Author's Note: Hello everyone it's been years since I last wrote or updated any stories of mine. But something came to me after all these years and I once again decided to write a story. Now this one is a historical story so it's not a modern story like the others.

I hope you have a happy reading and please leave a review.

ButterflyYuna xoxo

Chapter One

Osaka—June 1825

"So this is it, then?" Brushing a stray pink curl out of her eyes, Haring Sakura leaned forward in the boat that was ferrying her and her travelling companions into the harbour. "Not a very big town, is it?"

While part of her was thrilled to reach her destination after five months aboard ship, another part wanted to plead with the man at the tiller to turn the boat around and head back out to sea! "This place would fit into Newcastle's pocket, right enough." Sakura's young friend Naruto gazed around at the mix of buildings that lined both banks of the river. Some were made of timber with huge, shaggy thatched roofs while others had white-plastered walls topped with orderly rows of neat red tiles. "Hasn't been around long, though, has it? I heard Mr Northmore say there was not much here at all when him and his partners landed six year ago."

"I wouldn't care if it was nothing but jungle," croaked Shikamaru Hall. "As long as I can get solid dry ground under my feet again, I'll be happy."

Poor Shikamaru! Sakura recalled how seasick he and the other three lads from Tokyp had been at the start of their voyage. They'd envied her ability to keep her food down even in the roughest weather, but they'd been grateful, too. If she hadn't tended them so capably when they retched and moaned in their hammocks, some might not have recovered.

For the past several days they had talked of little else but how happy they'd be to reach their destination and start work at the Uchiha Trading Company for Mr Uchiha Itachi. Every time she heard that name, a bilious wave had roiled through Sakura like a belated attack of seasickness. While the lads had been hired from the coalmines of northern Japan to work for Mr Uchiha, she'd been recruited to marry him.

If she hadn't been so desperate to reach these distant shores, she never would have pledged her life to a stranger. But she'd been anxious to get there soon, while there was still a faint hope someone might recall what had become of her brother or his ship. At the time, her marriage had seemed too far in the future to be quite real. The closer it came, the more it worried her.

As the boat eased up to the jetty, Sakura inhaled a deep draught of warm air that mingled the tang of the sea with an exotic whiff of coffee and spices. She had made her bargain. Now she must honour it by doing her best to be a good wife to Mr Uchiha. She only prayed her new husband would not be too old,ugly or ill tempered.

The mooring lines were barely secured when the Durham lads swarmed ashore. Only Shikamaru had the manners to turn and offer Sakura a hand to disembark, while the others asked anyone within earshot the way to the Uchiha warehouse.

There was no shortage of people on the quay to question. There were agreat many men with bare chests the colour of mahogany wood, who wore white turbans and bright-hued skirts wrapped around their legs. Other men, with lighter skin and slanted eyes, carried sacks slung from poles draped over their shoulders. They wore baggy trousers and black-sashed tunics. The front parts of their heads were shaved bald while the jet-black hair further back was braided in long tight plaits. Tall bearded men, wearing white turbans and long robes, looked as if they'd just stepped out of a Bible story.

After a good deal of shouting, waving and pointing, Naruto turned to her. "I think they're trying to tell us Mr Uchiha's warehouse is on the other side of the river."

"There's a bridge." Shikamaru pointed up the sweeping curve of the quay to a spot where the river narrowed and a slender wooden span connected the two sides of the harbour. "We can walk around." The rest agreed and they set off at once. Though Sakura forced one foot in front of the other, her shoes felt strangely heavy. It did not take long for her to fall behind her companions. The men working on the quay turned to stare at her as she passed. Could it be because they noticed her resemblance to a young man they remembered? Reason told her it wasn't likely. Their curious interest was probably on account of her skin colour, or because she was a woman with a pink hair.

But it wouldn't hurt to ask, would it? She'd come all this way and bartered her freedom in hope of finding the last bit of family she had left in the world. She needed to start somewhere "Pardon me." She turned toward a young man wearing white leggings and a turban who smiled at her. "I'm looking for news of a crewman from the barque Konoha. His ship came to Osaka three years ago. Do you remember it?" The man's smile broadened further and he answered in a language she didn't understand."I'm sorry. I don't know what that means." Sakura shook her head and gave an exaggerated shrug. "I didn't even understand English very well until the past year. And I don't suppose you know any Japanese." Another voice spoke up, heavily accented but in English. "Say again who you look for, lady?" Sakura turned eagerly towards the speaker, a man with dark, almond shaped eyes, who wore a large, round straw hat. "I'd be grateful for any help you could give me. His name is Haruno Kaien. He'd be taller than you." She raised her hand to indicate her brother's height, then pulled back her hair and pointed to her head. "His hair is almost the colour of mine."

She could do better than try to describe him with gestures and words the man might not understand. Reaching back to her nape, Sakura unfastened the silver locket that was her most precious possession. Then she opened it to show the miniature portrait inside. "He looks like this. At least he did the last time I saw him." The tiny painting wasn't of Kaien himself, but it was the nearest likeness she had.

A flicker of interest kindled in the man's eyes as he stared at the locket. Did he recognise the handsome young face? If Northerners were as scarce in Osaka as they appeared to be, those few must stand out, easily noticed. Perhaps easily remembered. "Have you seen him?" she asked. "Please, I'm very anxious to get word of him."

The man nodded slowly. "Maybe I saw this one. Not sure." Sakura's heart leapt. Even in her most hopeful dreams, she'd never imagined getting a lead on her missing brother so soon. "He was in Osaka three years ago. I got a letter posted from here. Do you know what happened to him or his ship?"

The man's high forehead furrowed as if trying hard to remember where and when he'd seen that face. "I look closer?"

"Yes, of course." Sakura pushed the locket into his hands. "I wish I had a bigger picture to show you." A small crowd had gathered around them as they talked. Suddenly someone tapped Sakura on the shoulder from behind. Did another person recognise Kaien?