This story is rated M because it contains mentions of rape, eating disorders, character's death, sex, drugs, etc.

So I would strongly recommend that if you are triggered by any of it, do not read this story, I will ignore your reviews about it, because, after all, you were warned about it.

Also, I'm writing this to improve my writing, so any criticism is greatly appreciated, as well as any ideas you might have for the story.

This will be a Multisaku. Later on I will make a poll so that you guys can vote for the pairing.

des-o-la-tion:

1. The act or an instance of desolating.

2. The state of being desolate.

3. Devastation; ruin

4.a. The state of being abandoned or forsaken; loneliness:

b. Wretchedness; misery.

50 blocks of desolation

Chapter 1

"The Calm before the Storm"

Hello there. I guess I have to introduce myself, right? Well, my name is Haruno Sakura. I am six years old. My best friends are an eight-year-old girl named Tenten and two seven-year-old twin boys named Haku and Shino. I like reading and learning new things and when I'm not doing any of those, I like to draw or wander on the streets. Since I am only six, I can't work, so sometimes I have to steal. I know that's bad, but sometimes we spend weeks without eating, and I don't like to see any of my friends starve. Oh, I forgot to mention… I live on a subway station.

I don't remember my parents, the last memory I have of them is that one time we went to visit grandma. Before we went to visit her, my mum told me she loved me and gave me a hug and my father told me that he also loved me and then proceeded to ruffle my hair. That's all I can remember. I know it's not much and sometimes I get angry with myself because I have an excellent memory, but I can't seem to remember more about my parents.

After they died, my grandma took custody of me, but I guess she didn't really like me at all, she kept blaming me about the death of my parents, saying stuff like I wasn't even her granddaughter because of my pink hair, and since my mum´s parents passed away before I was born…well, I was stuck with that old hag. One day she got really mad and threw a tantrum which caused one of her veins in her head to explode causing her to die instantly. Neither of my relatives wanted to take me in since they said I was cursed and death followed me everywhere, which, to be honest, it's a really stupid thought. After that old hag's funeral, I was thrown into an orphanage, well; I was actually thrown in more than one orphanage. When couples came to adopt me, they always changed their mind on the last minute, usually it was the father figure who would convince the mother to adopt any other child but me, so I never really got the chance to have an adoptive family. I ran away from Warmsmile Orphanage at age five, and by that age I had already been through most of Yugakure's orphanages. I really liked making trouble, or at least, that's how the ladies who worked there described me.

I am actually pretty intelligent for a girl my age. I remember they had us take the IQ test or something, and my result was 190. I really don't care about the result, but it seemed others did. The ladies kept giving me useless information about things I don't really care about, and sometimes they would give me tests to complete in a room where doctors would keep a close eye on me.

When I ran away from the orphanage, I really didn't know where I was going to, and since my escape was random (it really was, I was just passing through the front door and the lady who was in watch kept flirting with the milkman, so I took advantage of that and ran out of the door, luckily for me, she didn't notice, but I kept running really fast) I didn't have clothes, or money with me. I thought I was going to get found and being thrown back at that orphanage, but as I was sitting on a bench, a lady came near me and handed me 200 yen. I thought that she was out of her mind, but she smelled of alcohol, so I didn't ask questions and thanked her. Oh, also, one thing you must know about Yugakure is that people here only care about themselves, not many people are kind enough to help you out or are kind in general. With the money that lady gave me I bought a small back pack, some food, water and some clothes with the help of a staff worker and my amazing story of my parents being on a meeting and sending me in alone to buy that stuff. Then I went to sleep at the subway station and that's where I met them.

Oh, it's getting late. I should probably stop writing now or Tenten is going to be mad again.

Thanks for listening dear diary. I hope I can write more things into you soon.

-Sakura H.

The pink haired girl slowly closed the diary, letting out a long sigh escape her pink lips. She closed her eyes for a moment and then opened them. She looked around, but found no one.

The little girl took her pencil and her diary and slowly stood up from the park bench she was currently sitting on. As she made her way to the subway station, she noticed how happy the other kids were. She wondered if she and her friends would ever be that happy, because she knew that they have had rough lives as well and that's why they were also living on the streets, well; subway station, for now.

The park was really not far from the subway station, but Sakura didn't like her friends worrying over her, so she sped up her walk.

As soon as she entered the subway station, she noticed that some policemen were interrogating a tall silver haired man. The man had his lower face covered with a black scarf and he had an eye patch. Sakura really didn't like getting into someone else's business, so she paid no attention to the man being interrogated.

"Saku-chaaan!" Someone yelled. The owner of the voice was an eight-year-old girl with brown hair tied in two buns and brown big eyes. Said girl sped up and tackled Sakura in a hug. Sakura couldn't help but grunt in pain.

"What's wrong Teny?" Sakura asked, concern written all over the pink haired girl's face.

"Saku-chan, we have to go now! We can't continue living in here! Some man called the police and he wants us to be taken into an orphanage! I already told Shino-kun and Haku-kun, they are gathering their belongings; you should do the same and quick! I'll help you! But let's get moving!" Tenten started pulling Sakura through the crowd of people who were waiting to get into the subway.

Sakura quickly gathered her things with the help of Tenten and they quickly ran to the stairs where Shino and Haku were waiting for them. Once they saw that Sakura and Tenten had their things they started to walk out of the subway station. Fortunately for them, the station was really crowded and the police did not know their faces, so they could mix in the crowd, walk side by side with one adult to pretend that the adult was a relative and get out of there. They have done that a couple of times. People in Yugakure were always extremely busy, so they did not pay attention to their surroundings, making it easier for them to use them without their knowledge…and also stealing from them.

"Where are we going to live now?" Haku asked and Shino only nodded in agreement.

"I don't know. We should find the others so that we all can come to a decision "Tenten said as they crossed the street.

"I want some place where it isn't really noisy" Haku spoke up.

"I don't know where I want to live, but if we could live somewhere safe then it's fine by me" Shino said while hugging his belongings tighter.

Tenten nodded. She just hoped that the other kids had something similar in mind. They all had different tastes in living arrangements. She closed her eyes and sighed. She could already tell which kids would want to live somewhere peaceful and who would want to return to a subway station to live in chaos. She would need to steal some pills for the headache that was beginning to form.

"I don't care where we live, as long as you three as well as the others are by my side, then everything's fine, because I feel that I'm at home when you guys are around" Tenten smiled softly at the shocked youngsters. They were really not expecting that. The 3 of them hugged Tenten at the same time. Tenten couldn't help but smile and hug them back.

"Now let's get going little siblings. We need to find our new home and also our other siblings to tell them about the problem…together we will work something out"

So they decided to live in another nearby subway station, fortunately they had found Zaku (the oldest kid of their group) and Kin at the park to let them know about the cops and also so he could tell the other kids about their new "home" location. Shortly after, Tenten and Sakura decided they should try to get some food and of course Shino and Haku wanted to go as well, so they decided to split, leaving Kin in charge of their stuff while Zaku went to look for the others. Tenten took Shino and Sakura took Haku,

Haku and Sakura decided to go to a store on the other side of town, what they had not expected was that the shop owner also owned a gun and was not afraid to point it at Haku and Sakura, so, of course they decided to escape from that crazy old hag.

They were running really fast and for a minute, the only thing Sakura could hear was the sound of her heart beat. Sakura did not know how or why, but Haku and she entered a small shop that was near the ocean. She still didn't know why they got in there, maybe it was because she was scared that Haku and she would get caught or maybe it was because they were getting tired, but she knew that entering that store, would bring them something good; she could feel it.

"Welcome young customers!" An old man greeted them. He looked to be about 80 years old, tall and slender. He was wearing a white robe with a red hat covering his gray hair. The smile he was giving them gave them the creeps. Haku seemed to sense Sakura's uncomfortable aura and he gently squeezed her hand, as if to say 'everything is okay, I'll protect you', this made Sakura smile and she squeezed his hand in return.

"Ahh so young and in love! This reminds me when I was your age, well, probably a little bit older than you" The man stepped up behind the counter and took a look at us.

"Ano, sumimazen, but she's my little sister" Haku told the old man. At this the old man's smile seemed to get bigger. If nightmares were to suddenly come to life, he would be one of them, with that creepy smile, those wrinkles, those big black almost lifeless eyes…ugh.

"Hai! He's my older brother Oji-san!" Sakura tried her best to fake a smile, she succeeded and mentally congratulated herself.

The old man seemed to be satisfied with the answer, but he kept looking at them, specially Sakura's unusual pink hair.

"Tell me something little ones. Are you living at an orphanage?"

Haku and Sakura tensed a little. Sakura could see from the corner of her eye that Haku was already formulating a lie on his head, she could tell because when he begins to think, he makes strange faces, and he was making strange faces right now. Sakura decided to speak up, because she knew Haku would probably give them away, and she could not risk that.

"Hai Oji-san! Why do you say so?" Haku seemed to relax and the Old man's smile faded a little.

"Because I used to live at an orphanage too. I used to hate it, but you two seem so happy! I remember my time there was awful, I was lucky enough to actually get adopted, would you please accept some food, water and some blankets? When I used to be at the orphanage, older boys would often steal my food and my blankets. I'm sorry I can't adopt you, since I'm already old and I could die at any minute, but please accept the things I'm about to give you."

"We will, Oji-san, and don't worry about adopting us, we know someday someone will adopt us, besides…you giving us all these things you say you will is enough for us and we can't thank you enough for the things and your kindness" Haku glanced sadly at the ground and Sakura let a sad smile spread across her face. No matter how much they wished it, no one would ever adopt them, and now that they had run away from the orphanage (not Haku's and Shino's situation though) that option was impossible, it became inexistent. But also, it was weird for this old guy to kindly give them those things without asking for anything in return. Sakura frowned.

"Sorry, Oji-san, not to be rude, but I don't think that's the only reason you're giving us food, water and blankets" Sakura decided to voice her thoughts with a serious face. Haku started glaring at her because what Sakura had said was considered "rude" or at least to Haku it was. He was taught manners and Sakura was not.

The old man chuckled. "You are really intelligent little girl; you could read between the lines. What I told you about the orphanage is true, but I am also giving you this because I was a really bad father, and because of that my kids have forgotten about me so I th-"

"So you thought that by giving us some supplies it would make you feel less guilty for being a bad father. You think that by giving us this, you'll be less of a bad person, because you never really helped your children; you were not there when they needed you, so you help us out just to know that you still can do some good in this world. We really appreciate this, Oji-san, but you should also try to fix the problem you have with your children." The old man widened his eyes and let out a small gasp escape his mouth. Sakura made a mental note that if she ever decided to pursue a career she would like to become a detective, criminologist or something like that. Maybe even a Psychologist.

"Oji-sama, I don't know if what my sister says it's true or not, but if it is true, then please, talk to your children. They still have you. My sister and I already lost our parents, and we regret not telling them how we felt about them, so please, don't make the same mistake we made, tell them how you feel, let them tell you how they feel, and be a good father for the time you have left in this world. Also, sorry about my sister's rudeness" As Haku said the last part he couldn't help but glare at Sakura.

The old man started crying, Haku hugged the Old man and Sakura just stood there. She was not good in situations where people cried so she decided would be best to handle the old man alone. After a couple of minutes, the old man stopped crying and went to the back of the store. The two children waited patiently. The old man came back with four blankets and four bags containing food and water, as he promised.

"Thank you little children. You've made me realize what I need to do". The two kids thanked the old man and reached for the bags and blankets. Haku carried the four blankets and Sakura carried the four bags, her backpack and Haku's backpack. The old man hugged them (much to Sakura's dismay) and they said their goodbyes.

As soon as both kids left the store, Haku began lecturing Sakura on not being rude to other human beings and why manners were important. Needless to say, Sakura got bored 10 minutes into Haku's lecture and began daydreaming about going to college, having a house for all of them and eating dango.

After about twenty minutes of Haku's lecture, Sakura decided she have had enough. "Come on Haku-kun, if I had not spoken up, he would have never realized what he had to do, besides he did give us the things he said he was going to give us. He helped us and we helped him out as well. I just hope he follows our advice and really talks to his children, he can still make things right." Haku thought about it for a minute, nodded and just kept walking.

They were getting closer to their meeting point; which was an old park near a cemetery. Not many people went there, and it made it perfect for people like them to hang around there without people giving them ugly looks or pity looks.

Sakura hated when people gave her those kind of looks, and Haku being the most sensitive of their group would always tear up a little; hence another reason they avoided going to public places; mostly parks, because on the subway station everyone minded their own business, except for that silver haired bastard.

When the two kids arrived to the meeting point, they were surprised to see that everyone on their group was there. Usually, in the afternoon it was impossible to find anyone of their group, since they all liked to wander the city and return to the subway station at night, plus some of them still had their job to do.

They were all like family, they took care of each other and they all contributed to the group by stealing food, clothes, etc. Each of them had a specific job to do, which was usually done throughout the day, and at night they would gather up and share everything they had acquired (stolen/found) that day. Their jobs were always done in pairs or small groups, depending on the task. Zaku always made sure to ask them where they were planning to go so that he could pass anytime of the day and make sure they were good. Since he was the oldest of them he made it his responsibility as a good older brother to take extra care of them.

"Okay so, Sakura, Tenten and me have thought that we should all move to the south subway station for now. I'll see if I can find a better place for us throughout the week, if you find another place please let me know so I can check it out and then we can vote where to live. Is that good for all of you?" Zaku eyed the other children, most of them nodded while Kin just smiled. It seemed most of them agreed to this, except Tayuya.

"What if they come back?" why don't we look for another place now?" Tayuya glared at Zaku, while Zaku just sighed and Kimimaro slapped the back of her head.

"Because it's getting late, and staying out here is dangerous, especially in this part of town, besides I said that we were going to look for another place to live at. To be honest with all of you, I am beginning to hate living on the subway station, I'd rather just go there to work" With that Tayuya just nodded and made a mental note to look for other places to live, that would be her special job for tomorrow, but right now she knew that Zaku was right so she finally agreed with him and they all made their way to the south subway station of Yugakure.

The south station was actually really peaceful, but it was all due to the fact that the south part of Yugakure was actually pretty insecure, so many people avoided it, unless they had business there.

As the group gathered on a corner, Sakura and Haku gave the bags and blankets to Zaku so he could organize everything. Kin began collecting the food that Tayuya and Kimimaro had gotten so that they could split it and everyone got something to eat. Eventually, everyone ate and the blankets were divided between them. Their sleeping arrangements remained the same (Tayuya and Kin, Zaku and Kimimaro, Tenten and Sakura, Haku and Shino) and everyone got to share a blanket. They were really grateful for them because the station could get extremely cold at night.

Most of them had already fallen asleep, but Sakura and Zaku, who were both seated at the station's stairs.

"So, are we going to be living here for like a week? If you ask me, I say that here it is really peaceful, and we should be safe, at least for now. But also I'm planning on not living here for more than a week. I told you guys I'm beginning to hate living here, plus the guys that were here earlier really gave me the creeps" Zaku whispered quietly to Sakura as to not wake up the other kids. Sakura nodded. "Hey Saku-chan, are you alright? You are awfully quiet"

"Don't you think this was too easy? I mean, we didn't get caught by the police, Haku and I met this old man who gave us blankets and food, no one really seems to come to this station, but the creepy dudes who I bet are all a bunch of pedophiles, so far they have not approached us, but still…Living like this should not be easy, why is it so easy now? I'm not complaining or anything, but…aren't we supposed to be suffering right now with no home and all? I mean, I have you all guys, and I love you and I really think of you as my family, but I will also admit that all of this is just not right. Things should not be this easy, even with you looking after us. I mean, yes, we all do some really messed up things like Tayuya and Kin getting high, the twins and the girls doing sexual favors to pedophiles in exchange for toys, clothes, money...I also do awful things and…we all are really messed up." Sakura sighed and continued. "It's just…for all that we have done, and our lifestyle, I'm surprised we are not dead, missing or in an orphanage. Other kids would not stand this lifestyle and would return to the orphanage, but we are all so messed up that we find this better rather than returning, just like Tayuya's brother did. I have a bad feeling that I can't seem to shake off. It's like the calm before the storm. And now I'm overthinking and I should stop talking before I worry you too much or you decide to slap me" Zaku glared at her. "Which probably would be the best idea because I keep talking and yeah I'll shut up." Sakura looked down and Zaku frowned while thinking about all that Sakura had said.

"I understand what you are saying, Saku-chan. And I have to admit that I too, have a bad feeling about this. You are right. A lifestyle like ours is not easy, and I also don't like what the others or you do, but it's our way of coping with reality or getting things we need to survive. I can't tell them nor you not to do it, because I also do some of those awful things." Zaku ran a hand through his hair, Sakura waited patiently for him to continue. "I applied for a job not far from here. It's a construction job, but I should be earning a little more. I also convinced Kin to apply at a grocery store, I think she will, but with these jobs I want to give you guys a better life if possible, also I'm considering working and studying at the same time"

"I really appreciate it, Zaku-nii" The girl smiled at him. "I am also thinking about getting into school, so that I can attend college, get a good job and buy a house where we can all live, even if it's little, but I will work hard to buy a better house and buy you all better things"

"Saku-chan, you are only six, you need to stop worrying about these things. You are awfully young to be worrying."

"And you are only thirteen, yet you also worry about those things" Sakura stuck out her tongue at him.

"You know; you really should attend school. You are intelligent and have a strange thirst for knowledge" Sakura opened her mouth to protest but Zaku continued talking. "And if you worry about your contribution to our group, don't worry. Knowing you, I know you will find time to steal after school" Both of them chuckled at this.

"You are right." She yawned. "I think I'll go to sleep right now, I also need to think of a way to get into school" Zaku nodded and carried her to the place where she shared the blanket with Tenten. He lowered her gently and kissed her forehead.

"Don't worry, we'll figure something out. But for now you should sleep. Good night, Saku-chan" He allowed himself to smile. He did not do it often, but for little Sakura he would.

"G'night Zaku-nii" Sakura closed her eyes and allowed herself to leave her worries behind, even if it was just for a few hours. She dreamt about a better future for all of them.

She dreamt about Zaku becoming a successful business man, Kin becoming the greatest model, Tayuya being an amazing lawyer, Tenten being a professional tennis player, Shino being a great scientist and Haku becoming a great veterinarian. In her dreams everything seemed so much better. She wanted to one day help them all with their dreams, and so, Sakura decided that no matter what, she will do everything to help them reach their dreams.

So this was the first chapter…. what do you guys think? Shall I continue or not?

Please review (:

Ages:

Sakura- 6

Shino and Haku- 7

Tenten and Tayuya- 8

Kimimaro- 9

Kin- 12

Zaku- 13