A/N: I have a reason why I'm so late in updating! It's called writer's block, and it's a bitch in the face. Now that I have that cleared up, though, I want you all to enjoy chapter 2 of 'The Dark Side of the Moon'! Finally, I can get on with the real story now that most of the important introductions are done! Some aren't, but they'll be introduced later! Promise. (smiles) Anyhow! Let us continue on our quest to see the pretty romance that will bloom between our favourite pinkette and brunette! Ahah. I made a funny.

WARNING: I WHORE OUT NEJI. FORGIVE ME.

Disclaimer: Naruto and Co. belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

Sakura and Naruto returned to the alley to see Gaara holding a new book with a shiny cover, and Kankuro gulping down small cups of sake with a blonde woman. Sakura smiled as the ample chest woman looked up as she heard footsteps, brown eyes crinkling in a smile. "Tsunade-san!" The pinkette cried out, running to the woman and hugging her tightly. Tsunade patted her back in returned, sipping her refilled cup thanks to Temari.

Tsunade was a young looking woman with breasts that a lot of women would kill for. She wore a kimono top that showed off her 'blessings' as she called them, and pants because her curvaceous hips weren't exactly completely covered by the kimono. On her feet were simple sandals, and her hair was pull back into two pigtails that hung down around the middle of her back.

"How's my favourite?" Tsunade asked, winking at Temari who only rolled her eyes as she poured in Kankuro's cup with water, scolding the boy for drinking so much as he complained of headache.

"Good," Sakura said, smiling back at her happily. "I'm glad you came to visit us, Tsunade-san; we've missed you."

"I missed a few of you." Tsunade said, looking up at the blonde haired boy who stood farther back from them all. "So, spiky, what's up? You're quiet. Disappointed 'cause there ain't no ramen?"

"Nah; I'm a little distracted s'all." He said, shrugging a little. Tsunade nodded, watching him for a moment longer before she grinned.

"Go and see him you fool!"

Naruto blinked, looking at her, before he grinned. "Thanks Tsunade-baasan." He said, waving to the others, before he ran down an alleyway, disappearing. Tsunade scowled, blinking as Sakura clambered off of her, walking over to Gaara. She kneeled beside him, placing her hand on his shoulder as she leaned over to look at the book.

"That's a nice book; it's look brand new." She said gently, resting her chin on his shoulder. Gaara glanced at her from the corner of his eyes, before he nodded, flipping open the book to the crisp white pages, the print on them stark and black. She leaned over, smelling the pages, and her eyes widened. He looked at her questionably, and she smiled. "This thing just got off of the press hun," she said, smiling at him. "That's exciting isn't it?"

"Mm…" Gaara murmured, closing the book as he placed it in his lap. "Hopefully it's good…"

"I bet it's gonna be." Sakura said, before she squeezed his shoulder. She stood up, kissing the top of the younger boy's head, before stretching her arms over her head, yawning. "I think I'm gonna hit the sack now; I'm dead tired after my successful day."

"Go ahead, chickie," Temari said, sitting down with Tsunade to have some sake now that Kankuro was drinking some herbal water. They didn't have a tea pot yet, so they couldn't make tea like they used to. Sakura smiled to them, waving as she walked over to a corner piled with blankets and a pillow. She laid down, grabbing a thicker blanket and tossing it over her, before she curled up and fell asleep. Gaara then came over, sitting next to her and reading his book quietly; preparing for his sleepless night.

Neji sighed as he leaned against the wall of Sasuke's room, looking out at the window at the half moon outside, disinterested. Sasuke had peeled the sheets off of his futon for Tenten so that the girl wouldn't have to do it herself; sitting on the bare futon quietly after he had piled the soiled sheets by the door. Suddenly, two hands appeared at the door that Neji was looking out, and a blonde head appeared, grinning at the occupants. "Hey!" He whispered, slipping into the room. "If it ain't Neji-kun! What's up?"

"Nothing much," Neji replied, looking at the blonde boy for a moment, before smiling a little. "I'll leave you two be." He said, standing up and brushing off his kimono, before turning, walking out of the room. He slid the door closed quietly, padding down the halls back to his own room. He passed by a brown haired girl with buns on either side of her head. Before she completely passed him, he placed a hand on her shoulder, making her look up at him in interest.

"Sasuke has a visitor," he whispered softly. "So maybe you should collect Sasuke's sheets after a while." Tenten smiled knowingly, nodding to the Hyuuga boy, before she continued down the hall. The brown haired man then sighed, walking into his own room, sliding the door opened and then closed again.

Tenten was Sasuke's servant of sorts, you could say. She brought him clean sheets, told him when he had costumers, and brought him his food and new kimonos. Sasuke treated her well, and tried to give her the amount of respect that she gave him, but sometimes when he was in a bad mood, he would abuse the fact that she was his to order, and would use that fact to its fullest potential until Tenten snapped at him and hit him over the head with something; a paper fan, a log for the fire that she had been collecting. Once it had been the hilt of a sword that she was examining; Tenten was enthralled with weapons of any kind, and so whenever a weapon came as a show for the brothel they all worked in, she would clean it herself.

Walking over to his desk, he sat down on his knees, smoothing out the folds of his kimono before he pulled out a long scroll, rolling it out as he read the delicate kanji scrawled on it with fine handwriting and perfection. At the top right corner of his desk was a small silver pendent; a silver heart that he had bought off of a young girl years ago when he had walked the streets of the small town, having an entire day off to do so. He didn't remember what the girl looked like; only that she had looked dirty and had needed the money he had given her. He supposed she must have died of starvation.

Reaching up, he took the pendent in his slim hand, twisting it in his grip and smoothing the silver quietly before holding it up to his lips as he read the scroll; a story that his mother had written long ago. He had gotten the scroll as an heirloom when she had died, and had kept it with him all these years, even while he worked at the brothel.

He heard a knock at his door, and made a small noise for the person to let themselves in, still reading the delicate writing of his mother. The door slid opened, and he heard feet step in before they closed the door, the person walking over to him quickly. He didn't hear them bend down, so instead he glanced over his shoulder, pale eyes meeting the multicoloured eyes of 'Papa'.

Hatake Kakashi was not a cruel man; he was rather kind, even if he did own a rather dirty business with cruelty as one of the main attractions. His silver hair stuck out to the left, but sort of fell into his left eye, which was a bright red; a scar going over the eye as if he had once been cut there. His right eye was a dark blue, and he had a mask over the bottom half of his face, as if afraid to breathe in some sort of poisonous gas of some sort. He wore a grey tunic, with dark blue trousers, his feet bare since they were inside. A dark grey tie was around his waist, keeping the tunic on his body; small silver chain around his slim neck. He seemed to be smiling under his dark blue mask, which caused the Hyuuga to have a tiny smile on his thin lips.

"How are you Neji-kun?" He asked, kneeling beside the boy and quickly glancing at the scroll and the hand that held the pendent. He then looked back at Neji, already used to those objects; they were Neji's personal things, and Kakashi didn't ask about Neji's personal life unless it concerned him. A scroll and a pendent didn't concern him, though.

"I'm fine, Papa," Neji replied, rolling up the scroll quietly and tying it with the black ribbon it had been tied with before, placing it on the far corner of his desk, placing the pendent beside it. "I thank you for the rest of the evening off."

"I thought you all might be tired; some of the female workers have been complaining of exhaustion and soreness, after all." Kakashi smiled lightly. "Wouldn't want my workers to tire themselves out; but I wasn't asking about your physical health. How are you mentally? I know you've been having dreams again, during the job; you seem to forget people's names."

"They just don't stick because they don't seem important to me; they're another person that's come to fuck me senseless; what do I care?" Neji muttered darkly, before he bowed his head. "Forgive me for my boldness."

"It's what you're thinking," Kakashi waved a hand nonchalantly, not really caring that his young worker was outspoken towards him. Kakashi had never been one for manners and the honour code like everyone else in Japan was; he was a lazy man, he'd admit, and he liked it when those he held close felt comfortable enough around him to talk normally. Besides, he didn't consider Neji a child…Not with what Kakashi put him through every night…

"It was still rude to say something like that to your honourable guests and patrons."

"Honourable? Neji-kun, they come for sex," Kakashi said, grinning as Neji blushed a little; Kakashi had always been blunt, though it still made Neji blush to hear him say things like that so easily. "They're anything but honourable. Scumbags? Yes; but they put bread on the table." He placed a hand on his shoulder, looking at him quietly. "Now I say again; you've been having dreams again. I know you have been having them because you're not being attentive; usually you know the scumbags' names. And so I'm worried."

"…They're nothing to be worried about; I'm just replaying the day I was sold over in my head." Neji muttered, shaking his head, before he stifled a yawn. "Now, if you would excuse me, Papa; I must sleep. I'm tired,"

"Of course," Kakashi stood up, looking at Neji with quiet eyes. "…I'm here to talk, Neji-kun; I want you to remember that." He nodded, watching as Neji bowed a little from his sitting position, before he turned and walked out of the young man's room. After he had slid the door closed, Neji sighed, closing his eyes and looking at the pendent for a moment, before scowling.

"I can't talk to anyone," he mumbled before he stood, going to his drawers to change into a sleeping kimono. "No one would understand."

Naruto lay in Sasuke's arms quietly, resting his head on the slimmer boy's shoulder with half lidded eyes. He heard the soft, smooth sleeping of the Uchiha beneath him, and he smiled quietly, slowly sitting up and kissing Sasuke's forehead before he slipped out of the dark haired boy's hold, and grabbed his clothes, slipping them on. He slipped the blankets on Sasuke carefully, before he ran his fingers through his blonde hair, walking towards the window. He paused as he heard the door slip open, and turned to see Kakashi standing there with a smirk under his mask.

"Hey Kakashi," Naruto muttered, grinning. "Sorry; you weren't supposed to catch me."

"Guess I came in too early," the man replied, shrugging one shoulder before glancing at Sasuke. "Does he still think I don't know?"

"I never told him you did know." Naruto mumbled, looking at Sasuke as well with a kind smile on his lips. "Don't tell him, eh?"

"Wouldn't dream of it." Kakashi looked up at Naruto to see him looking at him quietly. "He's happy, right?"

"Yeah," the blonde said, looking away. "I guess you could say that; he says he's happy whenever I ask…"

"…Then why would I kill his happiness?" Kakashi sighed, looking at him. "Go home, Naruto; the others will be worried."

"I think some might be relieved if their demon disappeared," Kakashi frowned as Naruto nodded to him, slipping out the window quietly before the man turned to look at Sasuke again, watching as Tenten collected the sheets that had been removed from before, nodding to Kakashi before she scurried off.

"And others would miss you."

He got back to the alleyway at dawn to see Tsunade gone and everyone asleep; Gaara in a meditative state. He sighed, leaning against a wooden structure before he made his way over to his sleeping niche beside Sakura, curling up on the wall. As he got comfortable, Gaara opened his eyes, glancing over at Naruto with curious eyes. Naruto glanced up, before smiling. "Hey,"

"Mm," the red head nodded to him in greeting, still looking at him quietly. "You're back late."

"Yeah…" Naruto muttered, looking over to the side as he rested his hands on his stomach quietly. "I got caught up in some thinking, and wandered the streets a bit as a result." Gaara nodded, and Naruto smiled, closing his eyes. "How has Sakura-chan been sleeping?"

"Soundly, for once," Gaara said quietly, before he lapsed into silence; all he was going to say that day. Naruto nodded, knowing the red head didn't want to speak anymore, before he slowly let himself fall into a dreamless sleep.

A few hours later, Sakura shifted in her sleep, her green eyes opening quietly before she looked over to see Gaara resting his eyes in deep meditation, Naruto asleep beside her in his little corner. Quietly she slipped out of her makeshift bed, stretching up to the sky before she sighed silently, closing her eyes. She then blinked, smiling brightly and swept a hand through her pink hair, wincing at the greasy feeling, shrugging after mulling over it for a minute. She then slipped away from the two boys that rested on either side of her sleeping niche, looking at Kankuro and Temari briefly before she slipped out into the streets of the real world, smoothing out her short kimono and tightening the headband she wore around her head to keep her bangs out of her face.

She then nodded, smiling to herself as she thought she looked presentable, before she started walking down the streets casually along with other people as they roused from their slumber; staring at the odd girl with pink hair and green eyes before continuing on their way. It was when she saw an expensive looking carriage that Sakura found her pick of the day.

It seemed, from the excited whispers of passer-by she caught, that a feudal lord had come to visit their tiny city. If this were a feudal lord like everyone said he was, he was bound to have something of value on him, right? And if she could snatch that thing of value and sell it to the shadiest but most trustworthy of traders in the marketplace, than she was bound to get a pretty penny from it. Nodding to herself from her seemingly flawless, but in reality completely flawed plan, Sakura ran towards the carriage, grinning.

Sakura was a horrible thief, but she was an insane haggler and she was also brilliant at acting. So when the carriage driver wasn't look, she placed a hand on the muzzle of a horse, patting it before she whispered to it soothingly. It continued on its way since it wasn't frightened by the sudden appearance of the girl, and as it trotted by, she slammed her foot into the front of the carriage before falling to the ground; halfway hidden by the wheel of the carriage.

She cried out as if she had been hit, and the driver immediately stopped, climbing down as he saw the curled figure of the girl he had supposedly hit. The horse pawed the ground nervously, looking back at the two humans before it still with a gentle tug from the driver. "Oh no…" he mumbled, patting the girl's cheek quietly. "Oh, please little creature don't be dead…"

"Nn…" Sakura rolled to her back, looking up into the kind worried face of the driver. She smiled a little as she recognized the face, and Umino Iruka, local carriage driver and a friend of Sakura's sighed as he recognized her. "Don't blow my cover," she whispered, before she hissed, acting as he helped her sit up.

"Of course not," he whispered back, before rubbing her arm. "Are you alright, young miss?"

"Mm…I think I twisted something, though; I shouldn't have run in front of you like that; I thought I could outrun the carriage, but I guess I ran too slowly."

"I guess so," Iruka mumbled, before looking up as the feudal lord opened the door, stepping out of the carriage and looking at them with slight worry.

"Is everything alright Umino-kun?" He asked; he was a burly man that Sakura had never seen, his face unrecognizable to her. A foreigner, perhaps? "Did you run into that young girl?"

"I didn't mean to; I didn't see her until it was too late," Iruka commented, lifting Sakura bridal style. Sakura rested in his arms comfortably, looking at the burly man with interested eyes, though she remembered to continue her play acting.

The man cooed over her as she winced a bit, gripping her ankle quietly. "Poor dove; she twisted her ankle?"

"I suppose so, sir." Iruka held her quietly, before looking at him helplessly. "What shall I do with her?"

"Well, put her inside with me, of course!" The lord said, looking at Iruka as if he were stupid. "Where else would the poor dove sit?"

"Up front with me,"

"Nonsense," the man waved at Iruka dismissively, smiling at Sakura. "My dear, would you mind keeping me company?"

"Of course not, sir," Sakura said quickly, bowing her head as she unconsciously rubbed her ankle. She sensed that this man was a pervert and feared for her virgin eyes or ears. Hopefully he was not brash like other men in the city. "I would be greatly honoured,"

"Excellent; Umino-kun, please put her in the back with me." Iruka nodded, walking to the other side as he quickly whispered to Sakura, knowing what she was going to do.

"He has an emerald with him; it's in a small silver box. He'll fall asleep in fifteen minutes if you bore him. When he get the box knock three times on the roof quietly; I'll stop and let you out as quickly as possible without him knowing." He opened the door as Sakura nodded to his plan, letting herself be slipped in quietly. The lord slipped in beside her, and Sakura caught sight of the box before the man's figure covered it; he was even fatter than she had first imagined. She inwardly sighed and the difficulty of this scheme, before she smiled kindly to the lord, bowing her head.

"My dear, no need to bow your head to me," the lord lifted her chin with a fat finger, and Sakura was forced to look into his dark beady eyes. She nodded, looking away from him still; it was still ingrained into her mind to respect her elders and those of high stature by not looking them in the eye. He seemed to sigh at this, looking away from her.

For the first few minutes, Sakura seemed to keep the lord interested, but after a while he seemed to slowly be dozing off; and within twenty-five minutes of coming into the carriage, he fell asleep. She smirked, carefully leaning over the fat man as she saw the box on the other side of his gut. She snatched it with her hand, gripping it carefully, before she sat back, looking up at the roof. She recalled Iruka's instructions, before she knocked quietly on the roof thrice. She listened as Iruka grunted quietly, before he clicked his tongue, pulling on the reigns. The horse she had made friends with earlier stopped, neighing quietly, and Iruka hopped down, opening to door and helping Sakura out, placing her on her feet.

She sighed, swiping off her skirt before smiling up at Iruka. "Thanks Iruka-san," she whispered, before she dashed down the street. Iruka sighed, closing his eyes and shaking his head, before he shut the door—a little too loudly it seemed. The lord inside twitched, snorting, before his eyes flickered opened. First he noticed that the pink haired girl was gone; and then he noticed that his box was gone. He put two and two together, got confused for a moment, before he face turned beet red.

"I'VE BEEN ROBBED BY A STREET TRAMP!"

Sakura smirked to herself as she ran down the crowded streets, jumping over and ducking under people as she made her way to a dark alleyway. But she saw two guards run out of the alleyway, looking around before they pointed to her. Her eyes widened, and she swore; she had been found out already? But she barely got a head start!

Thinking fast, as Sakura was prone on doing, she ducked, rolling into a separated alleyway and rushing down the dark cobblestone street, feet getting splashed by puddles she ran into in her hast. She glanced back to see the two guards behind her, reaching for their short daggers, and she swore; they had never resulted to violence before! Maybe it was because she robbed someone of actual importance?

Deciding not to risk her life for some tiny jewel, Sakura placed the box down, before picking up her pace, turning sharp corners. She still heard footsteps, though, and swore under her breath again. It was then that she passed by an opened shed.

Ducking in, she pressed herself against the wall, closing her eyes as the guards ran by before she sighed deeply. She then heard an awkward cough and looked up to see a man in a plain white kimono that seemed almost see-through, his eyes wide and questioning; though he wasn't blushing even though he was practically naked in front of her. It seemed the shed was actually a bathhouse and Sakura had walked in on someone bathing.

Instead of rushing out of there, since she heard the guards coming back, she got down on her knees. In fact, she practically got down into an 'I-Am-Not-Worthy-I-Beg-Of-You' position, hands splayed in front of her, nose touching the wooden floor. She could feel the steam from the hot water in the tub skim over her neck and she shuddered slightly.

"Please, I need you to hide me form the guards!"

"Why are you running from them?" The young man's voice was smooth as silk in her ears, quiet and slightly shy from the sounds of it. She closed her eyes, twisting her mouth in a grotesque line, before sucking in a deep breath, letting it all flow out.

"I'm a street tramp and I needed some money so I stole from a passing feudal lord. But it looks like he's really angry even after I abandoned the loot and now the guards are out for my neck." She raised her head, looking straight into his pale eyes. "Please help me!"

The man looked hesitant when he heard the running footsteps again. He indicated for her to come over to him and she walked over to him hesitatingly before he covered her hair with a bandana, shoving a kimono at her and turning. "Change; quick." He muttered. Her eyes widened, before she nodded and quickly changed into the longer grey kimono, running her fingers over the smooth material before she looked up at the man in question. He held a brush out to her and she took it, before he sat in front of her. She knelt down behind him, still confused.

"We're playacting; you know how to do that, right?" He muttered. She nodded, and he saw it, before he nodded once. "Brush my hair then; you'll pretend to by my servant."

"…Kay," she muttered, brushing his smooth brown hair quietly just as the guards stopped in front of the shed. One of them caught sight of some pink strands under Sakura's bandana, and stepped in, before stopping in the stare of the man.

"H-Hyuuga-kun," the guard stuttered, blushing a little as he nodded to him. "Sorry to interrupt you…But we have belief that that woman is a thief."

"Who?" He turned to look at Sakura, silently asking her name. She mumbled it, and he turned back to the guards. "Jiro-kun, Sakura here is my personal servant. She hasn't left my side at all today."

"Perhaps she has and you haven't noticed?" The other guard suggested. Jiro shushed the man, smiling to Neji and nodding his head in apology.

"Forgive him, Hyuuga-kun." He said, smiling at him kindly. "We'll leave you be, then; forgive us Sakura-san." She nodded quickly, blushing a little as she continued to stroke the brush through Neji's hair. The guards left, and Neji sighed, Sakura dropping her hands into her lap.

"Thank you so much," Sakura muttered, standing up. "I should just head home, now…"

"You can't do that," Sakura froze, looking at Neji as he stood up, running his fingers through his smoothed out hair. He smiled a little at the silky feeling, before looking back at Sakura. "They believe you're my personal servant now; you can't leave or else you'll be killed."

"…You're kidding me." Sakura stated eyes wide in shock. "I can't stay here! My friends'll worry their asses off!"

"Please do not use such coarse language; it's unbecoming of a lady," Neji muttered, turning from her as he walked to his tub. Sakura slapped a hand over her eyes as he dropped his robe, stepping into the warm waters before he sighed and she hesitatingly uncovered her eyes, peeking through her fingers at him. "And I'm not kidding; you're stuck here."

Sakura frowned a little, before she went over the situation in her head, and realized that this 'Hyuuga' was right. "Alright," she muttered, sighing quietly. "What's your name, anyhow?"

"I'm surprised even a street tramp doesn't know my name," Neji mumbled, closing his eyes as the warm waters soothed his skin. He then sighed as he glanced at Sakura, seeing her dumbfounded look. "My name is Hyuuga Neji."

"…WHAT?"