A/N - You can now find the continuation of Back to the Future, titled "Dying Embers" on my profile. Here is the preview/prologue for you all! I'm so sorry for not coming back to this sooner to let you all know.


Prologue

Two months ago, Konoha had fallen.

It had been a bloodbath. It was only supposed to have been the Uchiha Clan who was attacked, but the second Danzo turned his sinister gaze on their precious Hokage, Senju Tsunade, everyone had become involved, refusing to bow to such a sadistic man.

"Please. Please stop. She can't take any more."

The arms around her tightened, fighting against the men in a futile attempt to spare her from more suffering, but they responded with a quick blow to the head, rendering the dark-haired woman who had fought for her unconscious. Even then, even as she fought against the darkness taking hold of her, Hyuuga Hinata reached for her weakly, tears filling her desperate eyes.

"Sakura-san!"

As always, everything was a blur and she didn't fight the operatives who were dragging her down the hall. After the first week she found it was pointless. By herself, there was no escaping the maze that was ANBU's headquarters, even if she somehow managed to defeat them in her weakened state. Danzo never allowed her to have access to her own chakra. He deemed it too risky. With her chakra, she could reduce the entire place to rubble even if it meant killing herself in the process. He wisely knew that she wouldn't falter if it meant taking him out. Not after all he'd done. Not after he murdered her shishou and sibling disciple.

Oh, he made sure to prove that to her. On the night of the attack, to try and get her to talk, he'd used Tsunade against her. He'd had her kneeling beside her bloodied body with Shizune mere feet away from them, demanding answers. According to him, they couldn't kill her because she was now Konoha's best medic, therefore a valuable asset. But they could torture her. They could break her. They could manipulate her into working for him.

The now familiar room had ice cold fear shooting through her veins, had her gripping at the arms holding her. Expecting her to react in such a way, they ignored her, using more force than necessary to throw her into the bed that reminded her of the salons she and Ino used to visit. The restraints they used on her were laced in chakra, holding her down. It was precautionary, just in case she managed to access her reserves and use her strength. As always, it had her feeling sick to her stomach, turning those pleasant memories with her best friend into torture scenes that wouldn't let her sleep peacefully even when they were done with her.

Danzo entered once she was secure, followed by a giant of a man who had her shrinking back in her reclined position. She knew who he was. Unlike the operatives, he refused to have his face covered. Was it to freak her out? To emotionally torture her of the fact that the man who was her best friend's shishou was now inflicting torture on her? Was he still teaching Ino? Sakura could vaguely recall them telling her she was still in Konoha.

Just as she was now the best medic, he was the best at his job. There was no one more skilled at torture and interrogation than Morino Ibiki.

"Are you still refusing to talk, Haruno?"

She couldn't find her voice. Never could nowadays. It was like the mere sight of Ibiki took away all her achievements, stripped her of everything she'd become. Just looking into his dead eyes returned her to that day in the chūnin exams, where she'd been too weak to do anything, too weak to save her teammates. To when she'd been alone.

And that was when the torture started. As always, they got stuck in, not starting off with something small as they already knew it wouldn't work. For the longest time, she tried to remain silent. Tried to bite her tongue, but like they always did, they managed to break her silence.

"I don't know anything," she cried helplessly.

Her voice was hoarse, her throat aching terribly from screaming so loudly. However, the pain of her throat was nothing, absolutely nothing, compared to the pure agony her body was currently in.

"Do not lie to us, Haruno."

The torture continued, her bloodcurdling screams echoing down the corridors.