what he had done. Sakura's eyes were watching him and struggling to remain open, her face turning purple as she struggled to breathe. He instantly released her throat, catching her in his arms. He heard a ragged gasp for air, her head swinging backwards with no strength to stop it. She weighed practically nothing now, her toned muscles had atrophied on themselves. He had done this to her.

Sasuke gathered her into his arms, just holding her close and allowing himself this moment to grieve his errors. "I'm sorry…. For everything." He whispered into her hair.

A pathetic whimper was her only reply before her eyes rolled into the back of her head. Chains clinked as her hands dropped in their cuffs. He felt the breath leave her body in a steady rhythm, proof that she still lived in her unconscious state.

"Transport her to the hospital."

"Huh?" Karin squawked.

Sasuke heard the flick of a switch and Sakura's hands dropped against her sides, chains rattling as they fell from the ceiling. "At once, Hokage-sama," came Suigetsu's voice from behind him. Suigetsu carefully lifted her body from Sasuke's arms. "I'll make sure she is placed under suicide watch as well." Sasuke didn't give his response beyond a simple nod of his head. The sound of rushing waters was Sasuke's confirmation that Suigetsu had left.

Paperwork.

That's all this job was anymore.

But that's the price Sasuke paid, his ass in a comfortable chair while the underlings did his bidding. If he had realized how stupid people were, he would have never handed off the tasks he did. Maybe if he did everything himself, it would have been done right the first time.

He glanced at the clock, seeing it was beyond the afternoon he sighed. Memories of his last prey came to mind, which was annoying. But it made him think.

Kakashi had been a difficult man to find, but once he was able to break his Genjutsu, Sasuke found all of the traitors easily. The Nara's, Yamanaka's, Hyuga's, all of them. Even the council members who were the start of it all.

"If you can find it in your heart, at least be merciful on Sakura. She is the only one among us that was absolutely innocent till the end."

Those were Kakashi's final words and request before he was beheaded. His eye, Obito's eye, sat in a preserved jar on a shelf in the basement of the new Naka Shrine. As he had expected, Sasuke found Sakura tending to children who were injured in the revolt on Konoha, after Sasuke took over. He stood in the doorway of her makeshift room, watching as children crowded behind her in fear. That was their first meeting after he murdered their best friend and teammate.

Sasuke sneered at his paperwork and glanced at the clock again. Sakura should be awake and out of Suicide Watch by now.

He put his paperwork away in its proper folders, in proper order so he knew where he left off. Lights were shut off and his office door closed with a click, and he made his way to the hospital.

Immediately, he went to her room. Nurses were checking her vitals as she stared out the window, completely ignoring his presence. The nurse handed him Sakura's chart and went over details of her Suicide Watch. Apparently, she tried to kill herself. Several times.

Sasuke looked at her wrists to see they were bound to the bed, wrapped in bandages and an IV in her arm. He could also see the rough outline of her feet being bound as well. "You're an idiot." He muttered, setting her chart on its rack. Silence was her response.

He followed her line of sight and saw the gallows, now naked of its corpses. Her frail face never showed anything beyond a blank expression as she watched them being taken down. She knew, just as much as he did, who all were hung and who were beheaded. Sasuke made sure to keep her in the loop while imprisoned- sending Karin in to announce the death notes as if she were announcing to a crowd. He could always hear her wailing as he stood outside her prison cell.

The door clicked shut as the nurse left them alone in the room. He moved to the nightstand and poured a glass of water, presenting it to her. "Drink." She didn't move or speak. Just watched the workers at their task.

If it was one thing he hated, it was being ignored when he gave an order. "Drink." She didn't move.

He forced her head to turn, fingers trapping her chin as he worked her jaw. Water droplets dribbled down her chin and neck, but she didn't swallow. He met her eyes and his stomach dropped. They were dead.

She seemed to look through him instead of at him. "Sakura?" He asked, somehow gently, trying to get her attention. It seemed to work. Sakura blinked and swallowed, and Sasuke released a shaking breath he didn't realize he was holding. "Sakura? Look at me. Please."

She met his eyes again and tears began to fall, but her face never changed. "I'm going to unlock your wrists. You will not try hurting yourself. Understand?" She didn't respond at all, but he trusted it as a yes— trust that was short lived.

It was like watching a wild animal enraged come to life (or another Jugo episode). Within milliseconds of her hands being released, chakra came to life in her fingers and Sakura snarled. Sasuke, for the life of him, didn't realize the amount of raw power being launched at him until it was too late. The woman that he thought was on the edge of death had come to life.

His jaw certainly felt the lack of chakra binding that he forgot— forgot— were adapted to her shackles when she was admitted a few days ago. Sasuke's back struck the wall like a useless rag doll, gasping for a breath of air. He saw the unspeakable rage in her eyes now and he felt her bristle in his presence. With a simple yank of her feet and she was free from her ankle shackles, taking the entire bottom rail with it.

She was gearing up for another punch when his hands gestured without his permission, flicking beads of power into her chakra points. Sasuke felt compelled not to hurt her. She was all he had now— or so his heart told him. His mind, however, worked double time and tried to override everything. His first thought was to kill. But he couldn't do it. She was too important to him. So the next best thing was to disable her.

Sakura crumpled to her knees in shock, hands flopping to her sides. "Kill me." She demanded once the shock had passed and the rage had returned.

"No."

"Now. Do it!"

"No." Why? Why now? When he finally found it in himself to be merciful, she would not relent.

"Coward!" She barked at him. "You're a coward. A murdering, psychopathic coward!" She took a deep ragged breath, tears streaming down her face. Sasuke felt trapped against the wall he sat against— being screamed at by the only woman he allowed himself to love. "You took his life! All he wanted for you was to come home safe. And all you did in return was kill him. He loved you… like a brother he never had. I— we loved you. We all did. And you KILLED them all! Every last person who would have fought for you, loved you, cared about your future in this village." Her voice cracked, breathing deep once again before screaming at him again. "I wish I had never made him make that promise. I wish I had left you to that Snake-bastard. I wish I had never loved you." Each wish only served to cut deeper. He may have himself schooled to perfection externally, but inside he felt like he was dying again. Sakura Haruno looked Sasuke Uchiha dead in the eyes. "I WOULD RATHER BE DEAD! I WOULD RATHER ROT IN A GRAVE KNOWING I DIED WITH DIGNITY AND THE LOVE FOR MY VILLAGE!"

Sasuke just stared. That's all he had the energy to do. She was right… about everything. He gave her a moment to gather herself before he stood and turned to the door.

"Do you have nothing to say for yourself?" He halted at the door, hand poised over the handle. Her question irked him. "If you are planning to kill me too, then DO IT! Get it over with, so you can move on with your pathetic life, like the coward you are!"

"No." One simple word he barely had the strength to say, and she roared again. He heard her flop forward, pounding her head to the floor repeatedly before her screams died to sobs. Only then did he have the power to move. Sasuke quickly darted out of her hospital room, barking orders to the on staff nurses.

"Return her to Suicide Watch." The nurses jumped to their feet and moved at his command. "And reinforce those fucking shackles on her before she kills her self."

"Marry me." He asked, a week later, spoon hovering before her mouth as he fed her. She turned her head away, gazing out the window again. This was the third time he asked her this week.

"Fuck off."

Schooling his hands still, he forced himself to recite something that his mother had told him long ago.

"Love is patient, love is kind."

What utter bullshit, he thought as he set the bowl on her nightstand. Her response was far kinder than the first time he asked. Progress, he supposed.

"Why?" He looked at her, his brow raised in question. "Why would you want me to marry you of all people?" Dare he even tell her? Her scoff at his silence was answer enough. "You're pathetic. I'm not a child anymore. I'm not someone who will drop everything and take off with you. The person I loved is dead, and so is that 12 year old girl who gave her heart out only to be left on a fucking bench because someone had a pansy ass sibling rivalry with his DEADBEAT BROTHER!"

The snap of wood filled the silence of her outburst. It was either a fist through the nightstand, or a fist through her chest— he chose the safer route. He felt his Sharingan zero in on her eyes. "You… have no right to call him a deadbeat. If it weren't for his sacrifice, you and this village would probably be dead." She tsk'd him, looking away again. He ripped his bloody fist from the nightstand and yanked her chin back in his direction. "If my parents had gone through with the coup, the village would have never been the same again. It would be in worse hands than mine." He explained. Her eyes widened a fraction, he hoped she was realizing what he was saying. He hadn't told anyone yet about the truth behind his clan's death. Maybe one day he would give her the full details, but greater things had to come first.

"Why kill Naruto then? Why kill Kakashi? And everyone else who loved you?" She asked softly- weakly even.

"Because he would have been in my way." Sasuke replied instantly, eyes blurring slightly and teeth gritting.

She scoffed again, chuckling darkly under her breath. "That's a damned lie and you know it. He would have supported you. They both would have." Tears formed in her eyes, dripping down her chin. Sasuke brushed them away with his thumb, cupping her cheek gently. "You might butt heads like you always did, and Kakashi might have been his usual lazy self. But they would have supported you 100% if you had obtained the position naturally.' Her tiny hands formed fists in her shackles. "Instead, you killed them. And I don't think I could ever forgive you for that. They were good people. Even that stupid idiot Sai, who barely knew you, would have supported you as well." She drew in a deep breath, her head dipping downward with a whimper. "I don't think I could ever love or marry someone who is as cruel as you are. I would rather die first."

"Why?" He didn't realize how much her words had stuck him til he spoke with a weak voice. "I'm trying to honor Kakashi's final wish, and you won't let me. Why?" His fingers dropped to the back of her neck, tilting so they met eye to eye again. "I'm trying to protect the things I love. I love y—"

"You don't deserve love." She gritted.

He should have had more control on his temper. Sasuke's hand flew out in retaliation and struck her across the cheek. The sound rang through the room just as a nurse entered with a confused expression. She read the room quickly, and sighed. "Hokage-sama, Karin-san is here to speak with you." She left without a glance backwards.

They sat there in silence, her cheek blazing red. He couldn't stand it. He was afraid that if this conversation continued, he would not be able to keep himself from fulfilling her dark wish. So he stood and left, only pausing at the door to briefly apologize and not knowing what he was apologizing for.

—

"What do you want?"

"I'm asking for a change of position, Hokage-sama." Karin stood at attention, a habit she never had— which automatically made it suspicious to him. "I'm bored of the prison and I think me and the rest of the members of Team Taka would be better used outside of Konoha."

Sasuke frowned. "You've interrupted my time with my fiancé" Karin flinched, and looked away. "to tell me that?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama." Karin responded, fingers gripped into a fist at her sides. "I had originally planned asking for just myself to go, but… turns out the idiot is smarter than he looks and insisted that we all go as a defense team instead. Jugo… hasn't been the best in his condition, so it's better for everyone altogether."

Sasuke hummed a note, thinking. Her words sounded planned. The idiot in question had to have been Suigetsu— which means that Karin was planning on leaving with or without Sasuke's permission. Suigetsu just interfered with a better idea related to the protection of the Village and themselves. He could almost see the actions in his head.

"Fine." Sasuke replied. "This works for all parties. I'll meet with Team Taka to hammer out the details."

She nodded, taking her dismissal right away and leaving the conference room that the hospital allowed him to use.

He sat down, resting his head against the table. He knew this all stemmed from their conversation in Sakura's former prison cell after Suigetsu took her to the hospital.

"I never stood a chance."

Sasuke scoffed. Not this again. He ignored her as he picked up the chains that bound Sakura for several weeks in this cage. He thumbed the circumference of the cuff, dried and wet blood smearing like sticky paint.

"Why?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Sasuke demanded. He turned to see Karin crying and he snorted. "This is none of your concern. Just do your job."

"Why her though?" She demanded now. "If you care about her so much, why do this to her?"

"None of your business, Karin."

"Would you have done the same to me if I were in her shoes?"

Sasuke laughed at that. "You're a nuisance."

"But would you?"

"No. You aren't worth the trouble." Sasuke replied flatly. "She is worth it all."

The look on Karin's face as he walked past her was a proverbial nail in the coffin. She finally understood her place and he hoped that she would finally leave him alone. It seems she took his words to heart since that day. Now he had to figure out a way to keep them as part of the village but manage their tasks long distance.

"Hokage-Sama?"

Sasuke raised his head to see Sakura's nurse file in. "What do you want?"

"Lady Sakura is about to have her final healing before being released this afternoon. Will she return back to the prison, or go home?"

Sasuke laced his fingers under his nose. "She will come home with me, but she will stay in her chakra suppressors. I don't want a repeat of last week."

"Hai, Hokage-sama. I will prepare her release forms then. Is there anything else I should do before you both leave?" Sasuke knew that this nurse was close to Sakura while under Tsunade's tutelage. It concerned him but also a blessing since Sakura seemed to respond to her well.

"No, thank you for your assistance. I'll go back to her room for that last session."

The nurse, he will have to learn her name later, left with her dismissal. He stood and followed her out the door and back to Sakura's room. Sakura seemed to be in better spirits after her time away and her outburst. The nightstand was replaced with a new one, and a fresh bouquet of Daffodils sat on its top. He frowned at the arrangement, knowing he did not order them. Stepping closer, he read the card.

It was blank.

Sasuke frowned, pulling the card from its holder and examined it closer. There were no ink traces that indicated a hidden message. He held the card up to the light and saw nothing show through the paper.

"It's from Ino's mother." He glanced at Sakura to see her looking out the window again. "She stopped by while you were speaking to Naruto's cousin."

He set the card back on its pick. "It's beautiful. It reminds me of the daffodils you used to bring me when I was in the hospital."

"I used to get the flowers from their shop before coming to see you and Lee. Ino used to tease me about it. Because I loved daffodils and the many things they symbolize."

"Ah." There was silence between them. Silence that Sasuke felt forced to break. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have hit you."

"Don't bother. I know you didn't mean to." She replied softly. "I won't apologize for my words though. I meant them. You've hurt me beyond help." She finally turned to look at him, tears down her cheeks. "I really don't think I can stand being around you. If it weren't for this village needing me, I would have escaped sooner. But I'm afraid."

"You don't have to be. I know you are strong, and that's what I love about you best. You adapt." He replied, not really knowing why he was saying it, other than it was the truth. "And you care so much. I think that's why I don't want to lose you too. I've already destroyed everything else, I can't destroy the one good thing left in my life."

"And if I keep saying no? To your proposal?" She met his eyes evenly.

"It's either you or nothing. I can show you what would happen if you kept denying me." He replied harshly, gripping her hand in his as he sat next to her.

Sakura flinched at his touch, which caused him to grip her hand harder. Instantly, he drew her into the genjutsu he had cast- the Tomoes in his red eye spinning wildly.

He watched the scene beside her-wanting to see her reaction every minute of it. She, however, was under his genjutsu in seconds, before she could give an answer.

If she didn't already know it was fake, the scenery could have passed for a regular day. The sky was deceptively a beautiful blue with only a few clouds— a day that Shikamaru would truly appreciate. Sakura sat on a platform on her knees, hands bound behind her back as she watched the scaffolds that once lined the streets of her beloved city reappear before her. Crowds began gathering, eager for a show they knew was coming. Orphans lined the streets, pick-pocketing and stealing snacks from strangers and vendors. To them, she may as well be at her own execution with the way they watched her from her perch.

Beside her sat a chair, plainer than any chair she had ever seen before but she had noticed it had its own embellishments. The deep blue silk seatback had the Uchiwa embroidered into it and the deep colored wood was carved simply. It seemed so… Sasuke.

ANBU soldiers began appearing around the courtyard, pushing the crowd closer to her stage. Behind the crowd, citizens began filing in along the scaffolding and took their appropriate places below the nooses. Most of the faces were recognizable and held no discrimination of sex, color, age or disability.

She saw the old man who struggled to walk with his cane who had hip surgery. A few nooses down was a child who suffered from measles at a young age and went blind from it. A pregnant woman hung from a noose already dead a few rows over, currently being cut down. A boy who struggled with his mental health hung next to his mother, who clutched her boy in tears. She watched this over and over and over and over… for what felt like hours.

Sakura bit her tongue, her heart clenching in her chest and tears forming in the corners of her eyes. Each death struck her heart, as the lever on the scaffold dropped the floor of the stage out from under its victims. "No." She begged in agony. "Please, don't kill anymore."

She heard footsteps behind her and turned away from the grim scene. Her captor sat in his chair, like a throne, and their eyes met. She had never hated someone— no. This monster so much in her entire life. She voiced as much.

He responded with a chuckle as he rested his cheek against his fist, leaning comfortably in his chair. "You don't really hate me, Sa-ku-ra. You love me…. Just as I love you." The fist he leaned against now brushed pink locks out of her face and grazed against her cheeks. Sakura's tears shed faster as her stomach rolled in disgust. Sakura twisted her head away.

"Marry me. And you save the village, Sakura."

"How is marrying you going to save the village?" She spat out, watching the scaffolding for any more familiar faces. She found them. "You bastard!" Ino's mother was being dragged to her noose, fighting her captors along the way. Their eyes met and Ino's mother began screaming for mercy… for Sakura's help as ANBU wrapped the rope around her neck. Hands waved and the bodies dropped from their bench, twitching. Sakura screamed, struggling against her bonds. Chakra refused to flair to life in her hands and fingers.

Suddenly, her head was yanked backwards as Sasuke's fingers gripped her hair tightly. "You live, they live. You die, they all die. Make your choice." He murmured in her ear, amused eyes locking with her angry ones. "You're a healer, right?" He reminded her. "What's that oath medical nins take? The one where you do no harm to others? Ah yes, the Hippocratic Oath, was it?" He chuckled, his tone becoming eerily similar to his former snake master. "Ironically, you can kill with those hands too." He raised his free hand and then dropped it with a sick smirk on his lips.

Sakura's eyes strayed to the twitching body's as they struggled to breathe… to live… Sakura let out a scream of absolute rage as bodies dropped from the scaffolding. Tears filled her eyes as she mourned each dead soul.

It dawned on her that this is what he felt the night of the massacre. Now she knew why he was the way he was. She wanted revenge for this despair in her heart. She wanted to rip these bonds around her wrists apart and avenge her beautiful village. The parallels were unbearable.

ANBU began pulling bodies from the crowds, which led to others crying and screaming for their siblings, parents, grandparents, children, cousins, all of them. There was still no order to the chaos. Sakura sat there and watched them all, experiencing this false future Sasuke created for her mind as the crowd shrank. She drew in a deep breath and screamed the one word that would end this nightmare— not able to stand any more.

"Yes."

The scene around her paused, and she took a deep shaky breath. "What was that?"

"I said yes. I'll do it." She snapped back, yanking her head out of his grip. Her body flopped to the side, scuffing her temple against the wood platform as she looked back at her captor. "I'll marry you. But please,… leave them alone." She begged. "They are innocent!"

Sasuke watched her, looking for signs of deceit, most likely. She dropped her head against the wood in utter defeat, tears tipping down the bridge of her nose. She felt the beginnings of a panic attack coming on. Sakura heard a deep sigh that sounded more like relief than impatience in her mind. She didn't allow herself to think beyond that as Sasuke, her now fiancé, spoke another three letter word that could break them out of this nightmare.

"KAI!"