Chapter 11

Progress is Subjective

Part I: Of Evolution and Enlightenment

XoXoX

In the past, it was sort of acceptable to blow off work for rest or purely out of not wanting to do anything. Kabuto can't carry out threats properly and Rinji spends his time getting wasted and passing out in one of the booths. There weren't any consequences as long as it wasn't a task that Orochimaru personally ordered you to do.

But now, order was being restored to the brothel.

Sort of.

The amount of tired faces and yawns meant that it was too early in the morning. The sun is just now rising from the horizon. For some unexplained reason, everyone was told to congregate in the main room.

Hinata sighs. "This better not be another task assignment meeting."

We've had four so far this week and it's only Tuesday. Our schedule has constantly been rearranged due to some mistakes Kabuto made about a year ago. He incorrectly filed some reports that were sent to the Bureau for Businesses. It is crucial for them to know the amount of people that have fatal, communicable, and/or recurring diseases. They also need to know the amount of people that died while here.

I initially thought that by burning birth certificates and hiding the body, then the public wouldn't know anything. But thanks to the two men that contracted an STD from a brothel, they have decided to publicly denounce and demand the shut down of brothels. They did candid exposes of the brothels, to which no one paid much attention to because Otogakure thrives on prostitution.

However, they did take notice on how brothel owners can literally get away with murder.

While prostitution is completely legal and tolerated, murder is not.

The owners have a dream team of lawyers that keep them out of legal trouble.

The Bureau for Businesses negates responsibility of the owner and puts it on the person that died. Or their parents, depending on how young the person is. Without proper documentation the Bureau can't determine who is at fault. Brothel owners could be arrested for murder, attempting to conceal the murder, and subjecting workers to unsafe conditions. Those crimes are punishable by shut down of business, a heavy fine, long term jail time, or death.

Orochimaru isn't aware of Kabuto's mistake, and Kabuto would like to keep it that way. We've been trying to compensate for his failure since he was bound to get us all in trouble soon. Fixing this problem would be a lot easier if we didn't burn the records of the deceased and properly buried all of them.

The quiet whispers of speculation ceased as Orochimaru walked down the stairs. He eyes us suspiciously, which instills fear in our hearts. "What are you doing here?" He asked plainly.

The girls look at Hinata, making her the spokesperson of the group. "Waiting for our orders." She tried to say as confidently as possible.

He folds his arms over his chest. "I gave you your orders a few days ago."

"Well..." She trailed off, not sure of what to say.

Luckily Kabuto showed up. He gasped upon seeing his master. "My lord, what are you doing here?"

The man narrows his eyes. "I could ask the same of you. Is there something you need to tell me?"

Kabuto never looked so afraid in his life. He tried keep his composure, but no one could miss the way his eyes glistened and the slight tremble of his lip. "No. I'm just solving the lack of work that has been going on."

"Whatever." He rolls his eyes and walks away, not questioning anything further.

We stood silent for a few moments to ensure that Orochimaru was gone. "Okay, we still have ten more bodies to recover, but it will easy."

Ami was enraged at his choice of words. "It will be easy? Are you fucking kidding! We've stayed up for hours on Monday trying to fix this shit, and we've only found one person." The others agreed with her. Twenty-four hours and our combined effort has produced dismal results.

Hinata stepped forward. "Why should we help you anyway?"

This was their chance to be free. If they don't help Kabuto, than Orochimaru will get arrested. That means the brothel will shut down.

Their dream will finally come true.

It doesn't come without a heavy price.

"Because if we don't, then we'll end up in the streets. Or with a master that is crueler than Orochimaru." I didn't sympathize with Kabuto. Had our livelihood not be in jeopardy, I wouldn't care about his problems. "Their going to pass a law soon. They'll imprison homeless people and charge them with aggressive panhandling and any crime that has happened at the time of capture. If you think we have no rights now, it gets way worse in prison."

The idea of freedom merely sounds like a good one. In reality, the only job they're qualified for is prostitution. Most slaves are taken when they're young, so their education level is slim to none. They wouldn't be able to function properly in the real world.

Hinata looked at me, wanting to refute that statement, but she can't. She knows there is no place for us outside of this brothel. "Come on guys, lets get to work." She says quietly, stealing another glance at me.

I've finally gotten through to her, if only slightly.

Why does life seem so much darker now?

XoXoX

Depending on how you look at it, cognitional evolution was happening. Evolution of species didn't happen over a matter of hours, it took several hundred years. Though the amount of things humans go through in an hour can change them and define how they view the Earth.

These girls are just as stubborn as I am. Their mantra cannot be broken nor penetrated by any sort of negativity. Their heads are always tilted upwards, not paying attention to their surroundings but at their dream future.

It took a while, but I think I've finally gotten through to them. At the least, I've made them glance at reality.

"So we can't get a nice house and marry the guy of our dreams, because all these guys are jerks. Nor can we seek refuge in other countries, because the border is too far and we'll get caught before we even make it."

"Don't forget that most countries have forbid us from entering." Ami added.

"That's completely fair. They can come here and take advantage of us, but we can't go to their country for relief." Yoko threw a few useless files in the trash.

"It's all because of that invasion that happened several decades ago."

Yoko laughs bitterly. "I thought it was because they don't want the prostitution business to infect them."

"Either way, it's pointless trying to escape now. No one will help us. Our own citizens don't give a damn about us, otherwise there would be more protests." Aoki spat with a lot of venom lacing her voice. She used to be hopeful, but I think what I said to her when we had kitchen duty really settled in.

"God, you're starting to sound like Sakura."

"Noriko!" Hinata scolded.

She winces. "Sorry, Sakura. I forgot you were here."

"It's fine." I muttered quietly.

"Things are going to change! Just wait."

Cho brushed Ami's comment off. "Man, you've been saying that for years."

For the longest time, I believed that change was impractical and will not yield positive results.

Progress has the prefix pro- which means positive or in favor of. In this industry, it's all about the clients and bosses. No one cares about the lives destroyed in this business. The slaves are not people but mere objects for sexual satisfaction.

What's right for the people at the top is to obtain money by any means, at the slave's expense. Something that is good for prostitutes is bad for business and the overall economy.

They die a little everyday. Go through perpetual cycles of depression and self loathing. To keep themselves going they have to come up with false positives and dream for a day that it will all be over. When that doesn't happen they are left with two choices. They either decide to end it themselves via suicide or attempt escape.

Or they just accept their fate.

"Look, things are bad now. But, we can't give up. Think about the future and the generations of people after us. We can't let them down. I don't want another generation to go through what we're going through. We gotta hang on, otherwise this disease will spread and affect other innocent people. Everything happens for a reason. It seems cruel to be forced into this lifestyle, but some good is going to come out of it." Hinata stated.

In a weird way, she's right.

This their safe haven. The brothel offers them a place to sleep and a decent amount of food to keep them from starving to death. Above all that, they are surrounded by people that can closely relate to them. From there, a strong alliance is created.

You can't get that anywhere else.

While that's enough to keep them going, for me it does nothing to quell the formidable force of giving in.

"Yeah whatever. I'm taking a break." Cho stated after throwing the papers on the ground. Aoki and several others followed.

Hinata watched helplessly as the once united group of friends separated. She couldn't say anything that would make them stay. They were done hearing speeches of how if they wait and never give up, then things would be okay.

The line has been drawn, those with hope and those without it.

I thought watching people become enlighten would bring me joy, but doesn't.

Hinata looks at me, but doesn't say anything.

She didn't need to.

I know what's she's thinking.

This is all my fault.

My pessimistic ideals have finally gotten through to some.

The bad part of that is that hope is what kept these girls strong. It's what united them and made their bond unbreakable. They need each other; they need to keep believing. Otherwise things will just fall apart.

Usually when you do something wrong, it's up to you to make it right.

But I can't fix them, if I can't fix myself.

XoXoX

Since we haven't found anyone's files, gravestone, or extracted organs, the next best thing to do was to enlist someone who knew how to crack the system. "Thanks for the help, we were never going to recover those deceased people's files." Especially since one group can't stand to be in the presence of the other.

"No problem."

"How did you become so fluent with computers?"

He shrugs. "I learned it from a group of drug dealers."

"Drug dealers taught you how to hack into computers?"

"They taught me how to break into the police database and from there I've let my talent evolve."

I've always underestimated Sasuke's intellect. "You never cease to amaze me."

"I'm full of surprises."

Speaking of surprises, I never thought that the girls would separate and so bitterly at that. The hopeless act as if they have never cared for the ones that keep believing. Any slight progress they have dreamed of making is at a standstill.

The thought of having everything falling apart was raking at me. We're out of options now. "I hate this."

"Everyone does." Sasuke replied simply.

"I know, but...even if we were given the opportunity to leave, we'll just end up in another prison."

He sighs. "The law hasn't passed yet."

It will.

Tourist season is approaching. The last thing the government wants is for people to go back to their countries with stories of how many impoverished people there are and how they felt the need to give them money.

"It's hopeless."

The sound of keys being pressed stopped. "You've always thought it was hopeless." He deadpanned.

I stood up, having a swelling of emotions in my chest. "Maybe there was a small chance before! Maybe if we were stronger, than we could take control. But it doesn't matter now! We'll just get bounced to another hellhole!" I collapsed, feeling completely pathetic. "I don't know why I bother waking up anymore."

He crouches in front of me, taking my hands into his. "Because you believe something is going to happen. It could be good, or bad. Whatever it is, it's enough to keep you motivated."

"Don't you think if some miracle were to come it would have happened by now?"

"Just give it time."

"Time! I've been waiting to leave this place for years! I can't wait for time to decide when I'll begin to enjoy life."

He nods. "That's true." His tone is soft and understanding, as if to break through the walls I've put up. He stands up. "Anyway, it's done. In a few minutes the virus will overwrite the files Kabuto sent and everything will be okay."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. I gotta talk to Orochimaru."

"About what?"

A devilish smirk appeared upon his lips. "It's a surprise."

"You sound like you're plotting something."

Before walking out the door and out of sight, he pauses. "Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. You'll just have to wait and see."

I don't want to wait anymore.

Subconsciously, I've been relying on others to satisfy me. I've expected them to do all my fighting, while I stood in the background, silently cheering them on. The problem is that you can't have an army with a weak will.

Yeah they want freedom, but they're not going to die for it.

I'm not the fighting type. I've been stripped of my will and left feeling hopelessly bitter. The pain gets worse with every failure and every hour that goes by. To make matters worse, I never let myself forget anything.

I let Ino get taken away and I never said goodbye to her.

I let Sasuke forever be bound to Orochimaru.

I've pushed several people away.

Hinata and I are no longer close.

Worst of all, I killed my best friend. My symbol for all things strong and unmoving, is gone and it's my fault.

The past will always be stuck in my mind. I need to cleanse myself of all that ails me. That is the only way that I can find some contentment with this life.

For some things, I can't make amends.

I have no idea where Ino is or if she is even alive. If we did meet, what would I even say to her? After I told myself that our friendship is over, that was it. I never thought about seeing or speaking to her again. Tenten is dead and it's impossible to apologize to a dead person. I won't speak to Hinata, convinced that she will only make things worse. Also, I refuse to give Sasuke the satisfaction of saying that he is right.

With all that said, there is no where to start.

My conscious is heavy, but my pride weighs a lot more.