Disclaimer: Daggumit. Kishimoto got away again. He still didn't sign the release either. So as always, Sakura Naruto and crew are not mine. But I can still torture them heeehheeheeee. . . . .. . . .. . . . .
Sakura's Downfall
Chapter Eleven: A New Life
Since she had spurned Shino, by sleeping with Sasuke while betrothed to him, the placement of the children had been up to him to determine. Though he could have chosen to let the children be raised by his clan or by the Hyuuga clan as vassals, he had chosen to act in the best interest of the children and give them to Kiku to raise. He knew his clan would not necessarily raise the children to be ninja while the Hyuuga clan definitely would but they were not Hyuuga and they were not Aburame. In the Aburame Clan they would stand out for not having any of the clan's bugs in their bodies and Shino knew they could not present the bugs to the children to see if the bugs would accept them as carriers. The children were Uchiha and that was not acceptable. Having the bugs might do something to their dojutsu to make it ineffective and the Council would forbid it even if the Aburame Clan was willing to accept the children as Aburame through adoption. So no bugs for them. That would make them outcasts and create issues for them wherein they could grow resentful and bitter. And that, Shino admitted would more than likely lead to them growing up to be the same type of people Sasuke had grown up to become. That was a cycle he did not intend to renew.
The Hyuuga clan would isolate them also because they were Uchiha offspring. The fued between the two clans was great enough that, even if the Hyuuga didn't mean to, they would punish the children simply because of whom they were born. His rational mind knew Hiashi and Hinata and more than likely Neji as well, would do all they could to shelter the twins but there were too many Hyuuga that remembered being on the wrong side of Sasuke's tongue and attitude more than a few times to totally protect them. He also knew the Hyuuga would not do anything they saw as helping the twins unlock their dojutsu though they would push for them to become ninja in which case the twins would need their bloodline. But because the twins were Uchiha and not Hyuuga the clan would not teach them the Hyuuga style of fighting and did not have access to the Uchiha style of fighting. Even if they did gain access to the clan scrolls through which they could teach the twins it was unlikely they had anyone gifted in the style to teach the children and if they did said person was likely to be dismissive of it and talk trash about it while trying to teach it to them. So giving them to the Hyuuga clan for raising was out as well.
The only bonus Shino could see in having the twins raised by a clan was that they would be well protected should an outsider find out exactly who they were and attempt to kidnap them. Or should the village decide to treat them the way Naruto had been treated when he was younger. But that was not enough in his eyes to offset the negatives in this case. He had heard Sasuke had used his brother's seed for them and knew they were the children of Uchiha Itachi and not Uchiha Sasuke. Having been Sasuke's classmate and a good friend of Naruto's he knew from conversations and observations why Sasuke had chosen his brother to be the father of the twins and exactly what the unpoken message was in Sasuke's choice. He might not honor Sasuke personally but he would honor his wish in this regard. The children would be given every chance he could give them to turn the clan around just as he had tried to offer Sakura the redemption from her obsession with the Last Uchiha, as Sasuke was still known as by some of the more obsessed villagers.
His entire reason for choosing her as his bride had been because she needed the shelter and redemption a well-known and respectable clan could offer her and her intelligence was high enough he figured she would not drive him too crazy asking inane questions. He knew her attitude would need to be dealt with but the women of his clan had already been prepared to deal with that and he knew he could safely leave her instruction there in their hands. She was not a perfect choice for him but there really wasn't anyone in the village who was so his father had let it stand when he had told him why he was choosing her as a mate. Shino might not like what Sakura had done but as he had told Naruto all those months earlier he had known she would do whatever Sasuke asked of her given the chance short of actually betraying the village to accompany him in his outlaw lifestyle and even that was not a guaranteed thing in Shino's mind. If she thought traveling with him would give her the chance to talk him into returning then she might very well have chosen to do so convincing herself she was not betraying the village any more than she thought Sasuke had.
But Kiku was different. She was their grandmother and the only real family they had left except for Sakura. Kiku had been drifting into a depressed state without her daughter to care for any longer. Though Naruto visited her as often as she visited Sakura, the elder pink haired woman was having a hard time not taking all the blame for Sakura's bad act on herself. She had lost the focal point of her existence and no matter how long Naruto visited with her, or Ino or Koharu, her friend on the Council, Shino could see if she didn't find a new focus to live for her life would soon end. So Shino had thought, if he gave her grandchildren into her care, she would regain a purpose to her life. Not being a clan or having the protection of a clan there was risk involved in giving the children to her to raise. And she had raised Sakura but though Sakura had turned out to be less than suitable Shino felt Kiku was now aware of pitfalls she hadn't even known existed when she was raising Sakura alone. And besides, it wasn't like Kiku would be raising the twins alone. Alot of higher up important people would be watching everything she did in regard to their raising. And as for the clan thing he could request his clan be the protectors of the twins and Kiku to keep them safe from harm. But he truly felt she had a need of the children no one else did and would be the best person to raise them. So he chose her to raise the twins for them all, telling his clan and Tsunade simply, "She needs them and they need her. She is family to them and will love them for who they are. Not where they came from or who they came from. My clan will protect them until they no longer need protecting."
He was correct. The children did give her a new focus and she had already redone Sakura's room to make a home for them. Ino, Naruto and Koharu had all gone shopping with her to redo the room in a manner appropriate for boys rather than a young adult woman. Then they had all began buying things babies need and started making plans for their care and protection. Kiku threw herself into the preparations and was always sure to thank Shibi and Shino any time she saw them for giving her this second chance. And she did see it as a second chance. She had messed up in raising her daughter but she was determined not to mess up in raising the twins. She eagerly looked forward to the day when she would be told they were free to come home with her and from the minute they were born she was at the hospital to oversee their care and feed, clothe and hold them both in turn.
Nor did she have half as much trouble accepting them as everyone thought she would upon learning they were not Sasuke's children at all. Instead, she had greeted that news with an ecstatic smile of pure joy. The knowledge that only the Kaasan was a real traitor didn't displease her at all since that meant, to her mind, there was hope for the twins neither they nor she had so long as everyone believed the Otousan to be Sasuke. She knew, as did the rest of the Council, that Itachi had not in fact betrayed the village by slaughtering his clan. He had betrayed his clan but not the village. So, to her, the knowledge that the more noble of the two brothers, and clearly more intelligent of them, would live on in her grandsons was welcome news. She also knew Itachi had been the more peaceful of the two brothers. She remembered a young Itachi enjoying sitting quietly reading a book in the sunshine while a toddling Sasuke tried to run all over the place chasing the other toddlers. Sasuke had always been more belligerent than Itachi had been but she also knew there had been a deep bond between the two. But Itachi had been the one who could admit he loved his little brother while Sasuke had never been able to say the same about Itachi. So in her eyes, finding out the twins were Itachi's children was a bonus.
Koharu and Ino helped her take the babies home when word came they were being released from the hospital. She knew Sakura was still in the hospital but, though she glanced at the door to the stairwell that would lead to the floor her daughter was on with a sad glint in her eye, she did not attempt to go visit her. She had meant it when she disowned Sakura publicly. The girl had disgraced the memory of her father and herself and she would not allow that to be swept aside even if she forgave her for it. Honor was not a sometimes thing and Sakura knew better. She had always told Sakura no one lives or acts in a vacuum. Everything you do or say effects others and sometimes what you do and say effects those who have not been born yet or who have died already so that you might live. But her little girl had never really understood. She could see that now. She was determined the twins would understand it. This time she would not raise a child to think of social positions before they thought of the people those positions belonged to. This time she would see to it the children in her care understood people were people with good and bad in each and every one of them.
All the way through the pregnancy, Kiku had never asked for any information on Sakura but Ino and Naruto told her what they could of how she was adjusting knowing she wanted to know and understanding why she could not bring herself to ask. She would nod her head to show she had heard the comment but never gave any verbal indication of hearing them. Sometimes she would look to an object in the area and begin talking about it in a far off manner and make mention of a certain bright haired child in relation to said object but that was as close as she would come to letting them know Sakura liked or didn't like that type of thing. It was one of those comments that had led to Ino giving Naruto the first music box to comfort Sakura. It also led to Naruto mentioning to Tsunade and the hospital staff foods Sakura liked and would eat during the time when her gestation had been speeding up so much she was eating six times as much food as normal in any given day. Because the gestation was sped up to make the delivery of the twins faster, her body needed more vitamins and minerals to work with and the best way to get them was by eating more and since she was expecting twins she automatically needed better quality and more food than the normal hospital patient did anyway. But Sakura had always been a dieter. Well, ever since she had fixated on Sasuke anyway. So she resented being presented with meals every three to four hours. Hungry or not, delusional or not, she knew damn well it was not really mealtime every time the nurses had brought in a meal tray for her. So Kiku had told Naruto and Ino her favorite foods when they told her Sakura was refusing to eat when the hospital staff wanted her to. Their report to Tsunade and the staff had led to those foods being offered more often and Sakura had eaten more because they were her favorite foods and she couldn't resist them which pleased everyone since her not eating was hurting the children and no one wanted them to suffer. But standing in the hospital holding one of her grandsons in her arms while Koharu held the other, Kiku knew the days of being able to subtly help her daughter were over now and mentally she said her final goodbyes to her. Now she had to think about what was best for the twins and there was no way associating with their mother was in their best interest. Quietly the quintet left the hospital under heavy Anbu guard. They would be guarded as they made their way through the village just in case someone did not understand the babies were not shunned or dishonored for the act of their creation. The Aburame Clan had already chosen those members who would stand guard over the twins and Kiku until Tsunade and the Council knew the twins would not be targeted as once Naruto had been by the villagers or by outsiders who had heard who the twins were.
When Sakura was ready to be released from the hospital, several weeks later, Naruto came to show her where she was to call home and Sakura sighed when she realized where they were going. Kakashi and a squad of Anbu followed at a discreet distance. Kakashi was following to protect Naruto while the Anbu were assigned to Sakura just because Tsunade felt she would try at least once to find her children. It would be unnatural for her not to. Even though she had given her word to Naruto to leave the children alone and not try to find them, everyone knew she did not hold promises given in the same light Naruto did unless they were Naruto's promises to her specifically. Kakashi did not trust Sakura not to try and hurt Naruto once she realized she would be expected to live in Naruto's old apartment and he knew the stupid girl did not realize Naruto owned the building and would be her landlord as no one else wanted to rent a place to her. But if she even balled up her hand Kakashi would move to show her just how stupid it was to even think of hurting his Naru-chan now.
"It's not as bad as you might think, Sakura. I made some improvements when I lived here and I will show you all the hiding spots the place conceals. You will need them now," Naruto told her once she realized where they were going. The small blond was heavily pregnant now and though walking was good exercise for her, she tired far more easily than she used to. That made her grumpy because she didn't like it.
"Do I really have to live here though? This area is not exactly a . . .nice area of the village, you know," complained Sakura trying to hide her trepidation at the thought of living in this area of the village.
Seriously Naruto continued to speak to her former comrade as if she hadn't heard the comment. "You need to understand this, Sakura. Your life has changed irrevocably. You are no longer the treasured daughter of the council woman or the apprentice of the Godaime Hokage or the teammate of Hatake Kakashi and Uzumaki Naruto. I don't mean to boast, but you need to get it through your head once and for all. It was all our names that protected you while you were a ninja and you need to face the fact that you do not have that anymore. You are not the protected of Uzumaki Naruto any more. You are not the apprentice of the Godaime Hokage or a member of the famed Team Seven. Your Kaasan disowned you and stripped your old name from you for the betrayal you subjected the village to. You are now just Daremo Sakura, branded woman of low repute. While you waited for the births, we sheltered you as best we could. I know bad things still happened. It could have been a lot worse but you were under guard then. You aren't now and there are more people who feel as that orderly did in the public sector. You need to face this and get prepared to defend yourself at all times. Listen to me, Sakura, and hear what I am telling you. Are you listening? Do I have your full attention?"
She waited for Sakura to nod before she continued. "There is no such time as I'm safe. I can relax now. Not for you. Not anymore." Sakura gulped remembering the trio of orderlies but she truly didn't understand what Naruto was trying to tell her. She had always had protection from the bad things in life. Even though she was a ninja Naruto was right in saying she had been sheltered and kept away from those bad things as much as possible. Naruto knew she couldn't explain it any more than she already had. Sakura would have to get through this as best she could.
"Now, I have stocked the apartment with food and supplies to get you through a few weeks and the rent is paid for three months." The truth was Naruto wasn't charging her rent for the first three months but Sakura didn't know Naruto was her landlord so there was no need to explain it to her. "I have permission to stock up for you four times a year. But only four times each year. I am going to do so once a season and I will try to make sure when I do that you have what you need to make it through each season but it does not include giving you money for rent or other bills and things. I can only purchase things for you when I stock the place. And I have to say it's only this year that I am allowed to help you at all. So you must find work to provide for yourself. I can not take care of you as I used to. Even if Kakashi would let me, Godaime would not. You made your choice. It was a bad one but it was your choice. And you can not claim you were not warned or that you didn't know there would be a price to be paid for it. You did know and you were warned. Everyone told you to give up on him. Everyone told you he did not love you and would not return for you. I told you more than once there was only ever one person Sasuke would ever love and it wasn't you or any other girl. I told you Itachi was the person he loved. I told you straight up that after that night when his clan died, Itachi was the only person Sasuke would ever love. He lost his ability to love anyone else that night when he saw all his family lying in pools of their own blood at his beloved brother's hand. No one can witness something like that without paying a heavy price for it. You did not listen because you didn't want to and now you must pay the price for your behavior. And remember your promise to me, Sakura. Leave them alone."
Naruto showed her the hiding spots and warned her about leaving her money or other valuables in the open. All her things from her former room in her family home were in the apartment as were the things from her room at the hospital so at least she did have some belongings. Naruto and Kakashi had gone shopping for her and gotten her clothing that would fit her and be appropriate for her new ranking in life. Naruto had told Kakashi that was something they needed to do because the stores would not allow her to shop for herself and her body would have changed proportions now that she had undergone childbirth. Her old clothing would not fit her any more and it was no longer appropriate for Sakura to wear clothing with the Haruno white circle on them as she was no longer a Haruno. So before she left the hospital all the clothes she had with that emblem had been removed from her bags as well as all the clothing that would no longer fit her body size. True to her words, Naruto had also provided her with food and supplies so she would be able to eat and take care of things but it wasn't until Naruto left to go home that the reality of her situation settled in on her. Sakura was and always had been a social butterfly but now there was no one to socialize with and she knew she couldn't just go out and look for someone to pass the time chitchatting with.
Her subconscious was still looking for her babies and her empty apartment slammed home to her that she would never hold them or even be allowed to talk with them in any way. She had half expected to see Naruto make herself comfortable on the couch or something when she was done showing her where everything was but all Naruto had done was remind her once again of her oath to leave the babies alone telling her, "Do not taint them with your reputation, Sakura. They did not ask for their conception and they do not deserve to pay for your bad act."
She had taken to keeping her pink hair boyishly short and dressing in anything that did not resembled her former feminine clothing or uniform. But now the silence of the apartment was closing in on her and she wished she had something to do. Naruto had bought her a silk screen needle point project but Sakura didn't know how to do needle point and the image on the front of the package was too much for her to handle right now. A music box open to show it was playing with little musical notes floating in the sir around it and a girl with pink hair dancing to it in a field of wildflowers was just heartbreaking. Sakura knew Naruto wasn't trying to be cruel in choosing that scene but it was cruel because Sakura knew she could have been that girl and had been a long time ago.
But now she was at a loss for what to do with herself. She had never taken up any kind of a hobby as she had been too busy between being a medic at the hospital and on team seven and being the apprentice of the Hokage to have time for a hobby. What spare time she did have had been spent meeting up with her friends and gossiping with Ino, Tenten and Hinata. But now she couldn't do that. Naruto had taken her place in those gatherings and somehow she just knew the gossip was not as vicious, with Naruto there, as it had been before the revelation that Naruto was a girl. The girls would have toned down their gossip because not only was Naruto not a vicious person but also because of what had happened with herself. All the girls would see what had happened to her could just as easily have happened to them. It never entered Sakura's head that it wouldn't have. None of the other girls would have done what she did and so her fate was never in the realm of possibility for any of them. Also she never realized the only reason the gossip had ever been cruel to begin with was because she had been a part of the circle.
Naruto had replaced the mattress on the bed knowing the one she had used when she had lived there would be highly uncomfortable for Sakura but also because it would raise questions she didn't want to answer from the cherry haired girl. Kakashi had growled when he saw the state of the old mattress and shot Naruto a glare that promised his wife was going to tell him about all the blood stains and cuts in the mattress as he carried it out to the dumpster behind the building. So when Sakura finally went to bed she did so on a new mattress. That night she cried herself to sleep again not really thinking about her own safety as she did so but she should have. Several drunks had gotten word of her release from the hospital and decided to pay her a visit. Unfortunately her mind slipped the faces she saw breaking into her apartment as some of the guys held in the other cells of Interrogations and she cringed anticipating what they would do instead of making any kind of move to protect herself. Her inner self was screaming at her to protect herself trying to remind her she didn't have her team around her to run to her rescue any more but she was frozen in terror and could no more move to protect herself now than she had ever even tried to protect herself when she had been part of a ninja team. All she could do was stare at them terrified of what they would do to her.
The only thing that saved her from being brutally raped that night was the fact that an Anbu was stationed nearby for just that reason. Naruto had argued with Tsunade and the council over it, reasoning that Sakura would need a few weeks to adjust to the reality of her life but she could not do it if she was dead or injured too severely to be able to find work. So she needed protection until she figured out her new station. Naruto had argued that Sakura had been counting on the birth of her babies to restore her back to her former position and therefore had not yet allowed herself to believe, branded or not, that her former life was truly over. It was with reluctance that they had conceded her point and even Shibi had agreed to make sure an Anbu patrol was assigned to her until she figured it all out. But it was also for that reason that they had all forbade Naruto from taking care of Sakura's needs more than four times a year and that those visits must last no longer than one year from the date of her release from the hospital. All of them pointed out to Naruto that if she continued to be there for Sakura the cherry haired girl would continue to resist facing the reality that was now her life. She would force Naruto into the role her Kaasan had filled for her before this she had become persona non grata to the community. Since Kakashi also wanted her to back out of Sakura's life and since she was due to have her own child in just a few short months Naruto reluctantly agreed to start backing off once Sakura left the hospital.
But Kakashi was more concerned about Naruto getting hurt because she was there then he was about Sakura. She had no desire to hang around her old home regardless of who lived there. As much as he didn't wish Sakura to get raped, he knew exactly what kind of work the pinkette would end up doing now and he didn't want any of the villagers who might attempt to point out Sakura's new status to her to think they could also target his wife for that kind of behavior. As far as he was concerned, Sakura had gotten off lightly for her betrayal and it was only the fact that she had not tried to follow Sasuke that allowed her to even remain within the safety of the village.
But Naruto pointed out to Kakashi it might have been better for Sakura had she been expelled as then, even with the brand, she could have started over somewhere else. Somewhere else she might have been able to get work as a medic or a librarian or something. They could have blocked her chakra to where she only had enough to live to prevent her from doing anything she had learned as a ninja of the village and a seal would have made sure she did not go spilling Leaf secrets to outsiders. Instead they had chosen to keep her in the village where her children would be raised and all her former friends lived. She would be forced to see them and even to a degree mix and mingle with them though none would or could acknowledge her presence any longer. In Naruto's eyes, the punishment Sakura had been given was a lot crueler than it needed to be. She told Kakashi, "She's a prisoner here now, Kashi-kun. But unlike other prisoners, she isn't in a cell or on a work farm where her needs will be met by the village so long as she obeys the rules. She won't have any real friends to mix and mingle with or be invited to any festive events. She'll be on the outside looking in and you have no idea what that feels like but I do. And I know just how cold her life will be now."
He tried to make Naruto feel better about it all but he knew nothing he could really say would change things. Naruto had a unique perspective on the situation. "She chose this, Koi. It was her choice not to listen to you when you told her not to trust Sasuke. It was her choice not to listen to me when I told her he was a traitor. It was her choice to build herself up with airs she was not entitled to. This is a fall for her. I know that too. But it is one she set herself up for. Yes I do know she'll be on the outside looking in for the rest of her life but she was warned to let him go. And even though her life won't reach the heights she once dreamed of reaching, she does still have the opportunity to make a few friends. She will still receive invitations to social gatherings with them. She does have the opportunity to have a real life. It's just different from the one she expected to get. She isn't you, Koi, and the life you were forced to have as a child will never be hers unless she chooses it. She does still have choices she can make for herself." He did go and make a few arrangements for Sakura though after hearing why Naruto was insisting on continuing to see and be near Sakura but he told no one of the arrangements he set up for her as was his wont. He figured it was no one's business how he tried to take care of her or anyone else he knew and had worked with over the years. And like it or not, he could not turn his back on Sakura any more than Naruto could without trying to make sure the girl had a chance.
It took Sakura a long time to figure out she would not be allowed to get any kind of respectable work. She had tried to get work at the hospital since she was a trained medic but they wouldn't even consider it. They knew she was a qualified medic. They just wouldn't hire her since tsunade had specifically said she could not work as a medic any more when she made her public announcement as to Sakura's punishment for her bad act. Sakura didn't remember a great deal of that day as she'd been in too much shock and denial for more than brief snatches of the event to register in her mind. The feeling of being shaven and branded she remembered. The betrayal she felt when first her mentor and then her Kaasan had both denounced her, she remembered but the actual words were lost to the fog of her shock. So she couldn't understand why she couldn't work as a medic now. They had told her point blank, "Being a medic is honorable work, Ms. Daremo. You are not honorable. We can not accept your application for employment. Please leave if you are not in need of medical attention." She had left wondering where she could find work now.
Then she had tried the public library and a local book seller but was told they did not have work for her kind. The Librarian was nice about it but the book seller wasn't. Both had told her basically the same thing the administrator at the hospital had though. She was no longer honorable and since they served those who had honor they could not employ her now. She did learn to swallow her pride enough to take food from the food bank set up for the poor and needy so they had less reason to steal it. Naruto and Kakashi had both been by the food bank to make sure the workers were aware of her need should she lower her pride enough to ask for help so the workers there were expecting her to come by. Being more compassionate people than most they tried to make the experience as non-humiliating as possible for the humbled girl. But she cried after she got home with the goods they had given her, over how low she had fallen. And slowly she was learning to like, fix and eat pedestrian food rather than the gourmet she had always insisted to her Kaasan was more appropriate for their station in life. Reality was setting in on her as bills came in demanding ryu for their continued services and her available cash to pay said bills was running low. Unknown to Kakashi or the Council Naruto had given her a stash of ryu knowing Sakura would not have any after several months in the hospital and that she had been a spend thrift before that last mission they had gone on. Naruto knew Sakura did not have any savings worth speaking of so she had taken her own mission money and left it in one of the hiding spots in the apartment for Sakura to tide her over until she found work.
But it was about three weeks before she finally succombed to the inevitable and went into a cat house to see if maybe she could work there. The Madam of the House took her to a room upstairs and told her to strip. She then made Sakura spread her legs and hold her arms straight out to her sides. She walked all around her and so became the most humiliating experience of Sakura's life to date. An hour later Sakura was handed an outfit to wear. She was told she would do for the night. If she didn't break down, and flee the establishment, than she had a job and she'd be given a schedule. Pay would be discuss later once they knew if she would stick to the job.
Sakura wiped her tears away and nursed her bruises silently as she pulled the pee-a-boo costume over her naked flesh knowing full well she needed the job no matter how degrading it was. And it was degrading but her bills needed paying and there was no place else willing to even give her a chance at working. A girl had come in to help her apply her make-up and explain the rules to her. The girl had been just as touchy feely as the Madam was but at least she had been spreading a salve over the bruises the madam had left behind. The girl told Sakura, "Madam will make sure a costume is provided for you every night for the first two weeks but after that you have to provide your own and the Madam won't care what excuse you offer for not having one to wear when that time is up. If you come to work without a costume, you'll walk the floor naked." Her tone of voice was cheery and disinterested as she explained things to Sakura but left no doubt in Sakura's mind what she said was nothing more than the truth. She also explained that the real money for the girls was in the tips the customers gave them so obliging the customer was always a good idea no matter what the customer asked for. "Some of them ask for really odd things but a few will only want you to sit with them and provide conversation while they eat dinner or have a few drinks. Some will feel you up and try to pleasure you while they eat. Be sure to act like they are doing a good job of plasuring you even if they aren't. They'll tip better if they see you squirm some and turn more fully towards them while trying to make it seem you're turning away. They like that because it feeds their fantasy that they are with an innocent girl rather than a girl who knows the game. Since you're new here, act innocent and like you're younger than you are. Most these guys want us young and innocent."
Sakura asked her if there was any tips to get used to this life and the girl had told her in a surprised tone of voice, "Honey, you already sold out your team to have sex with someone. And from what I understand it couldn't even be called a 'Wham Bam Thank you Ma'am' type encounter. Just an in and out I'm done now thing. This is nothing new for one like you. You'll see. It's business as usual for you." Sakura flushed in shame as she filtered the words into her brain. Clearly the girl knew who she was and why she had come here fo a job. Noterity might have it's benefits but it also had it's drawbacks, she concluded.
She re-entered the main room when another girl came to get her and went to work for her first shift as new meat in the human meat market. All night she had served drinks and men as they asked for her services. The other girls let her know what she was supposed to do and what certain terms meant and they made sure the men did tip her for her work as well. By the end of the night she had played the innocent so many times for so many different guys she was forcing herself to get aroused and she had given so many hand jobs and blow jobs she no longer flinched over having her hand grabbed and placed on an aroused penis or her head grabbed and directed towards someones groin. Her knees were raw and sore from spending so much time on them under the cover of a table but she had no doubt she could do this job if it staye this mild. She also understood why the outfit she had been given was a peek-a-boo type. The attention the guys wanted from her did not require her taking the outfit off or end up with the outfit being torn in some manner.
The Madam kept an eye on her, though Sakura was too inexperienced to know it. She might have been rougher with Sakura than she would have been with another girl but Sakura had betrayed two of the best ninja in the village and set two others up to be killed in their sleep. Bara, the Madam of this establishment, had serviced Kakashi more than once while he was waiting for Naruto to grow up and she had followed his career after she had met him the first time. As a result she knew exactly how fine a man he was. She'd been just another girl working on the fourth floor the first time he had come in with his captain from Anbu. The captain had paid her to see to his needs and teach him to be a man even if it took her all night. He had wanted Kakashi to leave the premises sated, relaxed and happy for a change. She did as requested and it had taken her all night to get him over his barriers. She had never expected to see him again since he had been so reticent about taking advantage of what she had to offer but she couldn't resist finding out more about the young Anbu officer.
But he had come back again and again over the years and she was always the one he went with when he did come by. Even if he came by tonight she knew she owuld be the one to service his need and she knew she would not allow his former teammate to know he was in the building. He had never given her any promises though or any reason to think he would take her away from her life in the village's underside. She had also known he was not available for anyone no matter who they were, since he had told her up front that first night he was promised to a child already and when she grew up he would marry her if she would have him. Surprisingly, that had been his biggest barrier to lying with her. It was only when she had told him he needed to be the experienced one if he wanted to really please his betrothed when she grew up and keep her happy that had let her reduce his stress. He had not wanted his child to see him as less than honorable or to have anything in his background that might come up to haunt him when she was old enough to claim. She had never been able to drag any more information from him as to who he was waiting for but that didn't matter. They had still forged a bond that Kakashi had called on once he knew this would be the only life open to his former teammate and that bond was the whole reason she hired Sakura. She knew Kakashi and she knew he would want the girl taken care of as best she could be in this new life of hers. And because of that, she made damn sure the men, who would have been too rough with the society girl, were handed off to another and the women, that would have shocked the girl out of her skin, found more willing partners as well.
But that did not mean Sakura had an easy time adjusting to her new life. She didn't. More than once she had run off the floor crying in shame until one of the other girls had come and helped her pull herself together again. The girls of the first floor were very supportive of new girls, knowing this was the end of the line for all of them and not one was any better than any of the others regardless of who they had been before they became the Flowers of the Madam.
And when the first week passed, one of the other girls took her shopping at the end of her shift to show her where they bought their outfits. The girl explained, "We can't just go shop any place we wish to. Most shopkeeps know how we make our living, since they do tend to be our customers from time to time, and they won't appreciate having us in their shop since a lot of their customers are also our customers and will recognize us as easily as they do. We've learned not to trouble them as they do know where we work and what floor we work on. They can make us pay for darkening their door much easier than we can make them pay for anything they ask of us. And, Cherry Girl, no matter what floor you work on, a guy can call you to a lower floor if he has enough money. You go ticking off the shopkeeps and they will call for you no matter where you are. But don't go thinking they won't know who you are yet either. They do. Because of what you did, everyone in the village knows who you are and because I'm standing here on the walkway with you, they now know where you work also. I've been a part of The Establishment long enough they all know me and that's why I was chosen to take you shopping today. It's Madam Bara's way of telling the village you're now one of her Flowers. Don't try to break the unwritten rules. It'll only get you hurt."
Her expression darkened in memory of the one time she had gone into a high priced shop that catered to the elite. She had gotten angry at the owners son for dumping her when he found out where she worked and decided to make him suffer. He and his father had paid her a visit that night and taken her together as the meat in a sandwich. Both she and the boy she was angry with had gotten a lesson in just how the game was really played but she had learned her lesson.
She broke free of the past and told Sakura, "But that's not just so you are known as one of the working girls. It's also so that you are recognized as a protected female. We do have some protection working for Madam Bara we wouldn't have if we were working the streets say. And we do have a few places in the village that actually cater to us. This is one of them and it's my favorite shop. The gal that runs it will actually come up with costumes that fit you and your coloring. She costs a bit more but she does take payments. She knows we have to support ourselves since we are what we are. She will treat you with respect so long as you treat her the same way but don't ever assume you are her equal. You aren't and she knows it."
None of the first floor girls would ever admit they were whores or anything of the kind but Sakura understood that. They couldn't if they wanted to be able to look themselves in the eye. She had discovered that all of her co-workers had done something similar to what she had done though she was the only one who had endangered someone else by doing so or gotten pregnant as a result of it. A few of the girls were ninja before they came to work at The Establishment and they had spread the word of who Sakura was and what she had done just in case the village grapevine had missed the House. The girls of the first floor had only sighed and asked her how many times, while she was waiting for the delivery of her child, she had been raped. That had surprised her since it was the first even halfway sympathetic question she'd ever been asked but they told her, "We live in a ninja village. Your act hurt and endangered two of the most well known ninja in the world. Not to mention the favored of the Hokage. Of course, we know and because of what we do for a living, we do know exactly how the ninja community would seek to pay you back for it."
Another girl told her just as bluntly, "But it isn't only the ninja who will try to make you suffer for hurting them. The civilians will also. Naruto's gained a lot of popularity. A lot of people respect her for the life she lead and crap she had to deal with that she never broke under. They aren't happy with you either. And then there's how everyone sees her husband. The villagers all remember how it was you telling them Naruto's seal was breaking and what a sacrifice he was making by agreeing to be Naruto's lover when everyone thought Naruto was a boy. You tried to ruin Kakashi's reputation by saying he was gay, Cherry Girl, when he wasn't. And now the village is abuzz with questions of just what else you lied to everyone about that they didn't see or understand. They're mad at you. Really mad and it's gonna be all Madam Bara can do to keep you from getting seriously hurt but she will because she's our caretaker. We are her Flowers but this is her garden."
Sakura had a hard time adjusting to her new life and she really didn't understand why anyone would be holding anything from the past over her head now. Sure she understood the ninja would seek payback for that night watch because Naruto had convinced everyone she had endangered the team. Once again she wished the blond had kept her mouth shut about that but her innate intelligence told her it really wouldn't have made any difference if she had. As soon as Sakura's pregnancy had been discovered it would have come out anyway and for the first time she admitted her pregnancy would have brought everything she had done into the open. She finally admitted to herself she could not have hidden her pregnancy from the village and, being the airhead she had been, she wouldn't even have tried to hide it never suspecting it would backfire on her as it did. And she was finally beginning to realize both Naruto and Kakashi were alot more well known than she had thought they were. She had always known Kakashi had a fearsome reputation but it had never entered her head that Naruto did as well. Nor had she ever considered that to most people Naruto was anything but an object of scorn or ridicule.
Author Notes: And now we've reached the bottom of the pit I threw Sakura into. From here out we begin to seriously work to rebuild her into a semi-respectable person. And for those of you out there saying a whore can not be respectable I beg to differ. They are people too. Just because they work on their backs (or in other positions) does not mean they are without honor or morals.
