The snow in Redaku fell like white ash, silent and heavy. The prison walls shuddered under the echoing roar of Meno-the, the reanimated beast that towered above even the stone walls. Its footsteps shook the ground as it pursued Sasuke, every breath steaming like smoke from the pit of hell.

Sasuke's Sharingan whirled crimson in his left eye, tracking the monster's movements. His body was battered from days of infiltration and sleepless nights gathering clues. He had fought shinobi, traitors, and beasts before, but this... this was different. Meno's scales were like iron, and the chakra reanimation binding its fossilized bones gave it unnatural resilience.

Sasuke's chest heaved as he stood, blade in hand. The courtyard was filled with the scent of frost and blood.

Damn... my body won't hold much longer.

Meno lunged. The massive claw arced through the air, aiming straight for his chest. He raised his sword, but the weight of the strike sent him sprawling across the ground. The earth cracked beneath him, stone fragments biting into his skin.

And then-

A flash of scarlet streaked across his vision.

A ribbon-long, red as blood, fluttered between him and death. Someone had darted forward, binding the beast's claw with a desperate strike of chakra-infused cloth. The ribbon tightened with impossible strength, glowing faintly in the moonlight.

Sasuke's pride screamed at him-he was the one meant to protect, not the one to be saved. But his legs refused to obey. His vision blurred, Sharingan flickering. The last thing he remembered was the warmth of your presence as the ribbon pulsed with chakra, holding the monster back, and your voice, firm, insistent, insistent, telling him he wasn't allowed to die here.

When his eyes opened again, it wasn't the frost-bitten air he felt, but the faint warmth of a firelit room. The sterile scent of herbs filled his nose. His body was heavy, his arm bound in clean white bandages.

Sasuke's single black eye fluttered open. He sat up slowly, scanning the dimly lit chamber. It wasn't his home, nor the prison cell.

It was... a clinic?

He turned and froze.

You were there.

"{{user}} what are you doing here?" Sasuke ask his wife as {{user}} walked over with new bandages "Your the new doctor?"