Disclaimer : I do not own Naruto, perhaps if I keep praying, I will someday!

Good day, readers! –tears- so many people liked this story, I'm so glad! Thanks for all of your wonderful reviews, it sent me right to heaven (I'm still alive, though) when I read them.

Enjoy!!

Chapter 3 : A Fair Price

Naruto woke up at five in the early morning. His body was stiff and sore from his sleep with two weights pressed tightly all night on each of his sides, and his immobility to move his body, caused his arms to go temporarily numb. It's a good thing that he works in labor every day, it made his body stronger than it looked, and the numbness would probably be gone after an hour or two. He stirred a bit with the twins in each of his arms, he lifted Yuurei and moved to slide slowly and careful, to not wake Chirei.

After he got off the bed completely, he placed Yuurei on the bed again, beside Chirei. The twins unconsciously brought their hands on to each other, both snuggling closer. The blonde laughed softly, the twins were always together as long as he remembered, never have he seen them fight or go anywhere alone, always the two of them together, they're like having one mind in two bodies. And also as pranksters, they're unbeatable.

Naruto pulled the sheets to cover their small bodies, and gave each of them a gentle kiss on the forehead, before he took a bath and prepared to go to his first job.

After a while he was fully dressed with a plain white sleeve-less top and a pair of denim jeans which were torn on each of the knees, he slung his old back pack over his shoulder. Naruto glanced at the sleeping twins, his blue eyes softened at the peaceful sight.

I'll make sure I get the money today… he thought, as he turned his body around, opened the door carefully, not to wake them, and then closed it silently.

His mind had set on one thing, and no one can change it. Then I could fulfill my promise to all of you, Chirei, Yuurei, Ichiro, Kazuna, Yuki…

I promise.

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Sasuke Uchiha woke up at seven, on his soft and comfortable king-sized bed. His head was hurting from his intense and long meetings yesterday, about the new garment factory development, the new linked café opening, and some other formality stuff. As one of the Uchiha family heirs, he had to work extremely hard to expand the Uchiha Company. And his older brother had gone to meet with the business partners abroad, so he was left with all the responsibility and work here.

After having a nice shower, then he had a delicious breakfast made by professional cooks; two slices of bread with some marmalade jam, a bowl of salad, and a cup of unsweetened Earl Gray tea. While he was enjoying his breakfast, his butler approached him.

"Uchiha-sama, there is a letter for you." The old butler said, extending his hand that held a dark blue envelope on his palm.

The younger Uchiha accepted the letter, and dismissed the butler. What is this? From Kabuto Yakushi… the successor of Yakushi Group? Out of curiosity, Sasuke opened the envelope carefully, drawing out the sheet of paper, and then reading it afterwards. A pair of onyx eyes traveled up and down the letter, his eyebrows furrowed and focused. A mix between amusement and consideration could be seen on his face after he finished reading.

The letter is indeed an invitation, however, not of some ordinary snobbish party, this is an invitation for… an auction. Where the richest people from all over this country will gather in one place, to fight over expensive, rare antiques, not literarily physically fight, it meant fight for pride and to show off how much wealth they have using money, of course. Some meaningless activity again, the Uchiha thought, he didn't have time for some ridiculous activity such as this. When he was about to toss the letter somewhere else, he paused.

If the richest people from all over the country are going to attend this auction, then maybe he could get some advantages from this… Maybe some talk about business and other things might result in new investors to his company…

He started to re-think this rare opportunity. This invitation is for two people, but it didn't mean it had to be a couple, maybe Sasuke could ask his cousin, Kakashi Hatake, to accompany him? Besides, before the auction, there was going to be a formal dinner and some drinks, and the auction took place in the ballroom of a five star hotel, how convenient…

The Uchiha smirked to himself. Yes, this would be a good opportunity, though he didn't plan to participate in the auction, but maybe there would be some things he was interested in buying, he had better bring some cash too, just in case. Sasuke drew out his cellphone, and dialed Kakashi's number.

"Hello, Kakashi, this is me. Do you have some free time around 6 P.M.? … … … I've got the invitation… … … … alright, I'll pick you up tonight at six, bye." And it was settled, at six in the afternoon, he'd go with Kakashi to attend the auction.

After all, what could possibly happen there?

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Naruto had skipped his jobs, he needed to, if he wanted to get some help he needed to reach his goal. He roamed the busy streets, searching for someone he knew could help him, someone he knew well from the past. The blonde checked his watch, 11:37 A.M., at this hour, he was probably at the usual place…

From downtown, Naruto turned his destination to Godchild Street.

Along the street, Naruto walked cautiously, because the street was full of fierce rascal gangs, beggars, thieves, and some other kinds akin to them, normal people usually avoided crossing Godchild Street, it was pretty much known as the dark side of this city. The blonde dared to enter this street, because he was also one of them before, and he knew the one in charge here really well.

While he was walking, some kids around Ichiro's age, were running and playing a bit far in front of him, one of them, the smallest boy, bumped to the blonde, and fell on his ass.

"Sorry, mister!" he said, as he rubbed his swollen hips, then tried to get up, but failed miserably.

Naruto bent down to help him, and the another kid just stood behind the blonde, smirking mischievously. When the blonde grabbed the smallest boy's hand, the kid behind him did his job, leaning his hand fast to fetch the blonde's wallet from his back pocket.

But another hand was faster than his, grabbing his arm before he could reach the wallet. Naruto's hand grabbed the smallest boy's hand and helped him until he stood firm on the road again, while the other leaned backwards to grab the kid behind him, he did it all without turning his gaze from the fallen boy.

The boy behind him, and the other kids mouths gapedin shock, as was the small boy Naruto helped. The blonde turned his body around and smirked, still grabbing the kid's arm.

"Amateurs like you can't beat the real one, you know. And the method you used was rather old…" he said triumphantly, one of the boys, the most far back, recognized the blonde.

That voice, blond hair, tan skin, and particular whiskered cheeks… it's him! A boy wearing goggles as a headband and a long dark blue scarf slung around his neck, almost squealed in delight, "Naruto nii-chan!!" he cried, as he ran toward the blonde.

The boy tackled the blonde teen to the ground. Naruto let out a loud yelp of pain when the back of his head crashed against the hard sidewalk. When he opened his blue eyes, his vision blurred, but he tried to focus his sight. A familiar face gradually become visible, when Naruto recognized that face, his blue eyes widened, "Konohamaru!" the blonde shouted in cheer. And the boy who pinned him grinned widely at him.

After the both of them got up, Konohamaru and his friends apologized to the blonde. Naruto just laughed, and said it was okay, and told them not to mind it. "Naruto nii-chan, it's been a while! I've really missed you!" said the hyperactive boy cheerfully.

"Yeah, I missed you too, it's been two months… Sorry I hardly visit you anymore, I've busy at the moment." Konohamaru shook his head furiously.

"No, it's okay! By the way… how's Kazuna-chan doing?" he asked, suddenly acting shyly, a small blush creeping onto his face. The blonde chuckled by the young boy's behavior.

"She's fine, if you want, I could tell her you said hi. Anyway, can you help me out? I have some business with Sai, can you lead me to where he is now?" the boy happily nodded, and then he escorted the blonde to a shady storehouse near a neglected factory, a place where Sai and his gang usually gathered.

When he was about to enter, he dismissed Konohamaru.

After, Naruto entered the abandoned storehouse, he saw a very pale dark haired man, sitting casually on top of a pile of wooden crates, his fingers were interlocked and his chin was hidden between the fingers. Some other people are there too, whether sitting on a crate or the floor, or just standing casually there.

The dark haired man smiled at the blonde, "Well, hello Naruto, what a pleasant surprise. Do you finally agree to accept my offer to be your boyfriend?" he said in a sickening cheery voice.

The blonde snorted. "You wish, Sai, I'm straight, and you know that, can't you just give up already?" the dark haired man chuckled briefly. "I hardly could, Naruto, not with that sexy body and that tight, perky ass of yours." Naruto glared at him.

"Cut the crap, Sai, I'm here to seek your help." The older man raised his eyebrows.

"Oh? And what is it that you wanted to ask?" Sai asked, slightly curious. Naruto was hesitant, he glanced at each of the other people in the room, "in private." He said. Sai got the point, he gave a signal to his subordinates to leave the two of them alone, and they complied.

After it was just the two of them, Naruto brought his gaze up toward the dark haired man. "This might sound crazy…"

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Sasuke sighed deeply, his paperwork had made his shoulders and fingers sore. There's only thirty minutes more before lunch break, and he planned to have some lunch with Kakashi at the Red Fan café as usual. He stretched his sore arms, trying to relieve the pain. Suddenly, his cellphone rang.

The raven man picked the cellphone, and answered it. "Hello? Sasuke Uchiha speaking." He said politely. And the voice across the line spoke.

"Kabuto-san? Yes, I think I could attend the auction… … … …I'll go with my cousin, Kakashi, my brother isn't available at the moment, but I'll make sure to go as his replacement… … … …yes, yes, see you at the auction then." And he ended the conversation.

Kabuto was really eager, he had asked Sasuke whether he could go or not numerously, and it had started to piss the Uchiha off. He even asked if Sasuke already had a partner, it almost looked like he wanted to ask him out or something, isn't he dating that eerie businessman named Orochimaru? Urgh, how dreadful…

The clock showed the time, lunch break, Sasuke stood up, arranging his papers, and placing them into his folders, then into his briefcase. He took off from his office, passing many female workers who desperately tried to woo him to have lunch together with them, which he ignored as usual. Then went to his limousine.

Sasuke sat in the comfortable passenger seat, trying to relax. For the past few weeks, his non-stop work had increased his stress rapidly, and his mind was exhausted. He needed some vacation time, but with the amount of tasks he was obligated to work on, it was impossible to take any days off. Needless to say, his stress and frustration had piled up as big as a mountain, not to mention his sexual frustration. He hadn't got laid in a long time, because he was too busy with his work at the company.

Maybe some diversion at the auction will abate my stress, he thought, massaging his temples.

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Naruto had explained all of his problems to Sai; about the orphanage's financial condition, the amount of money he needed to pay the debts, and his crazy decision of selling himself as a slave. The dark haired man was really shocked when the blonde had finished his story, he thought Naruto had gone insane from desperation, of course he fiercely disagreed.

"Are you nuts!? Do you know what it means!? That is the craziest thing I've ever heard!!" Sai shouted in great disbelief, but the blonde was serious.

"Of course I do, if I didn't, why would I go to you in the first place?" he said, his eyes blazing in great determination, his words didn't show fear or doubt.

Sai was dumbfounded. He had never seen this Naruto before, the one he knew back then, was a little boy who was always alone, he trusted no one, he weak and fragile. But this… this Naruto, who had such a strong heart, an undefeatable will and determination, whose eyes didn't show any doubt inside… he looked like a completely different person now.

Sai sighed deeply, "It looks like whatever I could say wouldn't stop your stupid decision, huh?" he said in defeat, when the blonde is serious like that, nothing and no one could change his mind, how typical of him…

Scratching the back of his head, Sai sighed. "Alright, alright. I'll try to help you." He said in monotone.

Naruto's face instantly lit up. "Really?"

Sai nodded briefly. "Yeah, I just happened to hear some interesting info from my subordinate, and I think it could give you the perfect chance to 'sell' yourself." When the blonde was about to ask about it, he continued;

"There's gonna be an auction tonight, at a famous five star hotel. The rich nobles and elites from all over the country are invited, all of them are big-shots who're immensely wealthy, and not to mention, snobbish and love to show off, so they would most likely bring lots of cash to participate in the auction… most of them are pretty much bastards and sadists, you sure you want to go through this?" The blonde glared at him.

"Do you need to ask?" he replied harshly. Sai sighed, and then spoke again.

"And, I happen to know the person who's in charge of the auction. I could contact him to slip you in as one of the auction goods, well, a living one that is. But he'll probably ask for some profits, he's a pretty sly man. I'll go with you tonight with some of my men, just in case he tries something weird on you—" Sai was shut when the blonde suddenly tackled him to the ground, Naruto hugged the dark haired teen tightly, it almost choked Sai to death.

Naruto murmured a 'thank you' near the older man's ear, then finally pulled away completely, a wide grin plastered on his face. Sai was too shocked to move, while the blonde stood up, and helped the pale teen.

After the two had stood up firmly on the ground, Naruto started to walk off toward the storehouse entrance. He wanted to go home and tell Iruka that he won't be home tonight. "Wait." And the blonde halted his movement, then he turned his body, a questioning look plastered on his face.

The dark haired teen was staring at him, deep and serious. The blonde's body instantly stiffened by the sight of it, Sai rarely showed seriousness like this, he usually always joked around the blonde. This is such a rare occasion.

"…Are you really sure about this?" Sai began to speak, his coal eyes never parted from the blonde's. Naruto just stood there, bewildered by the older man's words. Sai's fingers were interlocked, and he hid his chin in between the bridge created by them.

"Naruto… do you know what your moronic decision will lead you to?" he asked, his voice was monotone and deep. The blonde's eyes were widened. His lips were parted, and his mouth moving, but no sound escape from it. Unknowing how he should reply, Naruto shook his head slowly. Then Sai continue.

"Being a slave isn't a small matter… once you sell yourself as a slave, it means not only losing your entire freedom, nor only your dreams, it also meant that you, have to leave your beloved family as well." The blonde's eyes grew wider at the statement.

"Wh-what do you mean…?" he stuttered nervously, he didn't think of it that far, he… he'd have to leave his family?

Sai closed his eyes briefly, and took a deep breath. "I don't know who wil get to buy you later, but there are some possibilities that your 'owner' would have you move to another town, or even different states, which is far away from your previous home now, and far from your family. And remember, as a slave, you're obligated to obey your owner's every command, you can't refuse, whether it's light or even cruel commands. Because as a slave, you have no rights, as a slave, you're nothing but a thing or pet for the kinds of people who're cruel and ignorant of other people. In short, you have to give up your life as a human." He opened his eyes, and locked his eyes with the blonde's once again.

Naruto stood there, he bent his head down slightly, so Sai could only seen his nose and mouth because the golden bangs covered his blue eyes. "…even if you know about this, do you still want continue? To sell your body to some sadistic bastards?" he asked, hoping that the blonde would say no, that Naruto would stop this insanity, he understand that his family was important to him, but there are some other way, right? Anything but this…

But he should've known better.

"…no." the blonde murmured softly, the older man couldn't comprehend his words. "What did you say?" he asked, uncertain.

The blonde shot his head up, facing straight toward the dark haired man. Sai's body jerked slightly. A pair of deep blue eye stared at his, strong and determined, yet deep inside, held strangled pain and sorrow. "I won't stop."

The older man stood up furiously, his calm expression ruined. "Naruto!! Stop this madness! I clearly understand that your family is very important to you, but there're many other ways to solve your problem without selling yourself and be treated as a slave!! And even if you do this, it wouldn't bring any joy to them, if they knew what you did for them! They wouldn't be happy with this!" he shouted breathlessly, but the blonde just stood there with the same expression on his face, soundless.

Sai was desperate now, he need to stop the blonde right now. "Naruto, list—"

"I know!!" the blonde cut his sentence, and his intense gaze brought the older man to silence. "I know, but… I don't care. I don't care if they treat me as slave, as pet, or as trash. I don't care if they take me away from my family, or even torture me to death. I just don't give a damn." He said softly, his expression slowly turn to a pained one. Sai was stunned, he has never seen so much pain in the blonde's face before, where did his usual cheerfulness go, and the usual hyperactive blonde?

"…this is a fair price, Sai. A price for all they have done for me, for all those blissful days, happiness, and warmth… All those things I didn't think I could ever get back when I still lived on the streets, homeless." He said as the memories of their togetherness all those years crossed his mind, all the happy and sad memories they experienced together, as family. Naruto clenched his fists tightly.

"I don't care about my freedom, my dreams, or my life. If I have to sacrifice mine, to save theirs, then so be it…" the blonde's voice began to crack a bit. "…because losing them means losing my life, the reason they gave me to live. As long as they can live peacefully, I'll do anything, anything I can…" and Naruto's expression suddenly hardened.

"But note this, I may sell my body, but I'll never sell my heart to them. Never." the blonde turned his body around, and started to walk toward the entrance.

Sai stood there silently, dumbfounded. Before the blonde left, he glanced at Sai over his shoulder, grinning. "I'm going home to tell Iruka that I won't be home tonight, and I've promised the children that I'll play with them today…" while I still can, the blonde added in his mind.

"I'll be back here before six. Oh, and… please don't tell Iruka or the children about this?" the older teen didn't answer, but the blonde ignored it, as he resumed to head outside, leaving the stunned dark haired man inside the abandoned storehouse. As Naruto walked along the road, his mind swam in deep thoughts.

I'm sorry, Ichiro, Chi, Yuu, Kazuna, Yuki… This may be the last time I can play with all of you. He thought as he smiled sadly. And Iruka, I'm sorry I have to lie to you…

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To be continued.

School has started again, so maybe I'll be late to update the next chap, sorry about that. Please give me reviews with your opinion. And for the next chap, Naruto and Sasuke finally meet properly, look forward to it!

Ja, Mata Ne!